Your Guide to Fun Summer Activities at Canada’s National Parks and Historic Sites

10 Things to Do in a Day

With summer holidays right around the corner, it’s time to start thinking about how you can make the most of those long, hot summer days.

Here’s an idea: plan a trip to one of Canada’s 200 national parks, national historic sites and national marine conservation areas. Plus, if you have a Grade 8 student in your life they can flash their My Parks Pass for an instant family or group discount.

Whether you need a pit-stop where you can cool off, take a swim and have lunch, or you have always dreamed of a family vacation where you can tune into nature or immerse yourself in our nation’s history, there’s an adventure waiting for you at Parks Canada’s network of natural and historic areas.

1. Grab a bite – With benches, washroom facilities and food concession stands, national parks and historic sites can be great places to stop for a snack and some fresh air. Walk along a trail and find a quieter, shaded area for a perfect afternoon picnic.


2. Hike a trail – You don’t need to be an ambitious hiker to enjoy the trails at most national parks. Take a walk along the coast, hike to a viewpoint, or find an interpretive trail where you’ll learn more about the people and animals that call this park home. Heading through Banff this summer? Make a stop at the new Rocky Mountain Legacy Trail and experience Canada's oldest national park the way the first visitors did – on foot!

La Mauricie National Park

3. Get out on the water – A relaxing and peaceful way to explore the rivers, lakes and coasts of Canada’s national parks is by boat. Canoeing, kayaking and rowboating are the best ways to enjoy the lakes at La Mauricie National Park. You can glide quietly, closely observing the natural world on and around the water.

4. Get snap-happy – You never know when the perfect photo opportunity will come along when you’re exploring national parks. Teeming with wildlife and spectacular vistas, national parks are a great place for amateur and professional photographers alike to capture iconic species and landmarks on film. The unique landscape of Waterton Lakes National Park, where the prairies meet the mountains, is home to many deer, elk and black bears. Grab your camera and start snapping!

Waterton Lakes National Park

5. Bring home a souvenir – Don’t know what to get your friend for their birthday? Souvenir stores at national parks and historic sites sell one-of-a-kind pieces of Canadiana that make great presents.

6. Enjoy a performance – During the summer, you can watch re-enactments of famous battles, military drills and everyday Victorian life at many national historic sites. If you’re visiting Montreal, why not discover Old Montreal's little known heritage jewel the Sir George-Étienne Cartier National Historic Site in honour of our famous Father of Confederation?

Sir George-Étienne Cartier National Historic Site

7. Take a step back in time – Ever wonder what life was really like just a few hundred years ago? Step right into 19th century life by dressing up in period costumes, becoming a Mountie for a day and sampling heritage recipes at places like Fort Walsh.

8. Get to know our feathered friends – Try to identify as many birds species as you can as you stroll along a trail or drive through a national park. At the southernmost point in Canada, Point Pelee National Park is also one of the most spectacular nature hotspots in North America. New to birding? Check out our beginners guide to bird watching.

Fathom Five National Marine Park

9. Explore an underwater world – Discover a world of vibrant marine life at Canada’s four national marine conservation areas. . Check for sea stars in tidal pools. Spy whales off the coast. And don’t forget to look up – you don’t want to miss seabirds flying to their nesting colonies. Want to take an even closer look? Explore shipwrecks as you snorkel or take the glass bottom boat at Fathom Five National Marine Park.

10. Tour the past – Let Parks Canada interpreters guide you through key moments of Canada’s history. Their wealth of knowledge brings the stories to life as you walk in the footsteps of some of our most famous Canadians. If you’re in the Maritimes this summer, don’t miss the Halifax Citadel – this attraction is so popular that it was voted the top wonder of Halifax!
Got More Time?

If you plan on staying for more than just one day, there are plenty of activities that will bring you closer to nature. Extend your day-hike to a multi-day hike, add an overnight stay at a campground, or spend another day practicing your surfing skills.

This year, with Parks Canada celebrating its 100th birthday, there are even more opportunities to build your adventure in our national parks and historic sites. Get the inside scoop on upcoming special events and learning opportunities throughout the summer – each month has an exciting theme that celebrates Parks Canada’s past and future.

Remember: if you have a My Parks Pass, use it all summer long for great discounts on entrance fees to all of Parks Canada’s locations. Know the past. Enjoy the present. Protect the future.

Injured Baby Birds: Debunking Common Myths, Dispensing Practical Advice

Black and White Warbler

In her third guest blog post, Helene Van Doninck, wildlife veterinarian at the Cobequid Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre in Truro, Nova Scotia, deconstructs common myths about injured baby birds and shares her tips on what you can do if you come across a nestling or fledgling in distress. 
 
