7 Tips to Help Migrating Birds

Migrating shorebirds. Photo: Kate Messer

Helene Van Doninck, wildlife veterinarian at the Cobequid Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, shares her tips on how you can help migrating birds reach their destination this fall. For more wildlife advice, stories, pictures and videos, check out Helene's past guest blog posts for Nature Canada.

Once again autumn has arrived in Canada and for billions of birds this signals the ancient event of migration. No matter where you reside, you will see the populations of birds in your local area fluctuate as some birds leave for more southern climates, and some birds arrive from northern latitudes. There are of course many year-round residents that will hold tight to their territories, but they will soon be hosting some new visitors.

Migration itself is a fascinating biannual movement that has ignited countless theories and driven many people, scientists and non-scientists alike, to wonder about the exact mechanisms and routes taken by individual species. The intricacies of migration will be fodder for a future blog post, so stay tuned! For now, we’ll concentrate on  tips that may help migrating birds get to their destination, or at least provide them with some fuel and energy for the voyage.

Photo: Murdo Messer

1. Leave Out Your Hummingbird Feeders
Contrary to popular belief, leaving your hummingbird feeders out will not cause delayed migration in hummingbirds. Migration is a powerful instinct and leaving the feeders out until all birds have left may well provide some extra nutrition for young birds that may need an extra boost, or for some that are merely passing through. As always, clean and change all feeders regularly to prevent the spread of disease.

2. Re-Stock Your Regular Bird Feeders
As with the hummingbird feeders, the availability of extra food in regular bird feeders may help passing migrants fuel up on the way to their destination. Every little bit helps!

3. Do Not Disturb Shorebird Fueling Stations

Photo: Kate Messer

Each autumn billions of shorebirds gather in huge flocks to eat as much as they can over a short period of time. At the CWRC we live near one of these very important areas: the Bay of Fundy. Getting enough food during these stopovers is absolutely critical to allow these birds to fly for long distances to reach their southern destinations.

Please respect these areas and keep disturbance to a minimum. Limit walking on the beach when this is happening and do not let dogs off leash to flush or scare these birds off. They are often only in the area for brief periods. Tide intervals already limit foraging times so unnecessary interruptions are costly. Please refrain from leaving garbage on beaches too, as the scent will attract predators which will further disturb the birds.

Cuckoos. Photo: Murdo Messer

4. Look for Hurricane and Weather Refugees
Extreme weather can interrupt migration, send birds on errant paths, and damage food supplies and habitat. Watch for unusual birds in your area after weather events and if it seems that a bird is in the wrong place, let wildlife officials know or contact a rehabilitation centre. Often birds in the wrong place can re-direct themselves, but sometimes they need a helping hand.

Post Hurricane Katrina, we had 6 calls in 30 min about yellow billed cuckoos seemingly dropping from the sky. Oddly enough these calls all came from the same neighbourhood. They were certainly in the wrong place at the wrong time and were in poor condition.

5. Turn off the Lights

Photo: Murdo Messer

Millions of migrating birds are killed every year by something we never even think about: office towers that leave lights on overnight. This is particularly an issue when downtown cores are in the middle of migration corridors. One of the most problematic areas in Canada is downtown Toronto. Become educated about this problem in your local area and if it’s an issue, try to convince building managers to shut lights off at night. It’s good for the environment too. For more information on this issue, please visit www.flap.org , a group dedicated to addressing this issue in Toronto and other areas. Other migration hazards include power lines, windows, wind turbines and other sources of light at night (including industrial flares). Become educated on these issues and let your government officials know you want policies that reflect your concerns.

6. Provide Natural Food Supplies
Items like apples, rosehips, berries, snags and fruit trees provide important nutrition for birds. Plant native species that provide food sources for migrating birds and don’t be too quick to pick up things like fallen apples.

