inside: lmbo celebrates 30 consecutive years of banding! · naturehood programming will continue...

The Black-and-White Warbler—The Newsletter of Last Mountain Bird Observatory (LMBO) VOLUME 18, NUMBER 1, SPRING 2020 EDITED by Ashley Vass & Alan R. Smith

Inside:

Message from Editors.....2

LMBO Spring Update.....3

LMBO Fall Update.........4

Education at LMBO……5

2019 Birdathon…..…….6

2020 Birdathon…….…..7

Bander-in-Charge

Experience……………..8

WMBD 2020…………..9

CMMN Trend

Analysis……..………..11

Owl Banding in SK…...12

The Saskatchewan

Breeding Bird Atlas…..14

Featured IBA: Govenlock-

Nashlyn-Battle Creek…15

Featured Species: Lark

Sparrow……………….16

Important Dates….……17

Thank you to Donors &

Funders………….…….17

LMBO celebrates 30 consecutive years of banding!

Rebecca Magnus, Nature Saskatchewan

This year marks 30 years of consecutive banding for the Last Mountain Bird Observatory (LMBO). This great accomplishment and contribution to science is largely thanks to the tireless effort of Alan R. Smith. In the late 1980s Al was working on a number of projects with Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS). One of them was to establish a migration monitoring program for boreal passerines in the province. After much searching, Al found an oasis for boreal migrants within the Last Mountain Regional Park (LMRP) at the north end of Last Mountain Lake, which just happened to be surrounded by the Last Mountain Lake National Wildlife Area, and within a Migratory Bird Sanctuary and Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network Site. A true oasis for birds! LMBO is grateful for in-kind support provided by LMRP. In 2007, Nature Saskatchewan took over the management of LMBO. The transition in management was seamless with Al staying on as the Bander-In-Charge (BIC), after retiring from CWS.

Well, 30 years into monitoring, with many wonderful banders assisting along the way, LMBO is still the only bird observatory in Saskatchewan that (since 1992) is a part of the Canadian Migration Monitoring Network (CMMN)! LMBO is part of a great effort to better understand the migration and health of these many wonderful migrants. A trends analysis article in this newsletter shows the great contribution that

Shelly Fisher (upper left) and Ryan Dudrange (upper right) demonstrate how birds are processed and banded at the Last Mountain Bird Observatory banding station. (Photo: Nature Saskatchewan)

NOTICE: Due to Covid-19 LMBO will be closed to volunteers and the public for May. Please watch for details

about fall migration which will be made available on the Nature Saskatchewan website once confirmed.

Spring 2020 The Black-and-White Warbler

LMBO has made to understand our fall migrants’ movement over the decades. While most of the trends are not positive, the wealth of data collected is. Please follow Nature Saskatchewan on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for “30 days for 30 years” campaign, August 2020, to highlight and thank the many wonderful people for the success of the observatory. Additionally, watch for details about celebrations in the fall and merchandise to become available to show your support. Cheers to 30 successful years and cheers to the next great 30 years!

Message from the Editors

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of Last Mountain Bird Observatory. Those years have witnessed great changes in the fortunes of our avifauna both locally and across the continent. On the local scale our host, Last Mountain Regional Park, has seen a tremendous growth in the use of the park by campers. This has been both a challenge and an opportunity - a challenge to meet the demands of an increase in visitors to LMBO, but also an opportunity to spread the word of the urgent need to conserve and protect our still rich bird life. On a continental scale we have witnessed an alarming 29 percent decline in our bird populations since 1970. In addition, other evidence suggests that spring arrival is on average a day earlier per decade since 1970, and that the

fall migration is increasingly protracted. LMBO has for 30 years been at the forefront of gathering the data necessary for these analyses sharing its data through NatureCounts which is sponsored by Birds Canada, or directly to researchers throughout the continent. In celebration of our achievements we will be celebrating our 30th anniversary at Manitou Beach in the fall; check the Nature Saskatchewan website for further details. Although we are all experiencing significant changes to our daily lives due to the Novel Coronavirus, the birds did not get the memo to practice physical distancing and shelter in place. Rebecca Magnus, interim Conservation and Education Manager, has been working hard to ensure that we will still be able to collect this important data on the birds coming through LMBO this spring. However, the station will unfortunately be closed to the public temporarily, only allowing access to essential personnel. We eagerly anticipate resuming business as usual at the station at a later date, once the threat of Covid-19 has been lifted. We are also looking forward to welcoming Lacey Weekes back into her role as Conservation and Education Manager after her maternity leave. In the meantime, please feel free to call or email Rebecca Magnus at 306-780-9481 or [email protected] with any questions or concerns. We hope to see you all at LMBO in the near future. Until then, stay safe and happy backyard birding!