Spring has finally arrived in Canada and with it comes the busiest season of all for wildlife rehabilitators. It’s baby bird season! We all start to stock up on supplies and prepare for an exponential growth in phone calls. The first priority is to help injured, sick or orphaned wildlife; however, we often spend a considerable amount of time talking to people to help us decide if an animal is really orphaned or in distress. Many times people just aren’t familiar with the natural history of that species and many situations that look like an animal in peril, really are just  an animal exhibiting normal behaviour.

Myth #1: Baby birds found outside the nest have been orphaned

It’s not common knowledge that most baby birds (especially songbirds) spend a lot of time alone once they fledge from the nest. People often see a young bird alone and assume it is an orphan – this is usually not true. Songbirds will hatch from their egg in a nest and are called nestlings at this point. When they make that first leap out of the nest (and are now called fledglings), they often either fall or flutter to the ground and spend several days on the ground under the watchful eye of the parents.

The parents likely have up to five or six fledglings that have left the nest over a period of a few days. Both parents are working at top speed to find food from dawn till dusk.  They not only have to feed these young birds (one bug at a time!), but they  need to keep track of where the babies are (they are often guided in by the calls of their babies) before racing off to find the next morsel of food. They also protect them from predators,  try to lead them to areas where there is cover, and eventually teach them to forage and fly on their own.

These behaviours are often learned by observing the parent, though flight is instinctual for most birds. Young birds are at a high risk of predation. Other  wild birds and mammals can prey on them, and in most parts of the world, the domestic cat is also the cause of millions of songbird deaths. We regularly ask people to keep cats as indoor pets, or at the very least limit their outdoor time during baby season.

There are some types of birds that will spend most of their time with the parents, again due to their natural history. Birds like ducks, geese, and pheasants keep their young with them and many people have observed these species with the hatchlings following in a tight cluster. These species don’t manually feed their young; instead the young observe the foraging and pecking behaviour of the parents and learn to feed themselves in this manner. For this reason, anytime a down-covered young of any of these species is found alone it requires intervention, especially if it is calling loudly with no response from a parent.

Myth #2: Baby birds handled by humans are rejected by their parents

A common myth we hear is that if a young bird is touched and has human scent on it, the parents will reject it. This is untrue as birds have an extremely poor sense of smell (though we don’t recommend handling wild birds unless it is absolutely necessary). We have successfully returned young birds back to their parents up to 4 days after they were taken. However, keep in mind that parents may abandon a nest that is repeatedly disturbed so try to avoid this, especially when the young are very new. At this age they require high volumes of food and warmth and the parents need to be very vigilant to ward off predators. Excessive disturbance by curious humans may disturb normal activities, resulting in the loss of the nest.

Video: Young Osprey at the CWRC waits to be fed

What can you do if you find a baby bird?

First, you need to determine if it is a baby bird. If it has no feathers or very few feathers, that makes it more obvious. Fledglings however are usually mostly feathered but have some obvious differences in comparison to adults:

1- Fledglings have wispy or fluffy down feathers poking through the regular feathers, which are most commonly seen on the head.

Red-eyed Vireo Fledgling. Down feathers on head and short/absent tail feathers

2 - They have shorter tail feathers and often have gape flanges which look like large yellow/beige/orange “lips” protruding from the sides of the beak.

European Starling Fledgling. Yellow gape flanges on mouth and VERY obvious down on the head

3- They may also have only feather shafts, which look like a drinking straw with a feather growing from it, where one would expect to see flight or tail feathers.

Sparrow Fledgling. Pin feathers/feather shafts on wings and around eyes, down feathers on the head, and the remnants of yellow gape flanges on the beak, and short/absent tail feathers

Naked nestlings found on the ground from a destroyed nest always need help. The best option is to re-nest the birds if possible. If that can’t happen, an artificial nest can be constructed from  a hanging plant basket or other basket, making sure there are drainage holes in the bottom. The best placement for this basket is as near as possible to the original nest and hopefully shielded somewhat from direct sunlight and rain. You can then back away and watch from a distance with binoculars.

Once the nestlings are hungry and call, the parents will usually feed them in an artificial nest. They may be suspicious at first, but instinct often overrides that and the parents should accept this situation. If not, please contact a wildlife rehabilitator or your wildlife officials for more advice as these birds may need to be taken into care. We ALWAYS try to reunite the parents and young as the parents are much better at raising the offspring than any human.

Fledglings by definition have left the nest. Sometimes well-meaning people who have been monitoring a nest will put them back, only to have them jump out again. This is normal! If you are unsure if a fledgling has parents tending to it, the best option is to watch from a distance with binoculars. The parents will stay away if you stand too close. If all is well you will likely see a parent bird land next to the fledgling, poke a piece of food into its mouth and take off again to find more food.