7. Cut Out Pesticides
It is encouraging to see more and more municipalities banning the use of pesticides. Insect eating birds are on the decline throughout North America with habitat loss, climate change and loss of food supplies being among the cited reasons for the declines. Please avoid the use of pesticides. Insect eating birds rely on an abundance of different species of insects, and do a great job of keeping their numbers under control in an environmentally friendly way.

Most importantly this migration season, enjoy being a spectator for what is arguably the most remarkable natural phenomenon. Consider recording first and last seen dates for different species and make it an annual tradition. Spend time outside and enjoy the spectacle in your own backyard, you never know what you might see!

Birding in Gatineau on International Migratory Bird Day

Last weekend I went birding. Not for long as the weather in Gatineau was wet and cool. However, life outside goes on. Last weekend was also a celebration of migratory birds across the Americas - International Migratory Bird Day. I head out for a short walk in Gatineau Park to experience the birds and talk about how I feel as a birder. Join me on my walk, learn about "pishing," and see what happens.

International Migratory Bird Day (IMBD) celebrates the 350 species that migrate between countries in the Americas. Canada likely holds the record for the country with the most migratory birds. It is estimated that every fall, 90% of our birds leave the country, the great majority heading south. Terns and shorebirds tend to go the farthest. The Hudsonian Godwit, for example, flies from its subarctic and arctic breeding grounds to Tierra del Fuego in Chile. Many songbirds also fly long distances to South America. Purple Martins end up in Sao Paulo State in Brazil. Bobolink's non-breeding destination is the pampas of Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uraguay and Brazil. Blackpoll Warblers and Common Nighthawks make it to Brazil, and Venezuala. Veery, Swainson's Thrush and Gray-cheeked Thrush also go to South America, as do several Flycatchers, Scarlet Tanager, and the iconic Canada Warbler. American Redstarts and Chestnut-sided Warblers spend their "winters" in Central America with many other Warbler species, Vireos, Yellow-bellied and Least Flycatchers, Orioles, and Whip-poor-will.

Many species other than songbirds and shorebirds also have impressive migrations, including Peregrine Falcon, Osprey, Swainson's Hawk, Blue-winged Teal and Green Heron. Over one billion Canadian-born birds over-winter in the continental United States, including some of our commonest species such as most blackbird and sparrows including the White-throated and White-crowned Sparrows, and most waterfowl.

Take a moment to think about this. For some long-lived species, this migration would take them to the moon over the course of their lifetimes. In addition to the amazing ecological services that they provide to all of the countries of their passages, these birds wow people with their beauty and their song. Birds inspire me for all of these reasons. They bring me happiness, and make me feel connected to nature.

So fellow Canadians, get out and enjoy these most inspiring members of creation in the next week or so, and always remember to respect their lives and the rest of nature in your daily decisions.

Canada's Birds Feel the Impact of BP Oil Spill - Profile #5

This is the fifth species profile in this series highlighting migratory birds that may be at risk during their fall migration through the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Northern Gannet

With its striking plumage – pure white with black wingtips and bold lines around blue eyes – it is hard to miss the Northern Gannet. This remarkable species spends most of its life at sea and nests in a few large colonies in the North Atlantic. It feeds by plunge-diving up to depths of 22 metres in pursuit of fish.

Most adults had already made their migration north, away from the Gulf, in April before the oil spill began. However, juvenile gannets remain in those dangerous waters and were among the first avian victims of the spill. The fall migration back to the Gulf occurs in October. There is no way of knowing whether the effects of the spill will be cleaned up by then, but the damage to the species' future has already been done.

Read more of Nature Canada's commentary on the Gulf oil spill.

Canada's Birds Feel the Impact of BP Oil Spill - Profile #4

This profile is the fourth in the series highlighting Canadian migratory species that may be in harm's way as they migrate through the Gulf of Mexico and the area affected by the BP oil spill this fall.

