A very accessible and informative report came out this month about
Canada's birdlife.  http://www.stateofcanadasbirds.org/foreword.jsp
        Based on decades of scientific work and observations from many field
workers, it offers a lively and easily-grasped picture of the habitats
of Canada--so many of which we share--and their birds--so many of which
pass through the US. All the larger-scale data about changes in habitats
and populations appear; many of the graphs of gains and losses among
species groups are quite revealing, as are possible explanations
suggested for these changes.
        This presentation is anything but technical, but should provoke thought
even among the old hands, as it looks at both North and South America
over half a century.  There are many arresting facts: did you know there
are only 500-700 ivory gulls (all in Canada of course) left in this vast
expanse? Or that certain insectivorous birds--swallows, swifts,
nightjars, and flycatchers--have population drops of 35-85% over the
past forty years? Just ask a graying birder how much harder it is these
days to find whippoorwills or olive-sided flycatchers. Or that the
species group that consistently shows the largest recoveries is waterfowl?
Yes, you can get it in French, too.
Bonnes observations,
Bill Whan
Columbus

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