Plight of the Piping Plover

Last week Canadians learned that in parts of Atlantic Canada the endangered Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus melodus) is not recovering as well as expected. Numbers from the 2011 International Piping Plover Census in the region revealed that numbers declined 7% since 2010, leading to an overall decline of 14% since the early 1990s. This puts the Atlantic melodus population below the 2011 recovery target of 510 individuals, or 255 pairs. A total of 427 individuals was recorded throughout the region in 2011.



The Piping Plover is actually represented by two subspecies in Canada: the melodus subspecies on the Atlantic coast, and the circumcinctus subspecies in the mid-western interior of the continent. On the Atlantic coast the melodus population faces a number of threats including loss and degradation of nesting habitat, human disturbance (direct and indirect), harassment by domestic pets and recreational vehicles on beaches, increased predation, severe weather and abnormal tides, among others. Visit the Species At Risk Act Public Registry to learn more.



Several years ago I managed a recovery and stewardship program for Piping Plovers in southwest Nova Scotia. That program has evolved and continues today (picture above) as part of a province-wide effort coordinated by Sue Abbott at Bird Studies Canada (our Canadian co-partner in BirdLife International).



Earlier this summer my family vacationed in southwest Nova Scotia and had an opportunity to visit some of the Piping Plover nesting beaches found in the area (picture to left). It was a wonderful opportunity for me to see the real benefits of about 20 years of effort to recover the species and educate people about its plight. That effort was put in by many individuals and organizations, including many dedicated volunteers across the region. But as last week's report indicates, the increase in Piping Plover numbers in southwest Nova Scotia was not mirrored in other parts of the region.



Revisiting some of southwest Nova Scotia's plover nesting beaches reminded me of the many complex threats faced by species at risk. It underscored for me the importance of effectively stewarding and/or protecting the remaining habitats - especially the critical habitats - of these species and finding ways to restore those habitats throughout the species' historic range, whenever possible. Imperiled species such as the Piping Plover especially need to be free of human disturbance and other threats that 'piggy-back' on us - like pets roaming on beaches, coastal development, litter, etc. - so they have a fighting chance to deal with the many threats they naturally face, like predation and severe storms. And that leads me to a piece of great news in this otherwise unsettling story.



On August 6th the Nova Scotia Nature Trust announced the acquisition and protection of 33 acres of coastal lands at Crow Neck Beach, a beach in southwest Nova Scotia that supports more pairs of Piping Plovers than any other beach in the province. Crow Neck Beach (picture to right) is also part of the nationally significant South Shore (Roseway to Baccaro) Important Bird Area, which is also a key stopover site for thousands of migratory waterfowl and shorebirds. This is excellent news for Piping Plovers and other feathered friends!



All photos by A. MacDonald

Note: My Piping Plover photo was taken at a safe distance using optical + digital zoom.

Encouraging Land Protection Announcement from Nova Scotia!

Happy Earth Day!

This Nature Canada employee got an early Earth Day gift in 2011... Yesterday morning the Nova Scotia government released boundaries for two proposed Wilderness Areas in the northern central part of the province – near the isthmian border with New Brunswick. Wilderness Areas are the gold standard in Nova Scotia’s provincial protected areas network, and one of the proposed sites, the Kelly River Wilderness Area, could become the third largest such area in the province!

I'm excited to see this announcement, as I coordinated a grassroots campaign for a new Wilderness Area in the Chignecto region on behalf of CPAWS Nova Scotia several years ago. In addition to CPAWS Nova Scotia, other organizations including Cumberland Wilderness, the Nova Scotia Public Land Coalition and Ecology Action Centre have been calling for permanent protection of provincial crown lands throughout the Chignecto region for years.

I was very lucky to have canoed down the Kelly River with former area resident and professional photographer, Dale Wilson, in addition to visiting parts of the two sites with members of Cumberland Wilderness. Those firsthand experiences proved to me the outstanding conservation potential of crown lands in the Chignecto region. The area is one of the last strongholds of endangered species including the Nova Scotia mainland moose, the wood turtle and Inner Bay of Fundy Atlantic salmon.