Sanderling

The Sanderling is one of the most widespread shorebirds in the world. This small, plump sandpiper can often be seen running along the coast in flocks. Sanderlings feed by probing the sand along the tideline with their bills, chasing after receding waves to pick up stranded crustaceans and molluscs.

An Arctic breeder, this species is common all along North American coasts during migration. Their spring migration, from late April through May, fell right at the start of the oil spill in the Gulf. Waves that formerly deposited food on the beach to fuel the rest of their journey instead deposited sticky slicks of oil that stained the birds a rusty orange.

For those individuals that did make it to their breeding habitat in the Arctic, the fall migration back south takes place through July and August for adults and lasts through August and September for juveniles. As the spill continues to spread away from its epicentre in the Gulf, more of the American coast that these birds will use as stop-overs on their journey to wintering habitats in Central and South America is becoming toxic.

Read more of Nature Canada's commentary on the Gulf oil spill.

Canada's Birds Feel the Impact of BP Oil Spill - Profile #3

This is the third bird profile in the series highlighting species that may be at risk from the BP oil spill during their fall migration from Canada through the Gulf of Mexico.


Yellow Rail (Special Concern)


Small, with buff, yellow and black plumage that mimics the tall grasses it hides in, the Yellow Rail breeds in isolated pockets across Canada's boreal forest. This marshbird, the second-smallest rail in North America, is rarely seen and quite secretive, but depends on the coastal wetlands in the Gulf of Mexico during the winter.

If oil begins to accumulate in the marshes along the Gulf coast, recovery would be difficult or impossible since so little is known about this species.

Read more of Nature Canada's commentary on the Gulf oil spill.


Photo by Dominic Sherony

Canada's Birds Feel the Impact of BP Oil Spill - Profile #2

This profile is the second in a series highlighting some of Canada's migratory species that may be affected by the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Roseate Tern (Endangered)

The Roseate Tern is similar in appearance to several other species of tern, with its black cap and long forked tail, but has a distinctive chi-vik or ki-rik call. This species feeds by plunge-diving, dropping into the water from heights of up to 12 metres to catch small fish.

These terns pass through the Gulf of Mexico, heading north in April to breeding sites in Nova Scotia and coastal New England, and south in September to wintering grounds in South America. If oil remains on the water when their fall migration begins, the birds are at risk of becoming oiled and ingesting oil as they try to feed. Even if the surface effects of the spill have been cleaned up, they may still be at risk from eating contaminated fish.

Read more of Nature Canada's commentary on the Gulf oil spill.

Good news from the Gulf - Endangered turtle species gets helping hand!

Have you heard about the sea turtle rescue efforts being coordinated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, the U.S. National Park Service, NOAA, the Sea Turtle Conservancy and other conservationists, and even NASA, along the U.S. northern Gulf of Mexico coast?

An expected 700 sea turtle nests that were laid along the north Gulf coast (particularly in Florida & Alabama) are being excavated and moved into a climate-controlled NASA facility in Cape Canaveral until they hatch. FedEx carried the special cargo to the facility.

I'm very happy to pass along news that the program has had its first success! Baby Kemp's Ridley sea turtles have successfully hatched and been released into the Atlantic off of Florida’s east coast at Cape Canaveral. The Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle, an endangered species in the United States, is one of three sea turtle species known to migrate into Canadian waters (on the east coast) during the summer and early fall months.

You can track the migrations of many sea turtles and other species at SeaTurtle.org.

Who’d have thought that the multi-billion dollar space program would ever benefit endangered species so directly?

Image credits: NASA, Kennedy Space Center (Photos were shot with a red filter to protect the newborn turtles)

Canada's Birds Feel the Impact of BP Oil Spill - Profile #1

The BP oil spill began during spring migration season for many birds that breed in Canada during the summer, and with oil continuing to spill into the Gulf, the coming fall migration seems poised to be a dangerous time for Canada's migratory birds. This weekly series of profiles will highlights some of the species most likely to be in harm's way.

