300 million birds say “Thanks”
Dear Premier McGuinty,
I don’t know if you have ever heard the soft flutely song of a Swainson’s Thrush but try to imagine three million of them singing at once. That’s the sound emanating into the sky on a June morning from the number of Swainson’s Thrushes that would be found in the 55 million acres of northern Ontario’s Boreal that you have just announced will now be protected. Even better yet imagine 4.5 million renditions of the “Oh-sweet-Canada-Canada-Canada†song of the White-throated Sparrow echoing across the Boreal.
That’s a sound that should be heard around the world. I have no doubt that if they knew, those Swainson’s Thrushes and White-throated Sparrows would be joined by the five million Dark-eyed Juncos, four million Magnolia Warblers, three million Palm Warblers, two million Tennessee Warblers—the total number found in the 55 million acres would likely be in the hundreds of millions—in a chorus of songs of thanks so deafening that it would make us all stop whatever we were doing.
I’d like to imagine what it would sound like to hear the 70 million bird enthusiasts in the U.S. celebrating the news that chances just went up that their grandkids would be able to experience the same joy and excitement and connection to birds that they experience. In the next few weeks, fall migration will start sending those hundreds of millions of birds pouring south into the U.S. and beyond where we will feed them, watch them, photograph them.
Well not all of them will leave. The two million Gray Jays and one million Boreal Chickadees who live in those 55 million acres of soon-to-be protected Ontario Boreal habitat will stay put for the winter.
But one-and-a-half million Blackpoll Warblers from those 55 million acres will soon start their long journey to the Amazon Basin—maybe you’ll get a thanks from Peru or Ecuador or Brazil too. Or from the Caribbean for the half a million Cape May Warblers you will be increasing the odds that they will receive from Ontario’s protected areas each winter.
Protecting 55 million acres is an amazing and boldly important move at a time when we need good news that recognizes the balance of human values that all of us care about.
Thank you for one of the world’s most significant conservation actions in history. Thank you that my son will still have the opportunity to step outside on the porch with his son or daughter beside him on some crisp October night here in Maine and listen to a sky filled with the sounds of migrating birds. Birds that raised their own families in a safe and secure habitat far to our north in a special place called Ontario.
Jeff Wells
July 16th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
I’m just a back yard birder ( forget the just, I’m important too) but I wanted to tell you how interesting I’ve found this. I’ve checked frequently to see what was new. What surprised me, tho it shouldn’t have, were the whines of the mosquitoes that were a whole lot closer than the (other) birds!!!
July 16th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
Jeff, Great letter to Premier McGinty on behalf of all of us that were interested in the developments in Canada regarding the Boreal Forest. Thank you for your efforts on our behalf.
I will post the good news on my blog sometime this week.
Thanks again!
Nancy Castillo
July 16th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
Outstanding!
Great News.
Martha and I spent about six weeks in the Boreal Forest of Canada and Alaska. It was terrific and deserves protected status. I am sorry to say that current administration in the US does not have the foresight of the Canadians.
Troy and Martha
July 16th, 2008 at 10:09 pm
[...] reported by Dr. Jeff Wells, of the Boreal Songbird Initiative, is about how an enlightened Provincial government has set aside [...]
July 17th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
Dr. Wells, your eloquent words brought tears to my eyes. Thank you.
July 17th, 2008 at 6:31 pm
Wonderful letter!! Now if we can just get 300 million people to say thanks…
Thank YOU for all your hard work for BSI and pushing the Bird Conservation Movement.
~ Eddie Callaway on behalf of the entire Birdfreak Team
July 18th, 2008 at 1:41 pm
GREAT THANKS JEFF – - – To you personally, and to each of the hard-working members of the broad BSI team, for your leadership and dedication to such an incredibly critical mission.
The BSI and all who do the nitty-gritty work are an inspiration to all of us!
July 20th, 2008 at 10:55 pm
I remain cautious about Premier McGuinty’s announcement. The Province has been a reluctant party to change in the Provincial North. It waited until the last moment, only days after the Ontario Appeals Court decision in the Frontenac Ventures v. Ardoch Algonquin Case on July 07, to make its “historic” announcement. Rather than present a strong consensus for change with industry leaders and First Nations representatives at his side, McGuinty surprised everyone who should have been at the table, and offered a vague proposal of conservation targets and community development initiatives, and a 10-15 year process of long negotiations. There are A LOT of details that remain to be worked out, and it is vital that we, and all regional and local stakeholders, remain engaged with the process, and hold the Premier and the Province’s feet to the fire. 15 years from now, who will remember this day? A promise of change is a good thing, but to deliver on change is an entirely different matter.
July 22nd, 2008 at 2:37 pm
[...] migratory and wintering songbirds, under protection. Read the full letter of thanks here; it is absolutely [...]
July 22nd, 2008 at 6:41 pm
[...] 100 North American Birds at Risk, estimates that the area to be protected may support as many as 300 million birds. His rough calculations include about 1 million Bay-breasted Warblers, 1.5 million Blackpoll [...]
July 24th, 2008 at 6:54 am
This is the best conservation news for birds in months! I can’t believe that the word is taking so long to get out. I have sent an email with the good news to all my Audubon Colorado staff and fellow board members, to Colorado’s birding listserve, and on my blog where I will follow-up with more information.
Thanks Jeff for your conservation work.
SeEtta Moss, Conservation Chair
Arkansas Valley Audubon Soc & Audubon Colo
http://BirdsAndNature.blogspot.com
August 2nd, 2008 at 7:20 am
[...] Link: 300 million birds say “Thanks” [...]
July 12th, 2009 at 7:01 pm
[...] Lab of Ornithology, one of our Boreal Songbird Network partners, dispatched one of its own to Ontario’s Boreal. Last summer I traveled to Ontario’s Far North with writer Eddie [...]