Nature News #11

Bird News

A report on the wind farm of Wolfe Island, Ont., has found that 602 birds and 1,270 bats were killed by the turbines between July and December of 2009.

Birds are struggling in backcountry lakes in Nova Scotia that have been drained to very low levels.

Several hundred thousand migratory birds that nest in the Canadian Arctic are likely to be killed by the BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

Migratory birds such as White Gannets that return to Newfoundland and Labrador each year are being killed by the oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico.

Waterfowl tracking goes high tech at Long Point Waterfowl in Ontario.

Mammal News

Construction has begun in Manitoba on the International Polar Bear Conservation Center, a rescue and rehab facility for orphans, injured or problem polar bears.

Officials in Jasper National Park are cracking down on visitors who feed bears in the park, as the animals can become aggressive towards humans.

Parks Canada has confirmed about one third of the Black-footed Ferrets introduced to Grasslands National Park in Saskatchewan survived their first winter.

A raccoon has been filmed getting into a supposedly impregnable container used for Ottawa’s compost program.

Two polar bear experts have stated the Western Hudson Bay bear population could disappear in 30 years.

A Banff National Park team is keeping tabs on the region’s bear population, aiming to balance their survival with the influx of human visitors each year.

Now that grizzly bears have been listed as a Threatened Species in Alberta, recommendations for their recovery have been outlined.

Cougar on the prowl near Morden, Manitoba are likely following the abundant deer population into urban areas.

Scientists have found that female humpback whales appear to form lasting friendships, with pairs searching out each other every summer in the Gulf of St. Lawrence

Coyote sightings raise concerns in Summerside, PEI; it is believed they are also driving foxes into urban areas.

Fish News

U.S. wildlife officials have begun an experiment to encourage the white sturgeon — Canada’s largest freshwater fish – to swim upstream from BC to historic spawning grounds in Montana.

Hearings have begun on a federal judicial inquiry into the state of salmon stocks in the Fraser River in BC.

Scientists and seafood groups are watching the Gulf Oil slick in case currents start moving the oil northward along the east coast, although it’s not expected to reach Canada.

Insect News

The University of Alberta is looking at the effect of tree loss caused by mountain pine beetles on water levels and new forest growth.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) will be using a new insect trap to detect and monitor the spread of the Emerald Ash Borer this summer.

A Toronto restaurant has put deep-fired crickets back on the menu, after receiving approval from the public health officials.

A provincial aerial spray program in Manitoba to control the gypsy moth has been a success, with no sign of them this year.

Ecosystem News

The federal government is moving to protect unique marine areas in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, including 9,000-year old living reefs off the BC coast.

The government has amended legislation to create the Gwaii Haanas National Marine Conservation Area in BC, protecting the ecosystem from 2,000 feet below water to mountains 4,000 feet above.

Federal and provincial governments are considering the establishment of a new national park  in the South Okanagan and Similkameen Valleys in BC.

More than a dozen fish-bearing lakes across Canada could be destroyed because of a legal loophole allowing mining companies to use lakes for dumping waste.

A new study involving 18 scientists from five countries has found that the recent retreat of the Arctic sea ice is the worst in thousands of years.