Conservation efforts keeping rare bird from extinction in Canada
Unless habitat loss is reversed, the Eastern loggerhead shrike could soon become extinct.
By WorkCabin.ca Staff
It's one of the rarest birds in Canada. And unless habitat loss is reversed, the Eastern loggerhead shrike could soon become extinct.
In the past 50 years the shrike has faced a rapid decline, making it one of North America’s fastest disappearing birds. In 2004, there were less than 100 pairs of Eastern loggerhead shrikes in all of Canada and the north-east United States. In Canada it's officially designated as endangered.
So what's causing the decline? Research suggests four main factors may be working against the bird:
*The fact shrikes frequent roadside grasslands where they hunt and nest in bushes means they are often struck by cars when they swoop across roadways to catch prey
* Habitat loss is a significant reason. The bird's essential grassland habitat is lost when it's converted to crops, forests or developed by humans
* Chemicals, including pesticides, are harming songbirds in general, both in terms of food sources and reproduction
* House cats and feral cats are likely another source of the decline. Shrike nests are easily accessible by cats and other predators. Feral cats prowling grasslands for mice are hunting in the same habitat where shrike live and hunt
Conservation groups such as Bird Studies Canada, the Ministry of Natural Resources, World Wildlife Fund, Toronto Zoo, McGill University and Wildlife Preservation Canada are all working on conservation efforts to save the Eastern loggerhead shrike.
This month, Wildlife Preservation Canada released 19 captive-bred shrikes near Orillia, Ontario, home to one of the last remaining grassland breeding areas for the bird. Several of the shrikes are equipped with special radio transmitters so biologists can further track their movements.
If the shrike is to escape extinction, it will be near Orillia, in the environmentally important Carden Alvar where success will be achieved. The grassland habitat of the Alvar is where the Couchiching Conservancy and its partners have protected almost 6,000 acres. More than half of the shrikes in the wild today in Ontario now nest on the protected lands.
The loggerhead shrike is a unique bird. It's not only a songbird, but also a bird of prey that hunts small snakes, mice, meadow voles and insects. They frequently impale their prey on barbed wire or thorns before eating.
Despite the progress being made to save the Eastern loggerhead shrike, there are still worries about the endangered bird's future in Ontario.
Earlier this month, Ontario's Liberal government approved exemptions to the Endangered Species Act which was passed in May 2007. New exemptions for the aggregate and hydro industries will impact endangered species in central Ontario, warns Ontario Nature. Under previous regulations, 42 species and their habitats were fully protected. The new exemptions mean that these species -- which include the loggerhead shrike -- will no longer be afforded the same degree of protection that they once had.
“We’re worried,” said Caroline Schultz, executive director of Ontario Nature in a release. “In many ways, these exemptions will allow business to continue as usual. And business as usual, we know, is pushing over 200 species towards extinction in Ontario.”
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PHOTO CREDIT: Environment Canada / Robert McCaw
Posted by on 07/24 at 03:18 PM