This was the second week of fall migration monitoring for the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory. We are actively observing songbirds as they leave the breeding grounds on an arduous journey with the reward of a warm, insect rich winter spent in southern climes. Despite the slow start to bird movements last week, this week’s… Read more »
Weekly Reports
July 9 – 16, 2020
By Robyn Perkins, LSLBO Bander-in-Charge Despite summer just beginning for many people, the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory launched its Fall Migration Monitoring program on July 12. This is the time of year where songbirds hatched a month ago begin trickling away from their hatching grounds while their parents stick around to replace old feathers… Read more »
July 2 – 8, 2020
By Bronwyn Robinson, Field Assistant Perhaps you are familiar with the nasally weh-weh-weh of a red-breasted nuthatch whisking up a tree trunk. They’re quite small and, in my humble opinion, shaped similarly to a thumb. We often get these fellows at the observatory. They don’t usually migrate, but if food becomes scarce they might all move at… Read more »
June 25 – July 1, 2020
By Laura Brandon, Boreal Educator All the rainy weather we’ve been receiving this season has been a challenge. However, despite the wet conditions, we just wrapped up a series of breeding bird surveys as part of a special research project for the local forest industry. Staff observed tons of evidence this week that songbirds are… Read more »
June 18-24, 2020
By Patti Campsall, Executive Director The boreal forest is often referred to as North America’s bird nursery, and this week our researchers are observing lots of signs that birds are right in the middle of their nesting season. While finishing up the second round of the MAPS (Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship) program, they were… Read more »
June 11-17, 2020
by Laura Brandon, Boreal Educator After completing a very cool and wet Spring Migration Monitoring season, the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory has begun our MAPS (Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship) program which is a continent-wide project coordinated by the Institute of Bird Populations that studies breeding bird populations in order to better conserve them… Read more »
June 4 – 10, 2020
By Patti Campsall – Executive Director June 10th marked the last day of Spring Migration Monitoring at the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory. By this time, most of the migratory songbirds are usually done their migration and are busy establishing breeding territories. However, the slow spring migration trend continued as we were still observing active… Read more »
May 28 – June 3, 2020
By Laura Brandon, Boreal Educator As spring migration monitoring begins to wrap up for the season, the last of the spring migrants continue to trickle in at the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory. The recent wet and windy weather has likely dampened migration for many species, causing them to forage at stopover sites a little… Read more »
May 21 – 27, 2020
by Patti Campsall, Executive Director Spring is starting to ramp up at the LSLBO as we reach our peak migration monitoring period. Over the past week, we have observed consistent movement of Swainson’s Thrush, White-throated Sparrows, Chipping Sparrows, and Clay-coloured Sparrows. May 27th was an especially big day for warblers, with over 1000 warblers counted… Read more »
May 14 – 20, 2020
By Laura Brandon – Boreal Educator If you’ve been lucky enough to enjoy the sunshine and spend some time outdoors over the last week, you will likely have noticed an increase in the number of beautiful bird songs around your neighbourhood and in the forest. This is no coincidence! In previous years, the third week of May… Read more »
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The early migrants are arriving in Slave Lake with sightings of Juncos, American tree sparrows, and our first robin this week. So that means our own Robyn will be starting up the Spring Migration Monitoring program at the station soon. ![]()
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If you would like to support our amazing team and bird conservation programs, you can send a donation to our Team Tanager in the Great Canadian Birdathon! ![]()
www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/Birds_Canada/p2p/birdathon24/team/lesser-slave-lake-bird-observa...
Are you looking for a unique fieldtrip for your students this spring? Check out our hands-on programs for students from Grade 1 to post secondary. Just a reminder that we are only able to offer these programs during the spring migration season from mid May to June 10th. So call soon as dates are booking up fast. ![]()
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Interested in knowing more about what a bird observatory tour is like? Check out our LSLBO Video tour: ![]()
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qOPibmMQaU
Friday (Feb 16) is the LAST DAY to apply for our MIGRATION FIELD ASSISTANT position at the LSLBO!![]()
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If you have good birding skills and want to gain more hands-on field experience in the world of avian migration monitoring, visit our job board for more information on this rewarding position: ![]()
www.lslbo.org/job-opportunities/migration-field-assistant/