Here’s a map showing the proposed areas in yellow. Environmental organizations had been hoping that all of the provincial crown lands (shown in light green) would be captured in a single proposed Wilderness Area, but support for industrial use/development in the region (e.g., commercial logging, mineral and oil and gas exploration/extraction, wind energy development) seems to have influenced the current boundary proposals. Nonetheless, the proposed protected areas capture beautiful elements of Nova Scotia’s upland, interior forests and its rugged Bay of Fundy coastline (see photos).

Three globally significant Important Bird Areas are located beyond the proposed wilderness areas, scattered along the coastline of the Cumberland Basin. The new protected areas should play a role in reducing the negative impacts of industrial and other human activities on the waters entering the basin – as well as the fish, birds and other species that frequent them.

The public is invited to submit comments on the boundary proposals as of May 11th 2011, with the deadline for submissions on August 12th 2011. More information is available here. While the proposed boundaries are a good start, including more of the crown lands surrounding the two sites in the final boundaries would better protect important wildlife habitats in the area.

Preventing Bird Deaths from Lead Poisoning

In her second guest post, wildlife vet Helene Van Doninck shares troubling stories about human-wildlife interactions. Lead poisoning is the topic of this entry – Helene tells us how you can prevent unnecessary bird deaths that result from this toxic substance.

As a wildlife veterinarian and rehabilitator, I get a first hand glimpse into what happens when wild birds and humans interact. While many of these encounters are positive, I often see the results when the outcome is negative for the bird. More than ninety percent of the admissions to our rehabilitation centre are a direct result of interaction with humans or our structures.

Each year we analyze the reasons birds and other wildlife are brought to us seeking medical aid.  The top reasons for admission include birds that are: hit by a vehicle, victims of cat predation, poisoned (lead poisoning in particular), injured from striking a window, orphaned, oiled, and shot.

We spend a considerable amount of time trying to provide education that will help to decrease the number of animals that are victims of human interaction. People who bring us birds often ask how they can help. For several of the causative reasons listed above, the solution is obvious.

Thousands of wild animals are struck by vehicles every year and simply driving slower and being more aware during dawn and dusk-periods of increased activity may help decrease collisions. Birds of prey and scavenging species are often struck when they opportunistically consume other vehicle collision victims. To help prevent this (not for the faint of heart), I personally carry a shovel in my vehicle and if it is safe to do so,  will move dead animals to the ditch or well off the road to prevent another wildlife death. In 2010, we admitted 2 bald eagles that had been struck while scavenging. Both died of their injuries despite medical care.

In recent years we have seen an increase in bird deaths due to lead poisoning. Sadly, these deaths are easily preventable. It has been known for years that lead is toxic, yet it is still used to make hunting and fishing gear and in the manufacturing of other items. Lead shot was banned in waterfowl hunting years ago, but it is still legal to use for hunting other species.

The most common species to get lead poisoning are bald eagles and common loons. Eagles can ingest lead shot (just one ingested pellet or sinker can kill) when scavenging bodies or remnants of bodies left behind by hunters. Some animals are also wounded but not killed and then scavenged by eagles. Loons can ingest lead sinkers or lures left behind on lake beds – lines are often cut when the sinker or gear gets entangled under the water. It is thought that loons either see the reflective lure and go after it, assuming it is a fish, or accidentally ingest the sinker when picking up bits of rock on the lake bed, which is necessary for proper digestion.

Lead poisoned loons are weakened and unable to fly or dive. They will stop eating, have seizures, and get diarrhoea and paralysis of neck muscles. Lead poisoned bald eagles are usually found on the ground unable to fly in a weakened and thin state. They often have a drooped head and wings and are unable to respond to threats by other predators. The poisoning is fatal without treatment and can be fatal even with treatment if the lead levels are high enough or the animal goes too long without receiving care.