Piping Plover (Endangered)

In Canada, this small, sandy-coloured shorebird breeds on open sandy beaches of lakeshores, river sandbars, ocean coasts, and alkali flats in scattered locations on the Atlantic coast, on the Great Lakes and in the prairies. Its plumage would seem to blend right in, if not for the bright orange legs. They often walk or run along the sand, rather than flying, to take advantage of this camouflage. Piping Plovers feed on marine worms or small crustaceans by a series of rapid steps and pecks on the sand.

Piping Plovers spend their winters mainly on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States, Mexico and Cuba, particularly on beaches, mudflats, sandflats, bays, lagoons and inlets. Their spring migration peaks during mid-April; while many individuals would have already left the Gulf when the leak at Deepwater Horizon began, some may have been caught in the spill.

Although the fall migration peaks in August and September, plovers can begin to leave their breeding grounds as early as June or July if nest conditions have been unfavourable. These birds are heading straight to a region where their habitat and food sources may have been compromised and are still at risk from oil contamination.




Read more of Nature Canada's commentary on the Gulf oil spill.

The Gulf Oil Spill is a Disaster that Can't be Repeated

On April 20, the world awoke to a developing tragedy triggered by an explosion on BP's Deepwater Horizon oil drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico. Recent estimates put the total amount of the spill between 160 million and 320 million litres so far, more than four times the amount of the Exxon Valdez spill. We still don't know when the flow of oil into the Gulf will stop.

Oil has already reached a dozen Important Bird Areas (IBAs) in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. The oil has damaged coastal grasses and sea grass beds that are vital nursery grounds for fish and shrimp and provide habitat for numerous other animals and plants. The loss of these critical sources of food could have devastating consequences for many bird species that depend on the Gulf coast region.

You can get up to date information on the oil spill's path on the National Audubon Society's website, as well as first-hand accounts of clean-up efforts underway.

In just a few short weeks, the first migratory birds will begin their journey south from Canada to their wintering grounds in South and Central America. Many of them rely on the impacted region to gather and feed during their journey.

As birds arrive in the disaster zone, the oil spill will affect them in a number of ways:

• An inability to fly due to oiled feathers
• Hypothermia induced by oil on their feathers
• Poisoning from ingesting oil while preening
• Poisoning from eating other contaminated wildlife
• Disturbances during rescue efforts

It will be months, if not years, before the full impacts of this oil spill are known. In some cases, we may never know the extent of the effects on particular species.

What lessons can Canada learn from this disaster?

The tragedy unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico is a reminder that offshore oil drilling is never safe for the environment or for the communities along our coasts. Oil in the water is dangerous for fisheries, wildlife and ecosystems no matter where it happens.

Perhaps the greatest danger lies in drilling in the Arctic region. A spill in the Arctic would have devastating consequences for the region's fragile wildlife and ecosystems, and no technology exists that could clean up a spill in so inhospitable an area. The techniques deployed in the Gulf – even there not nearly successful – would be useless in the Arctic.

Just weeks before the Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster, BP was actively lobbying the Canadian government to ease some of the planned rules for Arctic Ocean oil and gas exploration, and had already acquired three offshore exploration licenses for the Canadian Beaufort Sea.

Unlike the United States, Norway and Britain, Canada lacks a regulatory process governing whether or where oil and gas development can happen in the Arctic. Licenses are granted, and contracts signed with oil and gas companies before any environmental assessment takes place. The result: exploratory licenses exist in environmentally sensitive areas like the Beaufort Sea, where a blowout would have immediate negative effects on the delicate ecosystems there.

The disaster in the Gulf is a wake-up call. It is time to place a moratorium on new offshore drilling, including the Arctic, and to end our reliance on dirty, polluting fossil fuels in favour of responsible development of clean, renewable energy.

In the near term, no new exploratory licenses should be granted and no applications approved until the National Energy Board completes its review of Arctic safety and environmental offshore drilling requirements. A moratorium should also be in place until an independent commissioner is appointed to hold a review of offshore drilling on all of Canada's coasts.

