Author: Pat Bumstead
Involving Students in Nest Monitoring
Project Nest Watch is a popular, long-running program from Bird Studies Canada. Nest Watch involves volunteers in the long-term monitoring of bird nesting activity across Canada. Birds are good indicators of the health of their habitats and the ecosystems in which they live. By gathering data that follows the health …
Nature News #1
Bird news Warmer, wetter weather in Canada’s North could have a devastating impact on nesting seabirds, says a biologist with the Canadian Wildlife Service in Iqaluit. The northern spotted owl population in British Columbia is down to six birds. The government plans to capture two males to pair with two …
Salt Shaker Birds
If any one bird species could be said to represent the boreal forest, it would have to be the Grey Jay Perisoreus canadensis. These appealing little thieves are commonly known as whiskey jacks or camp robbers, and are found only in the boreal and sub-alpine forests of North America. Non-migratory …
Wednesday Wings: Spring Confirmed
Winter Birding in Canada
Bird watchers thrive on challenge. Every time we go out to look for birds, we face a monumental challenge, and we love every minute of it. We bird in all weather conditions, and generally glory in tales of getting stuck in mud or snow, being drenched from pouring rain, or …
Young Ornithologists Wanted
The 2010 Doug Tarry Natural History Fund’s Young Ornithologists’ Workshop will be held at Long Point Bird Observatory near Port Rowan, Ontario, from Friday, July 30 to Sunday, August 8. Participants will receive hands-on field ornithology training, including bird banding, censusing, field identification, birding trips, preparing museum specimens, guest lectures, …
Wednesday Wings: Guest Appearance
Piping Plovers Colour Banded
In an effort to determine where Piping Plovers wintering in The Bahamas are staging during migration and breeding, 57 birds were uniquely colour-marked this winter. The project was done for Environment Canada by Sidney Maddock and Peter Doherty, with help from The Bahamas National Trust. Each bird has a black …
Wednesday Wings: Eurasian-collared Doves
Eurasian collared-doves historically occurred only in and around India. A massive expansion in the 1600’s brought them to Turkey and the Balkans, and from there they spread across Europe. First released in the Bahamas in the mid-1970’s, they made their way to Florida and spread quickly across the North American …