If you are unsure about this, another thing you can do is check for feces. Young birds will poop frequently when they are being fed regularly. If the parent is tending to them they usually produce poop after every feeding, often every 20 minutes to one hour. You can even place a shallow lid under the bird to look for this. If the parent bird is not showing up and the fledgling is calling repeatedly for hours with no response, this may be an orphan and you should call a rehabilitator.

There are several other situations that warrant rescue of a bird, including obvious blood or injury, being  handled by a dog or cat and knowing for certain that the bird is an orphan. Keep in mind however, that most young birds on the ground are normal fledglings with parents. If you find one in a perilous situation, you can try to coax it to an area with cover or put it on a low branch, realizing that it may jump down again immediately.

People often ask us what they can do to help baby birds. Reasons for songbird population declines are complex, but from our perspective we have three key pieces of advice:

1- Preserve habitat: leave brush piles for cover and preserve large trees and snags for cavity nesters
2- Do not use pesticides – birds need insects to feed their young
3- Keep your cats indoors.

These steps will lead to more young surviving the fledgling stage which will lead to more breeding adults for the future.

Watch more videos of baby birds under the care of the Cobequid Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre.

Check out the CWRC's "Baby Birds" album for more great photos of fledglings!

Creating a New Nature Reserve: Malcolm Bluff Shores

Last week, Nature Canada joined Ontario Nature to celebrate the purchase of an important piece of forested land on the coast of Ontario's Bruce Peninsula. Ian Davidson, Nature Canada's executive director, and Mara Kerry, Nature Canada's director of conservation, traveled to Wiarton, Ontario for the celebration.

Thanks to the generosity of Hugo Germeraad, a nature advocate, naturalist and long-time member of Nature Canada, a stunning stretch of Bruce Peninsula is now protected forever. This was made possible when Hugo Germeraad bequeathed a gift in his Will for the acquisition of a nature reserve.

Located some 40 kilometres north of Owen Sound, amidst one of the largest unprotected expanses of woodland on the Niagara Escarpment, this biodiversity hotspot includes Georgian Bay shoreline, wetlands, woodlands, uplands, escarpment and cliff face. A 4-kilometer section of the Bruce Trail crosses along the top of the property’s terraced bluffs, and the views are breathtaking. Nature Canada has allocated the funds to our sister organization Ontario Nature to purchase a 233-hectare parcel – the largest of three spectacular adjoining properties that together constitute the Malcolm Bluff Shores Nature Reserve.

“This very generous bequest from Hugo Germeraad will help permanently secure habitat of exceptional importance for Canadian biodiversity, including part of a major flyway for migratory songbirds and raptors heading to and from their northern breeding grounds,” says Nature Canada Executive Director Ian Davidson. “Species at risk who live on this land, including the Eastern Ribbon Snake and the Peregrine Falcon, will be protected. We are deeply grateful to the family for their thoughtful gift to nature.”

Hugo Germeraad is remembered by his family as a man “completely in harmony with nature.” Local wild birds would eat right out of his hand. He provided nesting places for migratory song birds, birds of prey – and he was an avid birdwatcher, involved with many local naturalist clubs and a member of Nature Canada since the 1970s.

Double-hulled Tankers Won't Protect Northern BC Coast From Oil Spills

Enbridge's Northern Gateway Pipeline Project proposes to take tar sands oil from Alberta to the northern BC port of Kitimat for export to Pacific markets. Enbridge believes petroleum products can be moved safely through the northern BC coast, in part thanks to "modern and double-hulled" tankers.

In a report released last week, Living Oceans Society takes a close look at the limitations of double-hulled tankers and concludes they're not the panacea they're touted to be.

The risk of an oil spill in the northern BC coast is one of the main objections to this project. A spill could cause irreversible harm to the livelihoods of many coastal and aboriginal communities, the area's unique marine ecosystems, the Great Bear Rainforest and 28 Important Bird Areas.

A Joint Review Panel has been established to review the environmental assessment of the project, but a date for the hearings is yet to be announced. Nature Canada plans to participate in the review, together with BC Nature. However, opposition to the project is building and a proposed legislated ban on tankers in the area could put an end to this threat. Watch spOIL for a glimpse of the wilderness at risk.

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

Connect with Nature: Take a Winter Wildlife Walk

Johnston Canyon Nature Walk
Photo by Sangudo via Flickr

Gifts have been unwrapped. Holiday meals have been eaten. The spirit of the season has been shared with friends and family. What better way to relax after the festivities and reconnect with nature than with a winter wildlife walk?

You don't have to go far at this time of year to notice the beauty of the natural world. It can be as simple as walking through familiar areas and noticing how different they are in the winter. Wander along a favourite route and see if you can identify the trees without their leaves. Look for animal tracks in the snow, matching the prints with the creature that made them. And, of course, indulge in some winter birdwatching, noticing how active nature is even at this time of year.

