The Manitoba Chapter Wildlife Society Newsletter

Presidents Corner

Over the summer your executive has not been idle.  A joint submission to host the TWS Annual Conference (yes, the big one!)  was made by the Alberta and Manitoba Chapter is for the 2004 meeting.  No word yet on the outcome of our bid.  In discussions with Len Carpenter (US President TWS) at the CMPS in Colorado in July, he noted a Canadian submission would receive very strong support.  The decision will be following  the Conference in Reno/Tahoe in late September.

And speaking of TWS Annual Conferences, the 2002 Conference (9th Annual) will be held in Bismarck, North Dakota September 24-28.  The conference will consist of scientific paper sessions, symposia on a select topic and workshops.  With Bismarck only a short drive away, start planning your attendance now.  This will likely be the closest TWS meeting to Winnipeg for some time. Details can be found on the TWS website or in this newsletter.

Last, but not least, take some time to get out and enjoy some of the autumn sites and sounds.  Ducks and geese are already beginning to move south and their spectacular morning and evening flights  have peaked...in a few weeks they will be a memory.  Also, other avian migrants are now passing through the provinces, lots of eagles, tundra swans and the last of the passerines; if you're like me you'll need a field book in one hand to help with the ID of the latter !

Enjoy the fall and see you  at an upcoming meeting! - Don Sexton

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The Northern Saw-whet Owl, Aegolius acadicus acadicus, can best be described as a very small (about 20cm in length), short-bodied, nocturnal Owl.  It is named after the skiew call the owl makes when it is alarmed which resembles the whetting of a saw.  It can be found in Manitoba's coniferous and deciduous forests with riparian habitat, where wood peckers have created nesting cavities.  The first description of the Saw-whet Owl is generally credited to Johann Gmelin in 1788. European explorers first discovered this Owl in a North American colony called Acadia (now Nova Scotia). The Latinised word "acadius" refers to this territory. The common name "Saw-whet" comes from these Owls unique calls. The Saw-whet Owl is also called Acadian Owl, blind Owl, Kirkland's Owl, the saw-filer, the sawyer, sparrow Owl, white-fronted Owl, Farmland Owl, Little Nightbird, Queen Charlotte Owl, and even the Whet-saw Owl (Source: http://www.owlpages.com).

Since the 1960s, Northern Saw-whet Owls have been banded during the fall and spring migration at various sites in North America.  The Delta station first began banding Saw-whet Owls in the fall of 2000.  We ask Heidi why was it important to band owls at Delta Marsh Bird Observatory ??  Heidi informed us "that for the most part, not much is known about the migration habitats of Saw-whet Owls.  A lot of Saw-whet banding takes place in Ontario, some in Alberta, but there has been very little in Manitoba".

As we approached the area where the capture nets were set-out, we could hear the taped Saw-whet calls that are used to attract the birds.  Playback recordings or electronic audio-lures consisting of a Saw-whet Owl advertising call are used to attract birds and result in a 5-10 fold increase in capture rates over passive trapping. "In addition to owls and songbirds (in the spring), the nets have been damaged by white-tailed deer and captured thousands of frogs" reports Heidi.   The nets are placed in a square pattern around the taped calls and checked throughout the evening after sunset.  "The general migration through MB begins in the 3rd week in September until the end of October or into early November.  Generally these birds nest in central to northern Manitoba". It was a clear, cool evening with the moon providing lots of light - not an ideal evening for capturing Saw-whet Owls as brighter nights yield fewer owls.   However, on our very first check we did capture one Saw-whet Owl and data was collected on weight, tail length, natural wing chord, flattened wing chord, bill length from nostril, and finally the bird was aged. Saw-whet Owls are aged as hatching year if all primary and secondary remiges and coverts were not uniform in color indicating the presence of more than one generation of feathers.

Heidi and her merry crew banded 237 (and one recovery from Green Bay) Saw-whet Owls in 2000 and 131 so far in 2001. Of the Saw-whet Owls banded at Delta Marsh not one has been recovered to date. However, the Delta Station has recovered one Saw-whet Owl banded near Green Bay, Wisconsin" Heidi has noted a decrease in the number of Saw-whet Owls banded between 2000 and 2001.  Heidi and others, including banders at a station in Thunder Bay, Ontario, believe the decrease in the number of Saw-whet Owls banded is a possible result of reduced production in 2001. In 2001, the station has observed a marked reduction in the number of hatch year birds captured.

Delta Marsh is a 22,000 hectare marsh, the largest of several marshes in the Lake Manitoba basin. It is internationally recognized as an ecologically important wetland and was designated an Important Bird Area in 1999 due to its significance as a waterfowl staging area and stopover sight for neotropical migrants. The Yellow Warbler is far and away the species most often caught at the Delta Marsh Bird Observatory, with an average of about 1,500 individuals banded each year. A significant milestone was reached on 8 May, 2000 when the observatory banded it’s 50,000th bird - which turned out to be a Myrtle Warbler.