Alan R. Smith (right) with Emily (centre) and Ava (left) Dornstauder. (Photo: Emily Dornstauder)


Last Mountain Bird Observatory – Preliminary Results – Spring 2019 29th consecutive spring of coverage (28th of standardized coverage).

Migration Monitoring: First Day of coverage: 9 May. Last day of coverage: 31 May. Total days of coverage: 23 of a possible 23 (100%). Number of staff: 2 (Jordan Rustad, Breann Sutton). Number of volunteers: 10 (Britt Agrey, Marla Anderson, Corey Barlow, Sury Christofell,

Emily Dornstauder, Ryan Dudragne, Alex Fisher, Shelly Fisher, Nick Selinger, Collette Stushnoff).

Number of person-days effort: 67 (last year 48). Number of visitors: 256 (last year 184). Observation effort: census, casual and incidental observations. Trapping effort: 13 12mx30mm mist nets for 1719 net hours; 471 birds/1000 net hours (1992-

2016 average: 431). Number of species observed: about 100 (for daily census results see ebird). Number of species captured: 56 (1992-2018 average: 46). New birds captured: 817 (1992-2018 average: 574); returns to LMBO from previous years

included 56 birds of 16 species. Species peak: 29 May, 21 species. Banding peak: 13 May, 105 birds. Top 10 captures:

Comments: The catch rate (471 birds/1000 net hours) this spring was about average, but the number of species (56) was the third highest ever. No new species were, however, captured; a Lark Sparrow was, however, only the fourth ever captured. Notable returns included a 7 year old male Yellow Warbler banded as a second-year bird in 2013. Note: for purposes of comparison the above do not include data from 6-8 May which are outside the standard monitoring period. A. R. Smith Observatory Manager [email protected]

White-throated Sparrow 180 American Robin 38

Swainson’s Thrush 109 Tree Swallow 23

House Wren 62 White-crowned Sparrow 19

Least Flycatcher 45 Baltimore Oriole 18

Yellow Warbler 41 Gray-cheeked Thrush 17


Last Mountain Bird Observatory – Fall 2019 29th consecutive fall of coverage (27th of standardized coverage).

Migration Monitoring: First day of coverage: 6 August. Last day of coverage: 6 October. Number of staff: 3 (Marla Anderson, Jordan Rustad, Briann Sutton). Number of volunteers: 13 (Shirley Bartz, Evan Centanni, Emily Dornstauder, Ryan Dudragne, Shelly Fisher, Sarah Ludlow, Abbie Quennel, Tim Quennel, Rebecca Magnus, Riley Magnus, Alyssa Steilberg, Laura Stewart, Laura Tabakh). Number of person-days effort: 133 including 102 staff and 31 volunteer (143 and 51 last year). Number of visitors: 396 (277 last year). Observation effort: census, casual and incidental observations. Standard trapping effort: 13 12mx30mm mist nets for 3675 net hours; 660 birds/1000 net

hours (1992-2018 average: 657). Number of species observed: 137. Number of species captured: 75 (1992-2018 average: 72). New birds captured (includes birds released without banding): 2427 (1992-2018 average:

2724). Eight banded birds of 7 species returned from previous years. Species banded peak: 14 September, 27. Birds banded peak: 17 September, 212. Top 10 New Captures:

Comments: The 2019 fall migration was one of the more uneventful migrations in the history of LMBO. The number of bird captured was the eighth fewest in 27 years, but because those birds were banded over 500 hundred fewer net hours than normal, the catch rate (birds/net hour) was almost exactly the same as the long-term average. A young female Merlin banded on 18 August was only our fifth fall (and overall) record. An adult Lark Sparrow banded on 10 August was new for the fall (but not for the spring), and brought the total number of species banded in the fall to 112 (for both seasons the number remains at 120).

