Kevin Shackleton, Vice President of Ontario Nature, recently visited the remote and rugged region around Fort Severn, Ontario, the most northern community in the province as a part of his Big Year. Although few trees exist in this northern boreal forest region, it’s a great place to see many waterfowl and shorebirds. It’s also adjacent [...]

Just a quick update that Pingo has in fact landed in Brazil after the long, multi-day migration beginning in Maritime Canada. There was some guessing as to whether Pingo would end up in Brazil or the neighboring French Guiana. Pingo had to navigate around Tropical Storm Isaac (better illustrated with this map from the previous update). [...]

The following is a guest post from Alan Young of the Canadian Boreal Initiative (CBI). CBI brings together diverse partners to create new solutions for boreal forest conservation and works as a catalyst supporting on-the-ground efforts across the boreal. Hope you enjoy the read.

Manitoba’s boreal is at the heart of the declining Bay-Breasted Warbler’s range
Credit: Jeff [...]

Following up on our last blog post about the International Boreal Conservation Science Panel’s recent letter in support of a major landmark conservation proposal for the George River Caribou herd, here is a remarkable interview about the letter and the herd by panelist and acclaimed caribou expert Dr. James Schaefer:
Listen to interview >

The International Boreal Conservation Panel yesterday released a letter endorsing a plan to protect the calving grounds of what once was the world’s largest caribou herd—the George River herd of Labrador and Quebec. The herd migrates from its calving grounds in northern Labrador and Quebec to the south and west, moving hundreds and sometimes thousands [...]

It’s truly been the week of the waxwing here at BSI. Just a day after Gary’s wife Bette spotted a group of Bohemian Waxwings feasting on crabapples outside their home in Edmonton, Jeff spotted a solitary waxwing outside his home in Maine perched in a…you guessed it…crabapple tree! He was able to snag a quick [...]

A woodland caribou runs through an opening in the forest.
Credit: Wayne Sawchuk
You may not have known this, but Jeff spent the majority of this week in Winnipeg, Manitoba attending the 2010 North American Caribou Workshop, an annual gathering where discussions about how to curb recent declines in caribou populations take place.
This year’s event was a [...]

Green-winged Teal
Credit: Tye Gregg, Ducks Unlimited
You might recall we did a post a while back on the negative impacts the Gulf Coast oil spill could have on migratory birds. We recently submitted and published another piece on the Ducks Unlimited website highlighting these threats, which include direct contact with oil, contaminated habitat, and weakened food [...]

Hi all -
I thought I would provide you with a brief update from Jeff about his trip up to Northern Quebec this week (he tried to write something before heading up but packing and last-minute details got in the way!). This short update via phone messages he left:
Early Sunday morning Jeff began the long drive [...]

The Big Sit that Louis Bevier and I did at Ocean Point, Boothbay Harbor, Maine, on Friday ended up being tougher than we had hoped for. The stormy/shower front line across New England effectively shut off the stream of migrants that could be seen on radar moving in droves in the mid-Atlantic region so that [...]