PHOTOS AVAILABLE
Interview Opportunity:2007 Christmas Bird CountNatalie Helferty, Ontario Nature 2007 Christmas Bird Count Coordinator, is available for interviews
Beginning last Thursday and lasting until January 5, 2008, the 108th annual Christmas Bird Count (CBC) is taking place in communities across Ontario. Birders from Ontario Nature's member clubs as far north as Fort Frances, Thunder Bay and Sudbury; as far south as Point Pelee and Holiday Beach in Essex County; and as far east as Ottawa and Vankleek Hill are participating.
FUN FACTS
* The CBC is conducted in over 2000 localities across Canada,
the United States, Latin America, and the Caribbean. There
are 110 counts scheduled for the Ontario 2007 CBC.
* The CBC data is used by the Canadian Wildlife Service and
other organizations to assess bird distribution, habitat use
and population changes. In recent years, counts have
indicated a stark drop in the number of migrating birds
across Canada. Researchers suggest deforestation, global
warming and urban growth are the reason for the drop in
bird sightings.
* Conceived as a way to promote conservation by monitoring
the distribution and numbers of resident and migratory
birds in North America, it has evolved into one of the most
valuable methods of measuring the health of our
environment.
* Each CBC is performed within an assigned circle 24
kilometers in diameter (458 square kilometers total).
* Volunteers cover as much of the circle as possible within a
24 hour period on any day within the official count period.
Birds may be observed and recorded from either a bird
feeder site within the assigned count area or from
expeditions within the designated circle.
* Data for each count are compiled by volunteer coordinators
and submitted for analysis to Bird Studies Canada, the
organization that coordinates the Christmas Bird Count in
Canada.
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For more information or to arrange interviews, contact:
Natalie Helferty, Ontario Nature, 416-444-8419, cell: 416-460-2460, natalieh@ontarionature.org.
Ontario Nature is a not-for profit that works to protect and restore natural habitats through research, education and conservation. It connects thousands of individuals and communities with nature through various conservation groups across the province (charitable registration # 10737 8592 RR0001). For more information, visit www.ontarionature.org.
In addition to this website, we also do fax and email distribution. Call us for a quote on your distribution needs at 416-805-7720 or email us at huffd@ecostrategy.ca.