This is also a great opportunity to find a new nature walk, remembering to explore it throughout the coming year as the seasons unfold to reveal its unique details.

When you're heading out, remember to bring:

• Warm clothes and footwear - walking through a winter wonderland can get chilly, so make sure you're prepared;
• Camera - even in winter it's important to leave nature as we find it, so capture your memories with your camera;
• Binoculars - helping you to get a close-up look at some of the winter sights around you;
• Notebook and pencil - write down your observations from your walk and update your journal as the seasons change.

Enjoy your winter walk, and share your sightings with us in the comments!

Government to Ratify Amendments to Protocol on Persistent Organic Pollutants, Protecting Canadians and their Environment

In the past, we’ve blogged about the effects of persistent organohalogen contaminants (OHCs), a form of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), on Arctic wildlife - such as the weakening of kidney and liver functioning in polar bears, which decreases their ability to adapt to extreme environments like the Arctic. Yesterday, the Ministers of Environment and Foreign Affairs announced that they would be ratifying amendments to the Protocol on POPs, under the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP). The amendments will add five additional substances to the Protocol’s list of 16 susbtances, which include DDT and PCBs. All substances listed under the Protocol are either banned or restricted in their use and production.

POPs are defined by Environment Canada as:

Toxic substances released into the environment through a variety of human activities. They have adverse effects on the health of ecosystems, wildlife and people. POPs tend to concentrate in colder climates such as Canada’s North, as well as in the Great Lakes Basin and St. Lawrence River.As chemical compounds, POPs are very stable and consequently can last in the environment for years or decades. POPs are also bio-accumulative, meaning they can concentrate in living organisms and accumulate up the food chain through fish, predatory birds, mammals and humans. POPs can enter the human system through traditional foods such as beluga muktuk (skin) and seal blubber. Aboriginal peoples, who rely heavily on such country foods, are particularly affected. Some POPs can be passed on from mother to child across the placenta, or through breast milk.POPs can travel great distances around the globe through the atmosphere. Touching down on oceans and freshwater bodies, they then evaporate into the atmosphere once again, and travel further to touch down in another spot until they ultimately gather in the colder climates. This is known as the grasshopper effect.

Additionally, the government has agreed to changes in the Protocol’s annex aimed at facilitating compliance. Canada’s Environmental Protection Act is the main piece of legislation that deals with POPs. Other legislation includes the Pest Control Products Act, the Fisheries Act and the Hazardous Products Act.

Get youth involved with nature through Youth Conservation Stamp

Image Courtesy of Wildlife Habitat Canada

Wildlife Habitat Canada (WHC) has issued the first ever Youth Wildlife Habitat Conservation Stamp to promote nature stewardship among youth. This self-adhesive commemorative stamp sized sticker, as opposed to a postage stamp, can be displayed on various surfaces such as iPods, computers, binders, or bookmarks to make a highly visual public statement of support for wildlife and biodiversity conservation in Canada.

Proceeds from the sale of the stamp, which retails for $5 will go towards establishing a grant dedicated to youth-driven wildlife conservation projects. Projects eligible for funding include cleaning up vacant lots or schoolyards, planting native vegetation and tree planting.

The 2010 Youth Conservation Stamp depicts the pastel artwork of 14-year-old British Columbia resident Ivy Liu, a winner of the Robert Bateman Get to Know contest. The stamp portrays a Black Bear (Ursus americanus) and a Kermode Bear (Ursus americanus kermodei), also referred to as the "Spirit Bear."

Here are the young artist's thoughts on her art piece entitled The Beauty of Nature:

The moment I heard about the Get to Know program, I was more than excited. At first I had many ideas in mind, but after some research, the spirit bear and the black bear really stood out to me. The inspiration really came from an interesting fact about these bears. It really got me interested when I learned that the spirit bear is actually a black bear that has white fur due to a rare genetic trait. This is when I decided to paint the spirit bear and the black bear to show not only diversity among species but also diversity within species. When I was creating this piece of art, I imagined an environment that was harmless to the bears, a place where these animals can live in harmony; this is why bright yellow was added, to show warmth and protection. Other than painting I also enjoy traveling with my family, as well as exploring nature. In the future I hope to help conserve wildlife habitat even more. --Ivy Liu

The Robert Bateman Get to Know Contest is a nationwide competition that encourages young people to submit artwork, photography and written work to celebrate the natural world. The Contest is sponsored by Nature Canada (premier sponsor), Wildlife Habitat Canada and Parks Canada. Since the Contest was launched in 2000 to inspire Canadian youth to get outdoors and connect with nature, it has grown into Canada's largest nature arts contest for youth.

