Swans in the Air(waves)

Yesterday I posted photos from my weekend Frank/Namaka Lake excursion, including both Alberta species of swan (Trumpeter and Tundra).  The same day, I heard Brian Keating of the Calgary Zoo talking about swans on the radio!  It's a great little piece discussing the history of swans in Alberta, current threats to their population, and their ecology.  You can listen to the piece on the CBC website here: http://www.cbc.ca/homestretch/columnists/wildlife/2013/04/15/swans/

Tundra Swans, Cygnus columbianus, in a slough near Frank Lake

Puffins and Petrels in Peril

Three years ago we visited Newfoundland for our first family vacation with our son.  The birding and wildlife watching were highlights of the trip and among our best experiences was a tour of the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve, just half an hour south of St. John’s.  The reserve consists of four islands with large concentrations of nesting seabirds, notably Black-legged Kittiwakes, Atlantic Puffins, Common Murres, Razorbills, and other alcids.  We took a boat tour with the excellent O’Brien’s Whale and Bird Tours and before getting to the principal point of this post, here’s a sampling of what we saw that day. (All images clickable for full size)

Atlantic Puffins nesting in burrows - suitable island or sea stack habitat is critical so birds are protected from predators such as foxes or coyotes

"On the third day in Newfoundland my true love gave to me: three Atlantic Puffins, two Common Murre, and a Razorbill carrying capelin."

Not just about the birds: Humpback Whale beginning a deep dive

Black-legged Kittiwake family

Hundreds of thousands of nesting birds - here mostly Common Murre and Kittiwakes - this image definitely worth clicking to enlarge

Unfortunately, there is a potential threat to this ecological treasure in the form of a proposed new housing development near the island.  Artificial light sources can have a significant impact on the movement of wildlife at night and young birds, just leaving the nest and learning to fly, may be particularly vulnerable as they can easily become disoriented.  I came across this article on the ABA (American Birding Association) website earlier this week which details the issue and suggests potential courses of action.  If you have been to this reserve, would like to go one day, or just enjoy seabirds and are concerned about maintaining healthy populations, I encourage you to click through and make your voice heard. 

Common Sense from Calgary City Council?

As someone who has been interested in birds and birding for a long time (check under "About Me" for more), I've been thinking about starting a blog for a while.  My intention was to launch with a summer NMT (non-motorized transport) blitz of the Calgary pathway system.  However, the issue of birds, buildings and window strikes has just come up here in a big way so there's no time like the present - I need to vent and perhaps even motivate some like-minded birders to action.

The image above is of course the New York "Tribute in Light" with hundreds of birds caught in the beams.  An extreme example of a common problem: birds dying when they fly into windows after becoming disoriented by the lights and reflective surfaces of urban landscapes.

Calgary's city planning commission has just recommended that council approve guidelines to make buildings safer for birds.  You can get a basic summary of the story courtesy of the CBC here.  However, some outdated and limited local research is being used to discredit this idea.  The gist of the anti-bird safety argument will be familiar to many of you: "I don't see dead birds therefore birds aren't dying".  Of course we don't see dead birds very often anywhere for several reasons, the relevant one here being that scavengers scoop up dead bodies very efficiently.  In fact gulls have been observed patrolling around buildings with high collision rates and scooping up dead or injured birds.

The second erroneous piece of information, which I have heard communicated both in the linked editorial and in the news, is the count of 137 bird deaths annually.  This comes from an old volunteer study - useful for highlighting the risk but presenting misleading information with regards to the real hazard presented to birds by large areas of reflective glass.  The real numbers are between 100 million and 1 billion bird fatalities from windows in North America annually or, in more understandable terms from a related study, 8-11 birds per building per year.  This is well researched and documented in a number of scientific studies including this one and this one.

Of course all of this information may be old news to birders reading this post and you'll be asking yourselves what you can do to advocate for Calgary's skyline getting caught up with the rest of the world.  A supportive councillor (we call them aldermen, for now!) is Druh Farrell, who can be reached through her website.  A skeptical councillor is Gord Lowe, who can be reached through his website.  You could also contact the mayor's office directly at themayor@calgary.ca.