Yellow-rumped Warbler 799 Blackpoll Warbler 66

Yellow Warbler 247 Swainson’s Thrush 65

Alder Flycatcher 229 Tennessee Warbler 64

Orange-crowned Warbler 160

Ruby-crowned Kinglet 57

American Redstart 111 Clay-coloured Sparrow 54


Educational Programing at LMBO

Rebecca Magnus

Thanks to funding from Nature Canada, NatureHood programming at Last Mountain Bird Observatory (LMBO) was very successful in 2019. The eight school groups were able to help bring captured birds to the banding station, and release birds once they were banded. Students participated in an interactive migration obstacle course to learn about the migration challenges millions of birds face each spring and fall. With many different habitats surrounding LMBO, students also learn about grassland bird, water bird and shorebird adaptations. Students also take time to go birding, learning how to use binoculars and spend some time reflecting with journals they get to take home. LMBO is a great place to connect kids to nature and learn about the importance of conservation. World Migratory Bird Day was another great success. We had 108 people participate in the event that also saw the addition of a shoreline cleanup for the 2019 theme of “be the solution to plastic pollution”. It was great to see such a low amount of garbage along the park shores. NatureHood programming will continue fall 2020 and we look forward to creating those up-close experiences for students again.

The near absence of the summer resident Gray Catbird is worrisome for although 13 were seen on 11 dates through 14 September, this was the first fall since 1995 that no birds were caught and banded; the long-term average is 10 birds. The 12 Chestnut-sided Warblers that were banded tied last fall’s record high, on the other hand 11 Wilson’s Warblers was the second worst showing in the history of the observatory. A young male Black-throated Blue Warbler on 20 September was only the eighth banded at LMBO. Observations of note included an impressive 6 Clark’s Grebes on 14 August, a Varied Thrush on 27 September, and Townsend’s Solitaires on 21 and 25 Sep, A. R. Smith Observatory Manager [email protected]

Students watch as Shelly Fisher releases a bird banded at Last Mountain Bird Observatory. (Photo: Nature Saskatchewan)

The Great Canadian Birdathon 2019 Report

Marla Anderson, with intro by Rebecca Magnus

Thank you to our 2019 Great Canadian Birdathoners! Around ten people joined our Birdathon leader Marla Anderson for the day of birding. The 2019 Birdathon raised $330, of which $247.50 went to the Last Mountain Bird Observatory. A total of over $200,000 was raised for banding stations across Canada. Many thanks to those who went out and/or sponsored a birdathoner. We thank Marla Anderson for leading our Great Canadian Birdathon and for collecting pledges for LMBO. See Marla’s article featured below for details of her day:

As the saying goes “the early bird catches the worm” or in my case the early birder catches the bird. So, on Saturday May 11th, 2019, my Birdathon day started with the rising of the sun. It was a beautiful morning of partly cloudy skies and warm temperatures, promising a wonderful birding day for my 3rd year participating in the Great Canadian Birdathon. This year’s Birdathon once again coincided with World Migratory Bird Day and thus a full day of fun activities and celebrations at the Last Mountain Banding Observatory (LMBO). With around 100 people coming out to LMBO to share in the celebration I thought leading a bird walk every hour around the park was a great way to get as many eyes and ears helping add to number of species I could count in the 24-hour birdathon. More birds mean more donations for LMBO and my goal this year was to see 100 bird species and raise $500.00. It was a lot of fun leading the groups around the park. Most of the groups were composed of kids and the best part was seeing their enthusiasm every time they saw a bird. On one of the walks we came across an old American Robin’s nest that must have blown out of a tree onto the ground. It was a great opportunity to discuss what to do if they see a bird nesting (leave it alone) but also a chance to show the kids close up of how the nest was made and how I knew it was made by a robin. A robin’s nest is a cup shaped, untidy structure of twigs and grass stems, lined with mud and fine grasses. As the robin nests in so many locations it is definitely something the kids could see again. As the bird day came to a close and the walks ended we were up to 60 species, not as many as I had hoped but there was still time to add more to the list. I had only a few more hours of daylight so I brought in the big guns - the staff and volunteers of LMBO. Time for some hardcore birding! Ryan Dudrange, Shelly Fisher, Jordan Rustad are all amazing birders and I knew I could count on them to come birding with me and increase my species count. With binoculars and spotting scopes in hand we headed to the north end of Last Mountain Lake. We needed to find some shore birds and grassland species that could be added to the list. Unfortunately, there was not much for shore birds but we added a few grassland species


Young birders using their new binocular skills Marla Anderson taught them at World Migratory Bird Day 2019 (Photo: Rebecca Magnus)

including LeConte’s Sparrow and Sprague’s Pipit and there were a lot of ducks on the water which brought our numbers up. However, the highlight of the drive occurred just as we were leaving the National Wildlife Area, where we saw a Great Horned Owl being chased by a Cooper’s Hawk! In the end I saw 80 species and counted 373 individual birds and raised $330 for bird conservation and LMBO. I never made it to my goal but 2020 is another year and another chance to hit that target! Please consider donating.