The purchase and promotion of the Canadian Youth Wildlife Habitat Conservation Stamp not only helps youth get connected with nature and fully understand and appreciate its beauty and benefits, but it also helps to ensure that this exquisite resource is preserved for generations to come. You can purchase the stamp from Wildlife Habitat Canada by visiting their website.

Can new iphone app increase our connection to the natural world?

A new mobile app for sharing nature photos is turning random plant and animal sightings into a fast-growing citizen science project. Networked Organisms and Habitats and their nature-focused application, Project Noah, is used to explore and document local wildlife, in backyards, city parks and other places, and it has already attracted both the casual naturalist and the professional ecologist.

I know how it sounds. Electronic media consumption is supposed to spread nature deficit disorder among our young, not increase our appreciation for nature and wild things, right? But with technology like this, it’s often how it’s applied that really matters. And Project Noah could have the capacity to bridge the gap between professional researchers and amateur wildlife enthusiasts.

So exactly how does Project Noah work? It’s simple. You just get outside, take pictures of wildlife, tag it with your own words, and then submit it directly to the Project Noah database. Once uploaded to the site, the data becomes a valuable tool for scientists to track migrating species, or document wildlife declines.

Most programs that utilize citizen science generally only work when those citizen scientists are borderline expert in the subject. There is always the issue of quality versus quantity; experts provide quality but amateurs bring quantity. Project Noah is trying to make the application very simple without taking away from the accuracy or quality of the data.

"You can readily make the required professional rigor so large that it's a buzz kill for the amateur or make it so loosey-goosey in order to maximize participation that the resulting data isn't regarded as proof or evidence of anything," said Project NOAH adviser Clay Shirky, an author who teaches at New York University's Interactive Telecommunications Program.

So far the app is hosting a mushroom-mapping project in New York City, the Lost Ladybug mission at Cornell University and the Project Squirrel a joint partnership between the University of Illinois-Chicago and the Chicago Academy of Sciences' Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum.

Urban ecologist Steve Sullivan, who runs Project Squirrel indicated that “Project Noah supplies precise locality data that otherwise would be impossible to obtain. I now get about 70 squirrel observations a week from Project Noah, with a 90 percent accuracy rate for identifications.”

To date Project Noah’s repository of field sightings includes upwards of 5,000 wildlife sightings of flora and fauna from around the world and is growing day by day.

What's at stake if Enbridge Builds its Northern Gateway Pipeline Project?

We've reported here on several occasions about our concerns regarding Enbridge's plans to build a pipeline to transport tar sands oil to tankers in the Port of Kitimat, BC.

It is hard to imagine what is at stake if this project is built and oil tankers are allowed to flood the Northern BC coast to the Great Bear Rainforest.

Now there's a short documentary that captures it all...

Watch it here, and please spread the word!

Photos by Tom Middleton

UPDATE - Version française - Your thoughts on the state of Environment Canada's protected areas?

Hello Readers! Bonjours lecteurs!

Yesterday I posted information about a survey that Nature Canada is conducting to determine naturalists' and nature enthusiasts' views on the condition/state of Environment Canada's protected areas.

To be more specific, I posted information on the English version of this survey.

Mais, veuillez noter qu'il y a aussi une version française du sondage disponible içi.

Once again, the French version of Nature Canada's survey is available here.

Thanks for your interest! Merci infiniment de votre intérêt!

Your thoughts on the state of Environment Canada's protected areas?

Hello Readers!

Have you ever visited one of Canada's National Wildlife Areas or Migratory Bird Sanctuaries?

These sites make up Environment Canada's network of protected areas and complement our national parks system and provincial/territorial protected areas networks from coast to coast, to coast. Eventually, Marine Wildlife Areas will also make up Environment Canada's network, with the Scott Islands off of northern Vancouver Island slated as the first addition in 2012.

Regardless of how you answer the above question, Nature Canada would like to know your views on National Wildlife Areas and Migratory Bird Sanctuaries. In fact, we're in the process of conducting of survey of naturalists and nature enthusiasts across Canada (and beyond) to better understand their views on the condition/state of these areas.

Simply follow this link if you'd like to participate in the survey. Time to complete the survey shouldn't exceed 25 minutes and will vary depending on your level of familiarity with Environment Canada's protected areas.

Nature Canada will use the results of this survey to inform a formal report on the state of Canada's National Wildlife Areas and Migratory Bird Sanctuaries (to be completed this fall). The report will build on previous work we've done on this theme, including Conserving Wildlife on a Shoestring Budget (2002) and Wildlife In Crisis (2004).

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about the survey and/or Nature Canada's protected areas program.

Photo 1 - A. Teucher, CFB Suffield National Wildlife Area

Study Shows Toxins Affect Polar Bears, Gulls, other Arctic Wildlife

A recently published report uses new data on the effects of persistent organohalogen contaminants (OHCs) on Arctic wildlife to evaluate health risks of a range of species, including polar bears, killer whales and black-backed gulls.