And of course, a permanent ban should be in place prohibiting any oil and gas drilling inside a recognized protected area, and that prohibits any future exploration licenses from being granted within protected areas.

What has happened in Gulf is truly tragic; the Canadian government and industry should do all it can to put the environment and worker safety first so that a similar disaster doesn't happen off Canada's shores.

Wind Farm on Wolf Island is killing large numbers of birds and bats

Stantec Consulting Inc. has just released a very important study on post construction impact of a wind farm with 86 2.3 megawatt wind turbines on Wolf Island near Kingston, Ontario on birds and bats. The data on which the assessment was made was collected between July 1 and December 31, 2009, or the "reporting period."

In short, the result of the monitoring reveals shockingly high numbers of fatalities of both birds and bats. Here are the facts stated in the report: over 600 birds were killed, equivalent to 6.99 birds per turbine for the "reporting period", and 1278 bats, or 14.7 per turbine. The reporting period was six months and did not include the massive pulse of birds in the spring migration or wintering raptors. The casualties included 8 Bobolinks, 28 Tree Swallows, 7 Purple Martins, 3 Red-tailed Hawks, 6 Turkey Vultures, 2 American Kestrels and a Merlin, among other species. Bat fatalities included 54 Hoary Bats, 44 Eastern Red Bats and 36 Silver-haired Bats. It is interesting and very troubling to note the selective impact these turbines are inflicting on certain groups of animals, such as the aerial insectivorous birds like swallows and martins which are in serious population declines, raptors, and migratory bats.

The Stantec report converted the fatality rate into birds or bats per megawatt per reporting period, rather than the more standard birds or bats than per turbine per year as is traditionally used. This reporting technique, that I would call spin, diminishes the shockingly high impact of these structures. As turbines get bigger and more efficient at generating energy, our tolerance for their impact increases, according to this flawed logic.

Many proponents of wind power, including CANWEA, quote studies that cite two birds per turbine per year as the impact of turbines. Indeed it was birds and bats per turbine per year that was the standard metric used for reporting impact. If we see through the spin of the report in using birds/bats per megawatt per "reporting period", there is no denying the impact of this project is too high and beyond tolerance.

In the meantime, Prince Edward County, including the globally significant Prince Edward County South Shore Important Bird Area, Amherst Island, Wolf Island (both Important Bird Areas), offshore locations near the Duck Islands, and many areas along Lake Erie and elsewhere in the Country have either existing or proposed wind farms. We hope that this report, and the stir it will cause, will wake up those agencies charged with protecting our wildlife to put brakes on the chaotic expansion of wind farms into places that they clearly should avoid. Wind energy is a good idea. Let's "keep good ideas in good places." In the wrong places - Important Bird Areas and migration corridors for example - wind energy is a bad idea and our wildlife, which does not have a voice, continues to pay the price for our lack of foresight and greed. I fear that the Stantec report will be the first of many that will chronicle this sad legacy that we are creating.

Photo credit:
Merlin by Marty Burke

Forests of Hope – Sustaining Livelihoods and Canadian Birds

In February, I travelled to Central America to join a team of coffee specialists from Tim Hortons to learn about their efforts to improve the livelihoods of communities growing shade coffee in Guatemala's mountainous El Trifinio region (also a protected national park and globally Important Bird Area).

I was keen to see how this iconic Canadian company was contributing to the conservation of the area's forests – vital for Canadian wintering birds - after learning from Canadian Wildlife Service scientists that as many as 50% of Canadian migratory birds, many of which migrate to Central America, were suffering significant declines in their populations. The reasons for this decline are reported to be varied, but one major factor is the loss of suitable habitat in both their wintering and breeding grounds.

