“And I am my brothers keeper; and shall fight his fight; and speak the word of beast and bird; ’till the world shall set things right.” Edna Wheeler Wilcox
I decided that rather than try and think up a witty, captivating bio I would let Edna Wheeler Wilcox say it for me. Her poem neatly sums who I am, and what I believe in. Her sentiments pretty much describe what I do each day, in a variety of ways.
The Boring Bits
I was born in northern Canada too many years ago to count – I remember flocks of whooping cranes flying overhead twice a year, for crying out loud. Growing up in the boreal forest region with a father interested in all beasts, birds and growing things in the forest, I naturally gravitated towards nature.
I’ve been a volunteer for nature my whole life, including stints at the wolf defenders, the local zoo, the bird sanctuary and a swift fox breeding facility. I currently share my life with my husband, a dog, two cats, four computers, an ipod, a Kindle and a Blackberry. Hard to say which of these is more important…
I’m also an ardent birdwatcher, and have been known to book holidays around bird watching opportunities. Even a trip to Las Vegas requires binoculars, and a very productive trip to the sewage treatment ponds – fantastic birding! I’m fortunate to have a tree-filled yard, which is also filled with bird feeders, and therefore I have birds front and back every day of the year. As I often get rare species in my yard, I occasionally have a yard full of bird watchers as well.
My Writing
I’ve been a journal writer and dabbler in the written word for many years. In 1999 I jumped off the deep end and wrote my first book – Canadian Feathers: A Loon-atics Guide to Anting, Mimicry and Dump-Nesting. This ridiculously large book was followed by Canadian Skin & Scales (yes Canada does have reptiles and amphibians); The Art of Birdwatching; and in conjunction with biologists in Argentina, Carnivores of the Pampas. There is another book on the way – all I need is about 48 hours in each day to get it done.
I also have two websites: The Wild Carnivore and Simply Wild Canada.
This blog serves two purposes. It allows me to indulge myself, giving readers the benefit of my opinion on a variety of birdy topics, whether they want it or not. It also allows me to give birdwatching and the birds of Canada a greater presence on the internet. We have a huge country here, with a large variety of habitats, and a corresponding large variety of birds.
It seems to me we need more people speaking the word on behalf of the birds of Canada, so here I am. And now that you’re here, why not say hi in the comments section!?
Good Birding!
Pat Bumstead
Alberta, Canada
Hello Pat,
Apologies for the long comment below — I wanted to reach out to you and invite you to beta test a new Web site that Nature Canada and Bird Studies Canada have developed about Important Bird Areas in Canada. I’m contacting a handful of bird bloggers/twitterers whose posts I follow, which is why I’m contacting you.
As you are probably aware, Nature Canada and Bird Studies Canada are the Canadian co-partners in BirdLife International, a global alliance of conservation groups who work together for the world’s birds and people. Together, we deliver the Important Bird Areas program, and this new Web site will play an integral part in delivering the program.
What does it mean to be a beta tester? It’s simple. Just click on this temporary link, http://www.bsc-eoc.org:8086/, to visit the Important Bird Areas in Canada web site, and have a look around. Explore different sections, try our online directory to find an IBA, and read whatever content seems interesting to you.
Then, complete a short survey to tell us what you think. The purpose of this survey is to help us make improvements to the site before publicly launching it. You can complete the survey here:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=3_2b5Erxf7_2fS7VCo0YXeeg7w_3d_3d
I would greatly value your opinions of the site so far. Explore the site as much as you like – the survey should only take you 10 minutes.
Thanks in advance for agreeing to help us with this important piece of research. Please complete the survey by Monday, October 19, 2009. My colleagues and I are very grateful for your support.
Kind Regards,
Chris Sutton
Communications Manager
Nature Canada
Hi Pat,
As an ardent birdwatcher and researcher do you have information on customer spending for Birding in Canada or Ontario. I would be starting Birding tours and information in this regard would be most helpful. I would alos like to have a resume of birder as yourself to be attached as a reference.
Kindly email me at the earliest.
thanking you,
Kenneth
This is the second time this week I’ve been asked this same question! I only wish I did have such figures on bird watching statistics in Canada, but unfortunately I have none. As you’re in Ontario, you might try contacting the Ontario Nature Federation to see if they can help you. Good luck and good birding!
Just discovered you via RT on Twitter. The magpies–omg–if I’d come upon such a sight, I’d have truly passed out with joy. And the sleeping owl, be still my heart–have a special affection for owls.