2020 Great Canadian Birdathon Adapted from Margaret Skeel & Nature Regina Newsletter

Paule and Dale Hjertaas (Regina) and Ryan Dudrange (Saskatoon) are participating in the 2020 Great Canadian Birdathon to raise funds for bird conservation. The majority of funds they raise will go to the Last Mountain Bird Observatory. The Great Canadian Birdathon is a national initiative of Birds Canada that occurs across Canada on any one day in May to raise funds for bird conservation. However, the 2020 Birdathon is breaking from tradition and can take place anytime from May through December so that participants can be mindful of the serious nature of the COVID-19 threat. Paule and Dale will search for as many species as possible in one day and, if possible, will focus in the Buffalo Pound Provincial Park area. However, following public health recommendations including any travel restrictions, their Birdathon may take place later in the year or in and around their yard. Ryan Dudrange will do the same from the Saskatoon area. Their efforts are applauded. Paule and Dale are looking for sponsor donations – at a flat rate or per species (they anticipate up to 80-100 species). Ryan Dudrange is also looking for sponsors to support his birdathon efforts in the Saskatoon area. There are several ways to sponsor them. The simplest is through this link on the CanadaHelps website: https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/bird-studies-canada/p2p/birdathon20/page/dale-and-paule-hjertaas/ for Dale and Paule Hjertaas, or https://www.canadahelps.org/me/pMFP2yv for Ryan Dudrange. You can also support our birdathoners through the Birds Canada website (www.birdscanada.org - go to Great Canadian Birdathon and enter their names to go to their Birdathon page), or provide a cheque payable to Birds Canada directly to them or to the Nature Saskatchewan office (206-1860 Lorne St, Regina SK S4P 2L7, 306-780-9273). A tax receipt is issued by Birds Canada for donations of $10 or more. Let’s show these dedicated birders our support!


Sprague’s Pipit in native grass (Photo: Ashley Vass)

My Experience as Bander-in-Charge at LMBO Jordan Rustad

I have been lucky enough to be going out to LMBO for 7 years now. I started out as a volunteer, worked as an assistant, and now I serve as the Bander-in-charge (BIC). All these roles require a different skillset and mindset. As a volunteer, you are there to learn. The banders teach you basics of capturing and banding birds. You only need to have enthusiasm and the willingness to learn. As a banding assistant you take on more responsibility. You are now responsible for the birds’ well-being and making sure that you have the knowledge to accurately age and sex the birds you capture. You are also responsible for the visitors and volunteers now, making sure that they are given the opportunity to learn and giving them an amazing experience. As BIC, that responsibility takes another huge step. Not only are you responsible for everything you were as an assistant but now you are responsible for everything in the station. You decide when to open and close. You ensure adherence to protocol. You are responsible for the accuracy and precision of data and measurements. You are responsible for the maintenance of the station, the nets, and your slowly deteriorating mental health. Every decision that is made, is ultimately your responsibility. Taking all of this on can be a challenge, especially when you do not feel ready. I had to act as BIC under unfortunate circumstances. Our regular BIC, Al Smith, was not able to come out to the station due to health problems. We quickly threw together my sub-permit so that I could band independently. My first year as BIC, I had a lot of help, which I am eternally grateful for. I had Marla Anderson and Ryan Dudragne guiding me and answering my many questions. I still found myself doubting a lot of the calls that I was making. Despite having all this support and being told that I should be able to do this job easily, I didn’t feel ready. I agonized over small decisions like closing the nets due to wind. Was it really windy enough to close? Was I just being over-sensitive? Was I just wanting to stay inside because it was a little cold that day? I had to overcome a lot of self doubt in my first year as BIC. I managed to overcome it by doing the work and leaning on my supports. I also got the opportunity to work with an assistant who had banded at other stations, and passionate volunteers from all over. In my second year, I had gained more confidence in what I was doing. We had found the kinks in our system and worked them out. We could operate as a smoothly run machine. It also freed up mental energy to come up with more work for ourselves. LMBO does not get as many visitors or volunteers as it should. I wanted to increase our social media presence and attract more people to our station. I’d like to say we accomplished that. We had volunteers from all over the world this year. Most were from Saskatchewan, but we had people from New Zealand and Oregon in the U.S. We posted more on our social media and the response was always amazing! We also had the opportunity to travel to Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory in Ontario