The study, created for the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program, looked at OHC contamination in relation to other stressors like disease, predation, climate change, food scarcity, and body condition, to see how contaminants affect species at a population level.

For the Arctic's top predator, the research findings:

have highlighted that OHCs adversely affect polar bear liver and kidney functions, immune response and endocrine system, which helps regulate growth, cognitive abilities, and body temperature. These impairments may alter the ability for bears to acclimatize and adapt to extreme Arctic environments.

When these effects are considered in combination with climate change, natural periods of fasting, cub survival rate, and female reproductive impairment, polar bear populations in East Greenland and Svalbard may be at higher risk of chronic population-level stress.

Studies of other species found similar trends. The effects of certain OHCs on great black-backed gulls from northern Norway, for example, appeared to have been aggravated when the birds were exposed to parasites, climate change, and food scarcity, among other things.

More details from this study are summarized in Environment Canada's quarterly newsletter, Wildlife and Landscape Science News, which, incidentally, I always find an interesting read.

Winning Artwork of Robert Bateman Art Contest New WHC Stamp

The painting entitled “Going Deeper “ by Bethany Harris age 18 from Calgary, Alberta will be featured on Wildlife Habitat Canada's 2011 Canadian Youth Wildlife Habitat Conservation Stamp to be sold nationally in 2011. Proceeds of the inaugural stamp’s sale will fund youth-driven wildlife conservation projects.

Bethany Harris has always been passionate about art and the environment and seeks to convey a positive and relevant message in her paintings. As a keen horse rider and photographer, her artwork reflects the diverse wildlife, landscape, and cultural heritage that surrounds her in rural Southern Alberta.

Congratulations to Bethany for her beautiful portrayal of our iconic Canadian Moose!

For a complete list of all Get to Know winners please follow this link.

How will you connect to nature this Parks Day?

Do you remember your first experience of true wilderness? The first time you really grasped the panoplies of form, function and wonder that embody E.O. Wilson's now ubiquitous term "biodiversity"?

The first time you felt a connection to nature?

The first time you heard nothing but nature's chorus all around you?

There's something very special in each of these experiences. Something sublime. Maybe a sense that you were in just the right place at just the right time, and that you experienced something truly unique. But how do you get to that place at just that time?

I was lucky during my youth and grew up with an expansive wilderness literally in my backyard. I recall experiencing new aspects of nature on a regular basis, connecting to nature, exploring nature from dawn to dusk. But mine is not everyone's experience. Despite Canada being a 'wilderness nation', most of our population resides in urban areas.

So if you're one of the roughly 27 million Canadians living in an urban area, how do you connect to nature? First, you find the right place. Second, you find the right time. Nature Canada's suggestions?

Where: Canada's national parks, national marine conservation areas or any other protected natural area in your province or territory.

When: Canada's Parks Day, Saturday July 17th, 2010.

Canada's parks and other protected areas are an ever-expanding showcase of this country's natural splendour from sea to sea to sea. And they're yours to enjoy whenever you want to connect to nature! But given where you live and the fact that parks tend to be wild, you'll probably have to travel. Ah, but road-trips are always fun - why not create a nature-themed playlist for the drive! Parks Day is our chance to celebrate parks and other protected areas every year, and it helps us remember why conserving and connecting to nature is so vital.

Canada's national parks system, as one example of a protected areas network, aims to protect a representative portion of each of 39 terrestrial natural regions across the country. The national parks system is complemented by the federal marine protected areas strategy, which aims to protect a portion of each of 29 marine natural regions in Canada's territorial waters. So you've got a great chance to see for yourself some representative examples¹ of Canada's wild species, their habitats and the broader land- or seascapes that support them - protected forever.

Ideally, parks and other protected areas should be large enough to protect a full suite of ecosystem processes, such as water and nutrient cycling. Areas should be well-connected across land- and seascapes, encompassing multiple ecosystem types and adequate habitat for populations of wide-ranging species - especially those requiring several ecosystem types throughout their life cycles. A recent report by the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society looks at how well Canada's existing protected areas meet these and other conservation objectives.

In addition to protecting wildlife and ecosystem processes, parks and other protected areas provide good baselines against which scientists can assess the impacts of human activities and other disturbances on non-protected landscapes over time. In fact, my own M.Sc. (Biology) research used this approach.

I've had some of my most memorable natural experiences in Canada's parks and protected areas: witnessing Common Loons and Red-breasted Mergansers drift silently across the lakes of Kejimkujik National Park & National Historic Site in Nova Scotia; standing mere feet away from an adult bull moose in Ontario's Algonquin Provincial Park; observing the eerie yet peaceful silence of the Rockies in winter at Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta. I hope for more experiences like these as I continue to visit protected areas with my family over time.

