Colouring contest winners

A big thank you goes out to all of our contest participants in this year's colouring contest. With all of the entries that we received, it was difficult to choose the winners but we managed to choose the following three.

Scaup numbers on the recovery

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) has released its spring survey of mid-continent breeding ducks and the numbers look promising for all species, however you'll notice that there are still a few problems that need to be addressed.

The biggest problem of these is the declining Scaup populations. For us at Long Point Waterfowl, Scaup are particularly near and dear to our hearts: we do a lot of research to try and figure out why the species is declining so rapidly.

Our research at LPW is focusing on the contaminant hypothesis, which suggests Scaup are acquiring levels of trace elements and/or other contaminants that subsequently impact survival or reproduction. We are hopeful that the upward trend in Scaup populations will continue but are still dedicated to our research to ensure that it's not a temporary lull and will continue to recover.

Photo of the week 2: June 19

This is our new office!

Photo of the week: June 18

Sunset at Big Creek National Wildlife Area just around the corner from LPW headquarters. And as a special bonus this week, I'll be posting pictures of our new office building!

Photo of the week: May 19

This pair was dabbling in a flooded area by the river.

Why Hunt?

California Waterfowl has created an amazing video about the place of hunting within a healthy, balanced ecosystem. The video goes on to explain how hunters are involved in conservation and why hunting and conservation naturally go hand-in-hand. Check it out!

Photo of the week: May 1

I've decided to start a photo of the week section, so here's the first photo.



A Tree Swallow peers out from a nesting box at the BSC/LPW headquarters.

Hunting and conservation don't mix, right?

It's commonly held that hunting and conservation don't mix. It's counter-intuitive to think that the action of stalking and killing prey can actually help, however in certain cases, it can help and actually aid populations to be healthier.

Take the case of White-tailed deer in Southwestern Ontario. These animals are so common that local conservation authorities offer fact sheets on how to deter the deer from backyards. In fact, deer are so plentiful around this area that it's possible to walk through a forest and see no underbrush and bark missing off trees where the deer were forced to eat it.

In this case, where humans are responsible for eliminating nearly all predators and competitors of the White-tailed deer, opening a hunt season will reduce the population to sizes where the surrounding area can support the population without damage being caused to forested areas and without deer starving to death.

Now take this idea and apply it to Canada Goose populations in Southern Ontario, which are equally as plentiful and equally damaging to their environment. What would you do?

Deer image courtesy of smanstrom. Canada Goose image courtesy of njchow82.

Waterfowl feeding bans becoming popular

Cities across North America are starting to ban the feeding of geese and ducks within city limits. Overall, most of the bans haven't caused that much outrage within the cities, however they are getting a lot of media coverage and are causing outrage in areas not affected by the bans.

What people don't generally realise about waterfowl in general is that once you feed a few, you end up with large flocks that stay in the area permanently instead of migrating.

These birds can destroy the area where they are staying by over-foraging and consuming all of the plant life within the area. Once the plant life is gone, erosion of soil becomes an issue. Let's not forget that these aren't the cleanest of birds and will fowl up the water and surrounding grounds with their droppings.

Still have an issue with the feeding ban?

(Image courtesy of Lake Little Sunapee site)

About Long Point Waterfowl

Long Point Waterfowl (LPW) is a non-profit, non-government organization dedicated to the study and conservation of waterfowl and wetlands throughout the lower Great Lakes. By making our work available to the public and scientific community, we make substantial contributions to science and are a strong voice for conservation.

LPW is also committed to supervising and supporting graduate student (M.Sc. and Ph.D.) research on waterfowl- and wetlands-related projects, as well as to providing a diversity of educational opportunities for undergraduate and students. LPW also has a youth mentorship and education program as this is very important to the future development of wildlife biologists and appreciation of our outdoor heritage. Our education program is designed to give students and young aspiring biologists an increased understanding and appreciation of wildlife ecology, management, and conservation.

LPW is administered by Bird Studies Canada and is supported primarily by Bluff's Club members. LPW also receives generous support from various other individuals and organizations, including Ducks Unlimited Canada, the Waterfowl Research Foundation, Delta Waterfowl, Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, Long Point Waterfowler’s Association, Order of Good Cheer, Bayou Club, Ontario Power Generation, and the Sam Johnson Graduate Scholarship.