Last Mountain Bird Observatory Bander-in-charge, Jordan Rustad, (left) during a visit to Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory. (Photo: Nature Saskatchewan

after our banding season. We were there to connect with the banders and non-profit running the station to exchange ideas and learn. My experience as BIC has been amazing and rewarding. It came with a steep learning curve to start but working through it has given me a lot of satisfaction. I hope that anyone who is getting into banding is not scared off by my account. It is hard work, but it is so worth it. Please go to naturesask.ca if you would like to learn more about banding and LMBO. Also, follow Nature Saskatchewan on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter page for the most up to date information on when LMBO will be open to public to come and visit me.


World Migratory Bird Day Celebration 2020

Rebecca Magnus

World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) celebrates migratory birds, bird conservation, and bird

conservation education. WMBD is now celebrated at over 600 sites from Canada to Argentina.

Last Mountain Bird Observatory is the perfect place to celebrate the return of our migratory

birds. Each year we band thousands of birds from over a hundred different species.

This year will be a little unique, in that our event will be going virtual. With the current

situation, we must do our part to ensure everyone’s safety and wellbeing. Please follow Nature

Saskatchewan on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for details about our virtual event as they

become available.

The 2020 theme is Birds Connect

Our World. This seems very fitting

and below is a summary of the

significance of this theme, and other

great details from Environment For

The Americas.

If you have any questions, please

feel free to email me at

[email protected]. Participants celebrating 2019 World Migratory Bird Day at Last Mountain Bird Observatory. (Photo: Nature Saskatchewan)


Canadian Migration Monitoring Network Completes A Trend Analysis For Birds

Migrating Through Last Mountain Bird Observatory

Alan R. Smith

The Science Committee of the Canadian Migration Monitoring Network has recently completed a landbird population trend analysis for a number of stations in the network. In the case of Last Mountain Bird Observatory, these results span the years 1993 to 2018. The results from LMBO

are discouraging and unfortunately tend to support widespread evidence of the declines of our migratory landbirds.

Only those species whose fall migration trends had a “pseudo-probability” of 0.9 or greater are discussed herein. This is technical terminology which basically means that there is “strong

support” that the trends are real and not due to chance. Other species were not included in the analysis either because their sample sizes were too small, or because their natural fluctuation in numbers obscured their long-term trends. An example of the former would (at LMBO) be the

Black-throated Blue Warbler, an example of the latter the spruce budworm specialist, the Tennessee Warbler.

The results seem particularly dire for the wood warblers and other species that forage by gleaning. There is strong support for declines in 8 of 10 members of the warbler family. These

include the Northern Waterthrush, Mourning Warbler, American Redstart, Magnolia Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler, Palm Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler and Wilson’s Warbler. Only the Ovenbird and Orange-crowned Warbler bucked the trend. Other declining cleaners were the

Red-eyed Vireo, Red-breasted Nuthatch and Ruby-crowned Kinglet.

The only sallying feeder, the Alder Flycatcher was down; while the only raptor, the Sharp-shinned Hawk, was up. Results for the granivorous sparrows was mixed with the Harris’s Sparrow and White-throated Sparrow declining and the White-crowned Sparrow increasing.

Overall, 14 species appear to have declined, but only 4 have increased. These results make little

sense from the standpoint of the geographic ranges of the species involved. One could argue that the declines are related to changes in the habitat quality or some other factor at LMBO, but of 10 species that are mainly summer residents in and around LMBO, 5 have declined and 5

have increased. The former includes the Western Kingbird, Barn Swallow, American Robin, Brown Thrasher and Pine Siskin; the latter the Warbling Vireo, Bank Swallow, Black-capped Chickadee (actually permanent resident), Gray Catbird and Brewer’s Blackbird. There are no

observable ecological patterns, except that the balance of declines versus increases in resident birds compared to those for migrants suggests that the problem of declining migrants may lie well beyond LMBO.