What memorable natural experiences have you had in parks or other protected areas? Comment below or connect to our Nature Explorers on-line community to share your experience with others.

Don't forget that Parks Day 2010 is also a celebration of Banff National Park's 125th anniversary and the International Year of Biodiversity. Make 2010 your personal year of biodiversity. Give yourself a biodiversity challenge or take our biodiversity pledge. Why not learn ten new things about nature in your region and share what you know with ten other people? Or participate in an outdoor expedition this summer, such as a bird watching trip, to connect with nature? And why not do these things in a park or other protected area...?

Happy Parks Day 2010!
-Alex

Photo 1: La Mauricie National Park, Québec (A. MacDonald)
Photo 2: White-tailed deer, Kejimkujik National Park, Nova Scotia (A. MacDonald)
Figure 1: Map of Canada's parks and other protected areas (Data from the Atlas of Canada and the World Database on Protected Areas)


¹National Parks have been officially established in over 70% of the terrestrial natural regions to date, with new parks in the planning stages in all but 5 of the remaining regions. Progress on national marine conservation areas is improving over time, notably with the recent addition of the Gwaii Haanas National Marine Conservation Area Reserve, and we look forward to several other marine natural regions receiving official protection soon.

Say No to Commercial Whaling!

The post below was distributed by Avaaz, a global online advocay community that brings people-powered politics to global decision-making.

Nature Canada strongly supports the opposition against commercial whaling - this industry poses severe threats to biodiversity and the health of ecosystems.

------- ------- ------- ------- -------

The international vote that could legalize commercial whale hunting is just days away. Over 800,000 of us have signed the petition to protect whales, and an Avaaz team is on the ground to make sure we're heard -- let's super-charge this campaign by hitting 1 million signatures! Add your name and then forward this message:

Sign the petition!

In one week, the International Whaling Commission will hold its final vote on a proposal to legalize commercial whale hunting for the first time in a generation.

The outcome rests on whose voices are heard most clearly in the final hours: the pro-whaling lobby -- or the world's people?

More than 800,000 of us have signed the petition to protect whales -- it's time to reach 1 million! At the whale summit in Morocco, an Avaaz team is setting up billboards, front-page newspaper ads, and a giant, constantly-updating petition counter -- all to ensure that delegates, from the moment they step off the plane until they cast their votes, will see from our explosive numbers that the world will not accept legal whale slaughter. Click to sign, and forward this email to everyone:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/whales_last_push/?vl

Thanks to the worldwide outcry, many governments have already pledged to oppose the proposal. Each time the Avaaz whale petition added 100,000 signatures, it was sent again to the IWC and key governments -- some, like New Zealand, thanked all of us who had signed on.

But pressure from the other side has been relentless. Now other governments, especially in Europe and Latin America, may abstain... or even support the proposal. The vote could go either way.

Citizen pressure is our best hope. After all, it was an explosive worldwide social movement in the 1980s that led to the commercial whaling ban we're now trying to protect. As the International Whaling Commission meets in Morocco -- starting this Thursday, the 17th, with the crucial vote less than a week away -- let's make sure the world's voices are there to greet them:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/whales_last_push/?vl

After the global ban was first implemented on commercial whaling, the number of whales killed each year plummeted from 38,000 per year to just a couple of thousand. It's a testament to the power of humanity to move forward. As we move to confront the other crises of the modern age, let's cherish this legacy of progress -- by joining together now to protect our majestic and intelligent neighbors on this fragile planet.

With hope,

Ben, Ben M, Maria Paz, Ricken, Benjamin, David, Graziela, Luis, and the whole Avaaz team

P.S.: Despite the ban, Japan, Norway, and Iceland have continued whaling -- and are now pushing to make the IWC proposal as lenient as possible. Expecting permission to catch more whales than ever, Japan is reportedly planning to buy its largest whaling ship yet. Click here to sign the petition against commercial whaling!

Court Ruling Against BC Government - Protection of the Caribou

On March 19, 2010 British Columbia’s Supreme Court ruled in favor of the West Moberly First Nation’s petition against the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources and First Coal Corporation’s proposed coal mine plan that would have had significant impacts on critical habitat of the nationally endangered Burnt Pine caribou herd in northeast BC. Treaty No.8, a northern treaty signed in 1899, played a significant role in the ruling given that the Crown failed to thoroughly consult the West Moberly petitioners and also failed to accommodate their rights – especially their hunting rights. In the words of the Honourable Justice Williamson:

‘The consultation was not sufficiently meaningful, and the accommodation put in place was not reasonable.’