Noting this decline in Canadian birds, and that studies show that many of these same birds have a preference for shade grown coffee plantations, I embarked on a three-day sojourn to the region that took us from Esqipulus in Guatemala, through to Ocotepeque in Honduras and then across the cordillera to San Salvador in El Salvador.

My hopes were to see migratory birds in the coffee growing regions and discuss ways in which Nature Canada could partner with Tim Hortons and local groups to support ongoing efforts to conserve the region's forests and their wildlife (namely birds).

Whilst in Guatemala, we joined a multi-disciplinary team of technicians from the El Trifinio project that is promoting the sustainable development and conservation of the forested highlands that is the source for at least two major rivers – the Rios Lempa and Higuito. The forests of this region are the primary source of water for both rivers, and therefore the main impetus that brought together these three countries for conservation on this tri-national border area.

Using 4X4s, we travelled to remote backcountry communities where we experienced the entire coffee growing process, including the establishment of nurseries; the planting of young trees; the collection, milling and roasting of Arabica coffee beans; and finally the testing (or "cupping" as it is called).

Tim Hortons' support is targeted to promote more sustainable coffee production processes. This includes coffee plantation production techniques that aim to improve the quality of the coffee bean, and environmental practices such as tree planting, fertilization management and water treatment. In parallel, their support is also reaching the youth and families of farmers through social programs including new housing and better access to education.

It is estimated that as much as 90-95% of the coffee grown in this region is considered shade grown.

In one of these small coffee plantations, hundreds of Wilson's Warblers, a species that commonly breeds across Canada's boreal forest, were found foraging in the shade of flowering coffee trees. They were joined by Black-throated Green Warblers, a species more common in the deciduous woods of eastern and central Canada, and the dusky Hammond's Flycatcher, a species normally found in the forests of western Canada. As is typical in the tropics, these birds move in mixed flocks with resident species like the exotic café colored Oropendulas.

The challenges of working in this region are many – the average wage is estimated at less than three dollars a day. Nutrition, education and health are priority issues of many of the farmers as they work to sustain their livelihood and their families.

Tim Hortons has clearly taken a balanced approach to coffee production by providing the much-needed technical support (through the Hanns R. Neumann Stiftung) to improve coffee production whilst also tending to the social and environmental needs of the local communities who are the basis for coffee production throughout the region.

Indirectly, the promotion of shade grown coffee is ensuring that forests in the area are valued and conserved, thus providing habitat for Canadian birds that Nature Canada is striving to conserve throughout their ranges. We look forward to building strategic relationships with communities and companies to promote the conservation of forests in Latin America through coffee production that is "forest and people friendly."

Photos: The Tim Hortons coffee specialists; coffee beans; Wilson's Warbler by prairiedog (back home) on flickr; a local community

Wind energy assault poised for major bird flyway in Southern Ontario.

On Saturday March 27, in Leamington, Kingsville and Harrow, Ontario, Southpoint Inc, a wind energy company based out of Leamington, is holding public meetings on its proposal to build over 700 offshore wind turbines between Rondeau Provincial Park and Holiday Beach Important Bird area on Lake Erie, and off the southern shore of Lake St Clair.

These developments are within, or proximate to, a cluster of globally significant Important Bird Areas (IBAs) including world famous Point Pelee IBA, Greater Rondeau IBA, Holiday Beach/Big Creek IBA, Pelee Island Archipeligo, and Eastern Lake St. Clair IBA. This area is a rare a point of convergence of the Atlantic and Mississipi flyways, the major bird highways followed by hundreds of millions of birds flying north into central and northern Canada in the spring and south after the breeding season in the fall, in some cases as far away as Tierra del Fuego.

In other words, the area where the wind turbine density will be highest is perhaps the most significant migratory pathway in inland North America. Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair are also prone to severe weather and fog, which are conditions that are known to amplify the potential for migrating birds to collide with structures like wind turbines.

In addition to these concerns for birds, local residents, including officials from all levels of government, are opposing this proposal over fears of contamination of drinking water from the turbine installations. Construction activity will disturb the bottom sediments of the lakes which contain extremely high levels of toxins and known carcinogens from heavy industries upstream.