As mentioned only the fall results are included in this summary report; this was for simplicity only. The full results will be available through the NatureCounts website hosted by Birds

Canada.

Owl banding in Saskatchewan Jordan Rustad

I’ve been banding songbirds for a long time now. At LMBO we do occasionally catch small raptors in our nets like Sharp-shinned Hawks. Capturing and banding raptors is a very different ballgame than passerines. Inconsistently, LMBO has had a Northern Saw-whet Owl banding program. We currently do not have the personnel to carry out the program, but I was able to participate in it one year. I had the opportunity to band a couple of the little guys. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Saw-whets, they are tiny. When people think owls, they think mas-sive Great Horned Owls or Snowy Owls. The guys that we were targeting and catching are about the size of a robin. They have large round heads and big yellow eyes. The adults are brown with fine white streaks on the face and a white “v” between the eyes. They are rarely seen by the everyday birder because they are nocturnal. Many people are familiar with their too-too-too call. After banding a couple of these little cuties myself, I wanted more. So, I started to seek out owl banders in Saskatchewan.

I first made a visit to Nisbet Station in Prince Albert, run by Har-old Fisher. I know his daughter Shelly, who helps run the station, because she is a consistent volunteer at LMBO. I got to stay with them to help band owls. Their station was started almost by acci-dent. Shelly had taken an ornithology course at the University of Saskatchewan and had won an award for top marks. She asked her instructor for contact information for the person who provided the award so she could say thank you. That person was Stewart Hou-ston, and as Shelly was the first person to ever send a thank you, he invited her over to his house. Shelly brought Harold as her plus-one because he was very excited. He had never met the legend and was understandably, freaking out a little bit. They got to talking, and it came up that Harold had the perfect piece of property for mist netting owls. Stewart was looking to expand the owl banding program in Saskatchewan. They got Marten Stoffel out there to show them the ropes, and the rest is history.

The way you capture owls is different than songbirds. With songbirds you put the nets up in lines parallel to hedgerows and wait. With owls you set up nets in a larger clearing and in a T-shape. You also must play a recording to lure them in. The call you play will depend on the spe-cies you want to capture. At Harold’s station they have nets set up for Northern Saw-whet Owls, Boreal Owls, and Long-eared Owls. They also have a ground trap set up for Great Horned Owls. The majority of the owls we caught were Saw-whets, but we also caught a Long-eared Owl and Boreal Owl. We also caught sight of a Barred Owl. This is bad news at an owl banding station. Barred Owls love to eat little Saw-whets. Especially when those Saw-whets are easy to catch because they are disoriented from just being caught by people. Barred Owls can shut down the whole station because of this. The banders’ first priority is always the safety of the birds we capture. So, any predators in the area can shut down our operations. Luckily, we were not shut down the night I was there. We checked the nets every half hour or so for owls and then we would head back to the house to get banding.


Jordan Rustad with a Long-eared Owl. (Photo: Nature Sas-katchewan)

You collect similar information for owls that you would for song-birds, but you also collect extra information. You age the same way you would with songbirds, using molt limits (age differences in flight feathers). In owls though, it is more complicated. Whereas songbirds have predictable molts and differences between hatch years and after hatch years and afte rhatch years, owls have compli-cated molts that stretch over multiple yea and thus can be aged more accurately. They can be aged as second year, after second year, and after third year. You can see very old, old, and new feath-ers in the wing. They are easy to sex though as females are much larger than males in wing length and weight. You combine these two measurements to make the call. We also checked out the body condition of the bird. We do this by feeling around the keel and seeing how much meat there is on the owl. This just tells us how the bird is doing overall. If you can easily feel the keel, the owl is quite thin and may not be a very efficient hunter. We also check eye colour. It is unclear what the eye colour is indicative of. It has been used as an indicator of age, or of overall health. More research is needed. After we collect the required information, someone must take the owl out to be released. You have to take the owl to a quiet dark place, where it has time and space to readjust to the dark after being in a bright house. Once the owl is ready, it’ll start to try to fly away and that’s when you release it. In a good year Harold will band 500 owls. That being said, the number of owls vary wildly from year to year. They have noticed that the number of owls caught tend to be cyclical and will depend on how much food is available for them each year. The number of recaptures they have is higher compared to songbirds but is still a relatively low percentage. They have had owls banded at their sta-tion that were recaptured in Ontario, and in the United States. Their banding station is part of an international effort to track and under-stand the movements of Northern Saw-whet Owls. Banding is also a great opportunity for the public to experience birds up close. Owl banding is cool because most people can handle an owl without harming it. We had a school group at the station that night and most of the students had the opportunity to hold an owl, if they wanted to. This of course is always at the discretion of the bander. Do not demand to hold birds at banding stations. It’s a good way to get kicked out. These banding stations provide a unique experience to see owls up close and learn from Sas-katchewan experts. If you ever have the chance, you should visit one. Banding occurs late in the fall beginning late September and into October.