Chief Roland Willson, of the West Moberly Nations, expressed his gratitude towards the court’s decision saying it was able to stop both the federal and BC governments from evading their obligations to protect the caribou under Canada’s Species at Risk Act (SARA). The BC government was ordered to immediately put in place a ‘reasonable, active, program for the protection and augmentation of the Burnt Pine herd’. The lack of a satisfactory consultation for the proposed coal mine has led to a mandatory adequate consultation - except this time it is not for a coal mine but for the protection of the Burnt Pine caribou herd. They have 90 days to present this. The crown shall consult with the West Moberly people as well as ecologists and biologists from the Ministry of Environment whom are to be referred to by West Moberly.

Andrew Gage of West Coast Environmental Law said this ruling may be the cause of a series of similar events where First Nations intervene and push governments to protect species across the country.

There are currently ONLY 11 caribou left in the Burnt Pine herd. Hopefully, the new plans will make it possible to repopulate this herd.

The Reasons for Judgment can be found at the following link:

http://www.courts.gov.bc.ca/jdb-txt/SC/10/03/2010BCSC0359.htm

A must read for nature lovers: "Where the Wild Things Were" by William Stolzenburg

Have wily coyotes been frequenting a forest, field, town or neighbourhood near you recently? [Probably]

Have you heard of a fur-bearing critter called a fisher, the meso-carnivore possibly behind disappearing domestic cats in some rural areas? [Maybe]

Have you heard the haunting howl of a wolf echoing through the streets of your neighbourhood? [Almost no chance if you live in a populated area]

- o - o - o - o -

Yes, there are 'wild things' among us. And yes, a few of them are 'predators' by definition. This is nothing new, nor should it come as any surprise. What is surprising, however, is the cast of wild characters that currently populates parts of North America compared to what used to be there…

We’ve all heard accounts of the packs of wolves or solitary big cats that once roamed the wildlands of our continent. They hunted their prey in relative isolation from human populations; that is, until we encroached on almost all their habitats and forced them into increasingly smaller fragments of ‘wilderness’. Now we more commonly associate species such as lynx, red and grey wolf and eastern cougar with regional – or even national - lists of species at risk. And those wildlands? Well, they’re something we usually drive far from towns or cities to see in “nature’s museums”, aka, strictly protected areas like national parks.

William Stolzenburg, formerly a writer for The Nature Conservancy and Science News, masterfully describes the fate of North America’s former top predators in his fantastic book, "Where The Wild Things Were: Life, Death, and Ecological Wreckage in a Land of Vanishing Predators" (published by Bloomsbury). To support his narrative, Stolzenburg peers into the minds and experiences of the scientists behind some of the key findings that have arisen from the "ecological wreckage". He interweaves the seminal work of ecologists including Michael Soulé, John Terborgh, Robert T. Paine, James A. Estes, David S. Wilcove, William J. Ripple, Robert L. Beschta, and Aldo Leopold, on the pivotal roles of top predators in nature – and the ecological meltdown that’s taking place on land and in the sea in their absence.

Deftly citing research from the scientists listed above (and many others), Stolzenburg walks the reader through several studies of “trophic cascading” which, simply put, is the falling apart of a food web that occurs when there are few or no top predators to effectively regulate prey populations. Prey species may then over-browse entire ecosystems, decreasing habitat quality and the food available for other species. New predators and prey may invade these systems over time, exerting new ecological pressures on the biotic community. Soon an ecosystem or biological community that was once thriving may be diminished to one that is a ghost of its former self, inhabited by opportunistic species (think of white-tailed deer, coyotes and Barred Owls) that were historically never common – or not even present at all. One could go on…

Instead, I heartily invite you to read Stolzenburg’s book. You will not be disappointed. As a conservation biologist and a fervent enthusiast for natural areas, I found his writing incredibly refreshing and thought-provoking. Stolzenburg is by all means a very accessible writer, too. I also appreciated his keen interest in this topic, which comes through clearly in his prose. He paints a cunning picture of white-tailed deer population irruptions throughout the United States, and solidly sleuths the full story behind the importance of wolves to Yellowstone National Park's biological community.

This book now holds a special place on my shelf, next to books like Monster of God: The Man-Eating Predator in the Jungles of History and the Mind (David Quammen), One River & Shadows in the Sun (Wade Davis), Ishmael (Daniel Quinn) and Let the Mountains Talk, Let the Rivers Run (David Brower). It is truly a must-read that, unfortunately, had to be written; it shows us how blindly we persecute some wild animals without understanding their important roles in maintaining nature’s balance.

“And I can only believe, from somewhere deeper than any logic center of the brain, that a life of incomprehensible loneliness awaits a world where the wild things were, but are never again.”

– William Stolzenburg, 2008, from “Epilogue”, Where The Wild Things Were, p.218 (Bloombury USA)