Anytime we receive a bald eagle that is unable to fly, but with no signs of injury, lead is my first suspicion. The bird is x-rayed to look for lead, though absence of lead on an x-ray still warrants further investigation in a symptomatic bird. If the eagle ingested the pellet more than two weeks ago, the powerful muscles and presence of other grit in the digestive tract will grind the lead down and release it into the blood stream, making it undetectable by x-rays. In these kinds of cases, a blood sample is sent to confirm the diagnosis and then we start the long process of chelation therapy to try and remove the lead from the victim. This means injections for five to ten days, follow-up blood work, intravenous fluids and tube-feeding to support an animal too sick and weak to ingest food or water. These birds require high maintenance, supportive care until they can stand and eat on their own – they will be in recovery for weeks to months if they survive.

One typical case we received involved a loon seen swimming in circles and unable to dive. The people who noted this were unable to capture it and monitored the loon for one day. The next day the bird, a mature male, was found on land in a weakened state. It was brought to us and died within hours despite medical therapy – it was simply too far gone. We confirmed a diagnosis of lead poisoning with x-rays, blood tests and an autopsy. One lead sinker killed this bird. The person who found the bird called me several days later to tell me that its mate swam back and forth near where the poisoned loon beached, making distress vocalizations for days after its mate died an unnecessary death.

How can you prevent this?

The answer is simple. Avoid using products containing lead, and in particular, do not use lead shot or fishing gear. Alternatives such as steel and bismuth do exist and are available.  Ask for and demand these alternatives in tackle, hunting and bait shops. You may just save a life.

An x-ray of a lead sinker inside the body of a loon admitted to Cobequid Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre

Sable Island will be a National Park

The news has been leaked!

According to news reports here and here, Sable Island -- haven for migratory birds, home to wild horses, and known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic by sailors -- will become a national park.

Bottom line, this is good news. Important bird habitat will receive permanent protection. But conferring national park designation upon this tiny strip of coastal dune habitat is not without its challenges. The biggest potential problem: more people.

From the Globe and Mail:

Until now, anyone who wanted to visit Sable Island needed a permit from the Canadian Coast Guard, which holds jurisdiction over the island under the Canada Shipping Act. Fewer than 100 people arrived on the island each year under the old system, because getting there isn’t easy. Sable experiences up to 127 days of fog annually and can be reached only by chartered boat or plane. But interest from tourists has been increasing...

The risk of increased visitors that comes with the island’s national park designation really underscores the need for a park management plan that strictly limits visitor numbers and outlines timing of visits, visitor activities and services, to ensure the island is truly protected in the long term.

Photo: Ipswich Savannah Sparrow, by Zoe Lucas, Sable Island Green Horse Society.

Sable Island May Receive Permanent Protection Tomorrow

Sable Island, a narrow stretch of globally important bird habitat located approximately 300 km offshore from Halifax, may be granted permanent protection status as either a national park or national wildlife area, when Environment Minister Jim Prentice makes an announcement tomorrow afternoon.

The word “sandbar” cannot convey the majesty of Sable Island’s biodiversity. Over 330 bird species have been sighted here, including virtually the entire breeding population of Ipswich Savannah Sparrows. Thousands of Arctic and Common Tern nest on site, as do thousands of Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls, which prey on the terns’ young with alarming success.

The sandbar supports more than 175 plant species and 600 catalogued invertebrates. The marine areas support diverse mammals, including 50,000 breeding Grey Seals. Sable Island’s only terrestrial mammals—and its most controversial and famous residents—are several hundred wild and unmanaged horses.

Nature Canada and Bird Studies Canada designated Sable Island an Important Bird Area over a decade ago, and we’ve been trying to secure greater protection for this highly valued natural space ever since. Though the island doesn’t face the same development pressures that many other Important Bird Areas do, uncontrolled access to the island can disturb nesting birds and accelerate erosion of the sandbar.

Turning the island into a protected area is definitely good news. But a national park or wildlife area could open the island to public access and may increase the risks of erosion and habitat degradation on the island's fragile 34 square kilometre, largely coastal, dune ecosystem. Currently, the few human inhabitants of Sable Island conduct research for environmental monitoring.

A new national park or wildlife area would require strict site management, visitor education and enforcement guidelines to safeguard the island's ecological integrity. Additional investment in federal protected areas programs would also be necessary to properly steward and manage the new park or wildlife area.

We’re waiting eagerly to hear the details in tomorrow’s announcement!