Your blog, hoowhee, I have found my birdie heaven
Thank you.
Dove
Hi,
I work for Nunavut Tourism in Iqaluit, Nunavut Canada. We’ve recently uploaded a very unique video of an angry snowy owl. I would really appreciate it if you would take a look and consider embedding the video in your wildlife blog.
http://www.youtube.com/user/NunavutTourism#p/u/6/bXtzz_M1m0M
Thank you!
Hi Pat,
I have just started a new website for Bird Photographers in Canada Only.
I have some interest from all across Canada.
I have linked to your website (Bird Canada)
I know we share the same interest in the welfare of our birds.
I was wonder if you have an article you would like to publish on the Canadian Bird Photographer?
I would ask if you could link to my wed site?
Thank you David
What a great idea! I’ve added a link to your website from my blog, and next week I’ll do a post on your new site as well. Thanks for asking me to contribute – I’m not a photographer, but I’ll be happy to write an article for you.
Hello – I live in Port Stanley, Ontario, but we cottage on the Marten River / Marten Lake water system, located between North Bay and Temagami. The Mitchell family has been cottaging in this location for over 50 years.
I wanted to report a very concerning development that, we think, has had a devastating effect on the loon population in this area this summer.
We have about 25 miles of navigable water and typically we see several loon pairs each summer. Each pair has staked out a set territory. We are aware of the declining loon population due to aspergillosi, intestinal parasites and salmonella and over the past few years we have observed that there are fewer pairs than there once were. Additionally, quite often the loon pairs that have returned, have not succeeded in raising any young.
About two years ago we were excited to because we had several sitings of bald eagles on our water system. It was thrilling to watch. In fact, last December, when we were at the cottage for a few days, I watched in utter awe as a bald eagle swooped down onto the ice trying to steal a fish from an otter who was fishing at the edge of the ice (the river was not fully frozen over). Then, this spring we noticed the eagle return, and after observing it in different areas of the waterway here, we decided he had chosen the Marten River / Marten Lake system as his summer home! How thrilled we were to watch him soar.
Sadly, we also noticed that there were even fewer loon pairs this year. However, the loon pair that usually resides on our section of the river had returned and as July wore on, we knew that a hatching would happen soon, because we would only see one adult at a time fishing (meaning that the female was on the nest). One morning we observed the two adult loons swimming together across the river. This would normally be a signal that the chicks(s) had hatched, perhaps in the night. Before we could grab the binoculars to look for a chick, a cacophony of sound broke the morning quiet. And as we watched, the bald eagle swooped down on the loons. The next thing we knew, the eagle had taken off with something in its mouth. The loons were distressed and at first we thought that the eagle has merely stolen a fish from one of them. However, after watching them for a while (with the binoculars), we think that it was the loon chick that the eagle had stolen.
Since that day, we have been out on the water many times and we have not seen a loon chick with any of the loon pairs on this water system. Of course, it is a large system with many bays and it is possible that we have missed seeing all the pairs, but we are concerned about the possibility that the eagle simply flew around and “picked off” all the loon chicks.
At the same time, we have noticed that the size of the Merganser duck broods (and their combined clutches) is much smaller. For example, typically by late August you will see a combined clutch of 12 over more youthful Mergansers swimming and fishing together. This year, the largest clutch in our section of the river includes only 5 Mergansers. We can only assume that last spring the eagle dined on tiny ducklings too.
All this does not bode well for next year. If the eagle was able to feed so well on loon chicks and ducklings, then he will be highly motivated to return. Of course, I understand that nothing can be done about this, it is the “nature of things” and I can only hope that the loons will be resilient and survive this.
But I would be interested to know if there have been any other reports of this situation on other waterways in the north. Has anyone seen/heard anything? I will also be sending an e mail both to the birdscanada.org and the North Bay MNR office.
Thank you in advance.
I haven’t heard from anyone in a similar situation, but as loons, mergansers and eagles share much of the same territories, I’m sure it happens elsewhere as well. There could also be a good population of mink, raccoon or otters around the lake, and they all eat bird eggs. I know it’s tough to see things like this, but baby bald eagles have to eat too! A few years ago they were disappearing and have managed to make a great comeback. The best thing to do is get in touch with Bird Studies Canada http://www.bsc-eoc.org/ as they are the ones who conduct the annual Loon Survey. Thank you for your comment, and for caring about the birds!