Northern Saw-whet Owl. (Photo: Nature Saskatchewan)


The Saskatchewan Breeding Bird Atlas LeeAnn Latremouille, Saskatchewan Breeding Bird Atlas Coordinator

The lead up to spring is always an exciting time at the Saskatchewan Breeding Bird Atlas office as we eagerly await the first indications that early birds have begun nesting. With only two more atlassing seasons to go there remain many opportunities for volunteers to contribute across the province! This year, though, we ask you to contribute from your yards and neighbourhoods. The Saskatchewan Breeding Bird Atlas is collecting data from 2017 to 2021 and to date participants have contributed over 11,000 hours of birdwatching, reporting more than 218,000 records of 270 species from 2218 atlas squares. Data entry remains open year-round and we continue to accept records from all years that the project has been active. In 2019 a substantial effort was realized in northern Saskatchewan by atlas staff, volunteers, and colleagues at Environment and Climate Change Canada, leading to some exciting finds. Notably, a pair of Pacific Loons were observed and photographed near Scott’s Lake, the first indication that this species might be nesting within the borders of the province. A singleton Pacific Loon was also observed on a pond near Camsell Portage, along the north shore of Lake Athabasca. A Red-throated Loon was seen moving off a nest just a few hundred meters south of the Northwest Territories border near Scott’s Lake, and an unfamiliar call along the Porcupine River led to an observation of a fledging Northern Shrike being fed by a parent, both representing the first confirmed breeding records for these species for the atlas! Along the Churchill River, an Eastern Whip-poor-will was heard singing by a group of volunteers from Ontario which fittingly included one of Canada’s experts on the species, the second record of this species for the atlas. The atlas is always seeking new volunteers to join the effort, so consider lending your skills to the project! Atlassing is easy and involves making note of the birds you see, what breeding behaviours are observed, and information about date, time, and location. Standardized breeding evidence codes help to classify breeding behaviours of all kinds, so the next time you hear a bird sing or see one carrying nesting material, make note! Submit your observations online or mail them in to the Atlas Office and help write this major chapter in Saskatchewan’s ornithological legacy. To learn more about the project and how to get involved, visit our website at sk.birdatlas.ca, or phone 306-249-2894, toll-free at 1-844-369-2894. The Saskatchewan Breeding Bird Atlas is the result of a partnership between Birds Canada,

Environment and Climate Change Canada, Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment, the Nature

Conservancy of Canada, Nature Saskatchewan, and the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation. We

thank all of our supporters for their important financial and in-kind contributions.

IBA Spotlight on Govenlock-Nashlyn-Battle Creek Introduction from Nature Saskatchewan website & Ed Rodger; Feature IBA by Ed Rodger

Introduction In 2009, Nature Saskatchewan began coordinating a province-wide Caretaker Network, working with birders and naturalists across the province. Volunteers work as stewards of Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) near their community. They watch for changes in the habitat, conservation threats and monitor bird populations. Caretakers are the eyes, ears and hands on the ground for the 53 IBAs in Saskatchewan. Govenlock-Nashlyn-Battle Creek Grasslands has had an interim caretaker (Ed Rodger), who has been able to visit the area occasionally for the last six field seasons, but it is hoped that a local caretaker can be recruited to participate in the program. Govenlock-Nashlyn-Battle Creek Grasslands IBA The Govenlock-Nashlyn-Battle Creek Grasslands IBA is located in the very southwest corner of the province, south of the Cypress Hills, and the area is accessible via Maple Creek or Eastend. At over 800 square kilometres, it's one of the largest IBAs in the province, and the largest south of the boreal forest. This IBA includes a large expanse of grassland with much excellent wildlife habitat. The rolling or flat prairie is broken by several rivers and streams running south in the Milk River watershed. Their broad valleys provide sage and shrub habitat, and often include high cliffs. Other good riparian and shallow aquatic habitat is provided by several dugouts and reservoirs. Many important species have been seen over the last several years of surveys at the IBA. The area is particularly good for Ferruginous Hawk, Chestnut-collared Longspur, and Sprague's Pipit, but other important species include McCown's Longspur, Loggerhead Shrike, Barn Swallow, Bank Swallow, Long-billed Curlew,