Due to the nature of the Ontario Government’s Green Energy Act, the door is wide open to encourage green energy. While this piece of legislation is certainly laudable, it can do as much damage as good if not applied thoughtfully and with care to protect biodiversity and cultural values like clean water.

We believe that in fairness to the wind industry, wind industry companies should not be wasting their resources on proposals and undertaking justification studies in areas where clearly the projects would undermine biodiversity and cultural values. Clearly, the Southpoint proposal would do this as it is currently framed. The Province needs clear policy on where wind energy is to be encouraged and where it must be excluded.

Concerning off-shore turbines in the Great Lakes, it must also be remembered that the Great Lakes are a shared resource with the United States of America. Several states border the Great Lakes and share the waters. Michigan already has guidelines with regard to offshore wind installations that, if applied in Ontario, would render the Southpoint project entirely unfeasible.

We cannot have a pell-mell approach to industrializing this common resource with one jurisdiction upholding high protection standards and another lacking in standards. The International Joint Commission was established for this exact reason, yet proposals like Southpoint’s are forging ahead and the provincial government appears to be averting its gaze from international obligations.

We encourage those living within range of these meetings to attend and express opposition to the proposals.

We implore Southpoint to withdraw its 1400 megawatt wind project from Lake Erie and Lake St Clair.

We encourage the Government of Ontario to re-establish a moratorium on offshore turbines until a clear policy that protects biodiversity and cultural values from industrial wind farms and other “green energy” initiatives is adopted.

Finally, we urge the province of Ontario and the Federal government to thoroughly consider the consequences of offshore wind installations in the Great Lakes within the context of its international obligations and expectations through treaties, conventions and the International Joint Commission.

Canada's Birds In Panama

Western Sandpipers breed across western Canada’s Arctic and have for millennia migrated along flyways from Alaska down through the US, then along the coast of northwestern Mexico and on to Panama.

Panama Bay, on the southern Pacific side of Panama, lies at the heart of a network of vital wetland habitats upon which depend millions of Western Sandpipers during our boreal winter months. Remove one of these sites and you potentially risk the entire population.

Efforts over the last decade have brought international attention to the site and organizations like Panama Audubon Society (BirdLife in Panama) have been working to redress the complex issues affecting the Bay, which lies in the shadows of Panama City’s fast-growing skyscrapers, giant structures that are now a wall-to-wall feature of the shoreline.

Nature Canada has accompanied Panama Audubon Society on this journey and secured funds through the Canadian International Development Agency to work with local communities living on the eastern edge of the bay to better engage in local conservation action. While the communities understood the benefits of the mangrove forests, it was clear that the major source of environmental degradation was not the local communities but uncontrolled urban sprawl - both outwards and upwards!

Earlier this month, I participated in a meeting of like-minded organizations seeking to support the conservation of these critical staging sites for shorebirds throughout the Americas. This initiative, called the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network, was founded in 1985 to bring together knowledge and resources for securing a network of sites upon which depend the lives of many shorebirds (and in some cases, whole populations of an individual species). Nature Canada joined representatives from 11 nations with an interest to share in the conservation of these highly mobile species. In recognition of our commitment to shorebird conservation combined with our collaboration with other BirdLife partners in Latin America and the Caribbean, I have been invited to chair this international network.

Our meeting in Panama helped draw attention to the plight of Panama Bay to local decision makers. As Nature Canada becomes more involved in site-based conservation, it is moving to adopt a range-wide approach to its conservation efforts, recognizing that we must, where possible, engage in the conservation of our breeding birds beyond our borders to include actions that span the entire flyways of our shared birds. It is our plan to do this through a very active and engaged network of BirdLife International partners.

Photo Credits – Diego Luna (Top Photo - Panama Bay, Bottom Photo - Dowitchers)