The PenOpticon

"Whenever we have an economic activity, we've got to do it in an environmentally friendly way". That's what Federal Environment Minister John Baird told the Globe and Mail yesterday when it reported that 500 birds were killed after landing in a toxic lake of "oily tailings". Baird added, "Something went wrong here. I'm not happy about it and I want to get to the bottom of it." Perhaps Mr. Baird should get to the bottom of Syncrude Canada's toxic lake and see if the sludge will stick to him.

Supposedly this tragedy happened because Syncrude had not yet deployed "noise cannons " around the lake to scare off the birds. I dunno — when I first saw similar cannons a few years ago, they were loud and obnoxious, but many birds simply ignored them and came and went as they pleased. I suspect that the tar sands tailing ponds, positioned in the middle of a migratory bird flyway are bound to attract and cause the death of hundreds, if not thousands of birds every year. The Federation of Alberta Naturalists has complained about the tailing ponds for years.

What's troubling (though not surprising) is that Baird is comfortable talking about open lakes of toxic sludge and environmentally friendly "economic activity" in the same breath. No wonder six Alberta conservation groups are suing Baird for failing to protect endangered bird habitat.

When will this "New" free-market, Conservative government start to encourage sustainable energy development and cancel all oil and gas subsidies.  It's tragic and immoral that tar sands development is causing the death of so much wildlife. The fact that Canadian taxpayers are helping to fund this carnage through billion-dollar subsidies is just plain stupid.

The birds came back. In spite of my many fears (some rational, some not so much) over global warming, run-away development and loss of habitat, da birds came back. Denise and I burned serious amounts of carbon in order to see this miracle once again, but the birds did not disappoint. Over the past few weeks we've been to Point Pelee, Rondeau, Thickson Woods, the Carden Alvar and also managed 3 or 4 treks through the wilder parts of York Region. We found 125+ species in Point Pelee over three days and 50 during a short day at the Cardin Alvar.

Of course, my subjective view about the number and variety of birds returning this spring means nothing. As mentioned, human activity has altered or destroyed many natural habitats — and global warming isn't helping either. Experts such as York University's Professor Bridget Stutchbury (see Silence of the Songbirds), have observed a significant decline in the numbers of North American songbirds. 

With fewer birds and fewer natural wetland and forest habitats, it's no wonder that a birder has to drive a long way just to see 'em.  But for those lucky enough to escape the gray and steel of a North American urban landscape, the trek is worth it.  Now more than ever, we need observers — people in the field — who watch, identify and record the evidence of the natural world.  Great observers like Jamuudsen help us to remember the beauty that may be slipping through our fingers. Here are a few highlights from our own observations:

We had a great outing in the Kleinburg this Saturday, looking for raptors and owls.  The hit of the day was probably the five long-eared owls we found in a line of pines at the Nashville Cemetery.  But it was a great day for hawks and falcons also. This Merlin seemed to be glued to a branch for a good half hour. The bird barely moved except to occasionally swivel his head 'round to glare at us.  This mash-up photo was made made by holding a digital camera up to the eyepiece of a scope. Couldn't get a single decent shot to describe the bird, so I put together the vignetted views of all the bad ones. A picture is worth a thousand words — and sometimes it takes eight mediocre shots to net just one Merlin.

After last night’s mean-spirited rant, here’s the bird of the week: the Long-Eared Owl. There are supposed to be four of these guys hanging around the Burlington Outdoor Recreation Centre north of Toronto, but we only saw three.  B.O.R.C. is located in kind of a wasteland of industrial dumping stations and train yards, mixed in with farms. Lot’s of midnight dumping of refrigerators and stoves into nearby gullies also. Between that and the stupid ATVs roaring around, aren’t we a charming species? Still, it’s amazing to find these beautiful creatures and the occasional Northern Shrike in such a place.

For the past week or so, I’ve been visiting a family of Hooded Mergansers at Stong Pond, in the middle of York University’s Keele Campus. You can walk around and around the pond to get a closer view, but these guys will calmly move to the opposite side to keep a safe distance from anyone with a camera. Even when geese and mallards crash and slosh around in the same pond, these tough ducks just mosey along in a zen-like state. I’m not sure how tasty the fish in Stong Pond are, but these ducks spend quite a bit of time under water, looking for food. According to the Cornell ornithological lab:

The Hooded Merganser finds its prey underwater by sight. The merganser can actually change the refractive properties of its eyes to enhance its underwater vision. In addition, the nictating membrane (third eyelid) is very transparent and probably acts to protect the eye during swimming, just like a pair of goggles.