Baird's Sparrow, and Prairie Falcon, among many others. There have also been sightings of Swift Fox in recent years. The IBA is generally understood to include the three former federal PFRA pastures that comprise the IBA name, but the immediate area also contains much excellent grassland bird habitat, including the Old Man on His Back conservation area run by Nature Conservancy Canada, and several areas under the former Saskatchewan Pastures Program. With the ending of the PFRA program, there have been Ferruginous Hawk (Photo: Ed Rodger)


Govenlock-Nashlyn-Battle Creek Grasslands IBA. (Photo: Ed

Rodger)


Featured Species: Lark Sparrow Jordan Rustad

Last Mountain Bird Observatory had it’s first fall record of a Lark Sparrow in 2018. All our previous birds of this species have been caught in the spring and have always been an infrequent capture! Lark Sparrows are a large sparrow with a chunky bill. They appear quite long with a round head compared to other sparrows. They have an extremely distinctive facial pattern. They have a chestnut crown and cheek patch with a pale stripe over the eye, and a strong black mustache or malar stripe. These bold birds have been described as harlequins. Immature birds look similar but lack the chestnut colouring. Lark Sparrows also have a unique tail. It is similar to a towhee, where the feathers of the tail feathers are edged with white. The white patches are larger on the outer tail feathers and get smaller on the inner tail feathers. Lark Sparrows like open fields and meadows with scattered trees or hedgerows. In the summer they can be seen foraging in the short grass. Males will often sing from the tops of trees though in the spring. Their song is a long series of notes beginning with clear mechanic rattling and trills mixed in. These birds will tend to flock up in the winter and even mix with other sparrows. To learn more about this sparrow go to https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Lark_Sparrow/id.

discussions and activities to move responsibility for the pastures to Environment and Climate Change Canada. The habitat nature and quality continue to benefit from grazing and pasture management practices. This IBA is one of the locations that was featured in last year's CBC Nature of Things documentary, 'Grasslands: A Hidden Wilderness', available to view online. For more information please go to https://www.naturesask.ca/what-we-do/important-bird-areas or contact Rebecca Magnus at [email protected].

Lark Sparrow (Photo : Nature Saskatchewan)

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and mail to 206-1860 Lorne St, Regina SK S4P 2L7. Please note that the donation is for LMBO.

Murray & Edna Forbes Foundation

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Important Dates For Spring & Fall

Due to Covid-19: LMBO will be closed to the public for May. Details regarding fall migration during August and Sep-tember will be made available on Nature Saskatchewan’s website once they are confirmed. World Migratory Bird Day Celebrations will be held virtually. Please go to https://birdday.org/birdday for a list and map of all virtual events, and follow Nature Saskatchewan on Facebook, Insta-gram and Twitter for information as it becomes available. Nature Saskatchewan 2020 Spring Meet is cancelled. However, the AGM will be held virtually, ten-tatively in June. Check www.naturesask.ca for more details on the Spring AGM as well as the Fall Meet, which is currently being planned for Manitou Beach, tentatively in September.

The Lorne & Evelyn Johnson Foundation

Camp Wolf Willow Carmen Maciboric

Don Delhomeau Lynne McLellan

Marlene Derbawka Marilyn Meyer

Ross D. Dickson Gretchen Peterson

Teresa M. Dolman J. Frank Roy

Ruth J. Englund Bernard Ryma

Thomas Fink Patricia Sargent

Harold Fisher Katharine & John Schulz

Leonard Fisher Edith May Shannon

Bob Gehlert Margaret Skeel

David & Suzanne Henry Melissa A. Smith

C. Stuart Houston Colette & Richard Stushnoff

Bob Hubert Michael Tyrrell

Roberta Keith Robert Wapple

Dwight Knapik Diane & James Wells

inside: lmbo celebrates 30 consecutive years of banding! · naturehood programming will continue...

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