August was passing uneventfully for the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory until August 8 when a Black Bear approached within 5 m of field staff while they were yelling at it. Thankfully we always carry a canister of bear spray – even better, we have not yet needed to use one. We did not care… Read more »
Weekly Reports
August 1 – 7, 2024
Summer is slipping away fast at the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory. By the time August is over, we will have seen the last of most of our long-distance migrants that arrived only a few months ago for a hurried breeding season in the boreal forest. Their long journeys seem to have been worth every… Read more »
July 25 – 31, 2024
After being delayed by high winds and rain late last week which brought a few small trees down over our nets and trails, the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory finally completed our breeding-focused Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) program on May 28, 2024. In general, MAPS went smoothly with a few delays caused by… Read more »
July 18 – 24, 2024
While the intention was to summarize the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory’s 2024 Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) program, high winds followed by rain caused several delays and we could not complete our MAPS efforts. Yet, in what we have finished of our last period of MAPS was a first for our station: banding… Read more »
July 11 – 17, 2024
As the songs of spring morph into chips from hungry young birds to their diligent parents, we are seeing many fledgling birds in the nets. These fledglings are taking the next harrowing step towards adulthood as they leave the nest and finish growing. While all our songbirds start out helpless and require constant care from… Read more »
July 4 – 10, 2024
Here at the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory (LSLBO) we are over half-way through our MAPS program, which focuses on breeding birds. So far in MAPS 44% of our captures were recaptures – that’s a bird that is already banded. Recapturing banded birds is the only way for us to accurately know the age of… Read more »
June 27 – July 3, 2024
The Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory is still monitoring locally breeding songbirds, but a few birds have already left their summer homes. This dispersal netted us a young Varied Thrush – our first captured during MAPS and only the ninth we have ever banded. While range maps will tell you this species cannot be found… Read more »
June 20 – 26, 2024
Last week we discussed how to responsibly enjoy wild spaces with our dogs. Yet dogs are not the only pet that harms wildlife. In Canada, the largest direct human-caused killer of birds is domestic cats, whose depredations far exceed the deaths caused by collisions with windows, wind turbines, and cars combined 1. Bird are especially… Read more »
June 13 – 19, 2024
Now that the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory is focusing on our monitoring programs for breeding songbirds, we want to discuss some visitors that can hurt our birds: people and their pets. Last fall we met eleven dogs during monitoring at the station, five of which were off-leash. One uncontrolled dog even charged into one… Read more »
June 6 – 12, 2024
On June 10, the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory wrapped up Spring Migration Monitoring after 56 consecutive days of counting birds. Spring began promising on April 16 with counts of over 5,000 Slate-coloured Juncos despite the warm temperatures and little snowfall over the winter. Juncos normally move through before we can start monitoring when early… Read more »
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The 2025 ANNUAL REPORT is a wrap, so check out all the highlights from last season. Thank you to our dedicated staff, volunteers, members, program partners, and sponsors that enable the LSLBO to deliver such great programs each year! If you are missing our world, just a reminder that spring migration monitoring is only 3 months away! ![]()
www.lslbo.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Annual-Report-2025.pdf
SUMMER INTERPRETER JOB POSTING![]()
The Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory and our education partner, the Lesser Slave Forest Education Society are seeking an adventurous, fun and creative individual to join our team this summer! Our summer interpreter will be responsible for leading groups of students on educational fieldtrips, creating new education programs, delivering summer camp programs, leading tours of the LSLBO as well as providing summer interpretive programs at the Boreal Centre for Bird Conservation. For the full job posting please visit:![]()
www.lslbo.org/job-opportunities/summer-interpreter/