For addition information about the Observatory, membership and volunteer opportunities, please contact:
Heidi den Haan
Executive Director, Delta Marsh Bird Observatory
Rural Route #1, Box 1
Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, Canada
Telephone: (204) 239-4287
Website: http://www.dmbo.org
Recommended websites:   http://www.projectowlnet.org; http://www.owlpages.com

Past President - Cory Lindgren

Raised in Pointe du Bois, Cory attended high school in Lac du Bonnet.  Attending the University of Manitoba he obtained a Masters degree in 1989, thesis project examining "Ganders’ Distance from the Nest as a Function of the Females' Incubation Period examined in a Captive Flock of Giant Canada Geese".  After graduation he headed for the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust in Slimbridge, England, where he studied the ritualized behavior of Andean Flamingos.  After venturing about Europe, he returned to Winnipeg and worked for the Canadian Wildlife Service.  Since 1992, he has been employed as project manager/biologist for the Manitoba Purple Loosestrife Project. Married in 1993, he has two children and resides in Birds Hill.

Member at Large - James Froese

James is a Masters student at the Natural Resources Institute of the University of Manitoba.  The focus of his research project is to determine effective trembling aspen management strategies to enhance biological diversity.  He plans to complete his masters in the spring or summer of 2002.  James has a B.Sc. in wildlife biology, completed at the University of Northern B.C. in Prince George.  He enjoys conducting songbird, waterbird, and winter tracking surveys, and his leisure interests include mountain biking, canoeing, hiking, cross-country skiing, birding, and photography.

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Congratulations go out to Mr Markus Dyck NRI graduate student at the University of Manitoba, who was recognized for the Best Graduate Student Paper Presentation, recently in Renoe, Nevada at the 8th Annual Conference of The Wildlife Society.  His paper entitled  "The effects of tundra vehicles on polar bear behavior at Churchill, Manitoba" was judged by 5 impartial wildlife management academics from across North America as the best paper presented by a grad student, and is judged on research design, research findings, presentation quality, and general contribution to future management.

This is a tremendous accomplishment and the quality of his work is further demonstrated by the fact that Marcus has recently accepted an offer as Polar Bear Management Biologist with the Territorial Government in Nunavut.

Well done Markus!

Congratulations to both of them.  Hope to see you continue coming to Chapter events. And, with all that time on your hands, maybe help out at the 2004 TWS Alberta-Manitoba sponsored Annual Meeting.
 
 

On 15 August 2001, the Senate of the University of Manitoba approved the terms of reference the Manitoba Chapter had developed with the Enrollment Services Director.

What does this mean for us?  The result is that via the University, the Chapter's funds will be matched by the Province, allowing a $500 award to be presented annually to a Graduate Student.  The Manitoba Chapter will remain involved as a member of the selection committee and the Terms of Reference noted above are in keeping with the nature of the award.

Special recognition for seeing this through to completion goes to Bob Emery, a past president of the Manitoba Chapter.  Way to go Bob!
 

Anyone can contribute to the Manitoba Chapter Newsletter.  We've only just begun to profile news of interest to our members.  I know there are many more items that can appear in our newsletter that would take only a few minutes to summarize.  You can contact me with you articles, announcements, etc. by phone at (204) 983-5265; by mail at the Canadian Wildlife Service, Suite 150-123 Main Street, Wpg., R3C 4W2; or by E-mail at marc.schuster@ec.gc.ca. - Marc Schuster 

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9th Annual Conference of The Wildlife Society Bismarck, North Dakota September 24-28, 2002 Deadline: February 15, 2002

The Wildlife Society will hold its 9th Annual Conference in Bismarck, North Dakota, September 24-28, 2002. The meeting will include symposia, workshops, contributed papers (oral presentations), and posters. We invite submission of technical papers and posters on topics of wildlife science, management, education, or policy within the broad theme of Excellence in Wildlife Stewardship through Science and Education. Presentations will not be published, so we encourage reports from the author's most recent scientific investigations and management experiences. Papers and posters should present results from completed studies or completed phases of long-term projects. Papers and posters will be accepted based on their technical merit and contribution to our knowledge of species, populations, communities, ecological processes, management practices, education models, or policy issues.

All contributed papers (oral presentations) will be scheduled for 20 minutes, which includes 5 minutes for questions. Equipment will be available for slide presentations only. Computer presentations will be allowed only for presenters who bring their own LCD projector and laptop computer. No overhead or video presentations. We urge participants to consider presentation of their work as posters. Posters provide an opportunity for authors to participate in more detailed communication with attendees. Posters are displayed for one or two full days and authors are requested to attend their posters for a minimum of 2 hours. Posters will be displayed on horizontal boards 4-ft. high x 8-ft. wide.

Instructions for Submitting Abstracts can br found on The Wildlife Society's website http://www.wildlife.org

The Wildlife Society announces the availability of travel grants for TWS student members presenting a technical paper or poster at the Society's 9th Annual Conference. Travel grants of up to $500 will be awarded to a limited number of students. To be considered, students must submit abstracts following guidelines in the Call for Contributed Papers and Posters (see Sept.-Oct. 2001 issue of The Wildlifer or the 2002 Conference Call For Papers, or visit the Society's website). The deadline for submission of abstracts is February 15, 2002. Application information will be sent to all students who have a paper or poster accepted in the program. Travel grant applications are due at TWS headquarters by May 31, 2002. An individual is eligible if he/she is a current student or 2002 graduate, a member of The Wildlife Society, and senior author of the accepted presentation or poster. Additionally, the student must present the paper or poster. Recipients of year 2001 grants are ineligible. Recipients will be notified in late July 2002.

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