A new report by the Raptor Population Index (RPI) Project shows that the majority of the 26 species of migratory raptors across North America are either recovering or in stable condition. RPI is a cooperative partnership among four leading raptor and conservation organizations: Bird Studies Canada, Hawk Migration Association of North America, …
The deadline for Canadians to comment on the federal government’s massive wolf-kill caribou recovery strategy is February 22, 2012. For most Alberta boreal woodland caribou herds, the wolf-kill strategy would allow 95% of their habitat to be destroyed. Tar sands and other oil-gas activities in those herds’ ranges would not …
Alberta’s disappearing sage grouse continue to make the headlines. Billboard campaigns are revving up, and more people are paying attention. A lot of people are at the wringing of hands stage, saying but what can we do? Based on past experience, it’s obvious we can’t rely on either the federal …
After a two day summit in Calgary, Canadian and American scientists called for immediate government action to save the sage grouse. Only 13 males remain in Alberta, and 35 in Saskatchewan. “Without immediate and effective action, we will surely lose this bird, a sentinel for the health of the Great …
It is becoming increasingly obvious that the Alberta Government has absolutely no respect for the people they are supposed to be representing. Last year, this same government attempted a secretive deal to sell off native grasslands to a private firm to grow potatoes. The resulting ‘Potatogate’ furor from all segments …
Bird Studies Canada’s Ron Ridout recently returned from Ontario’s southern James Bay coast where he was part of a team of researchers monitoring the use of the extensive tidal flats by several species of migrating shorebirds. During their southbound journey, large numbers of White-rumped, Semipalmated, Pectoral and Least sandpipers, Greater …
Birds and wildlife of the boreal forest are breathing a little easier today. The Boreal Songbird Initiative has reported the wonderful news that 8,000 square kilometers of boreal forest and wetlands have been protected in Manitoba. “A vast stretch of pristine boreal forest and shoreline adjacent to Lake Winnipeg—a place …
2011 marks the second year of Bird Studies Canada’s Ontario Whip-poor-will Project. The goal of this 5-year project is to increase understanding of the current distribution and abundance of the Eastern Whip-poor-will in Ontario. As with many other aerial-foraging insectivorous birds, breeding bird surveys and atlas projects indicate that Eastern …
At the spring meeting of the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) held in Charlottetown, PEI May 1-6, 2011, Threatened status was recommended for two more species of songbirds – Eastern Meadowlark and Barn Swallow. The addition of these two common species draws further attention to …