Ask the field staff how the past week has been going at the station, and the response is SLOW! With fall arriving in the boreal forest, we are observing a significant slowdown in fall migration with captures of some warbler species slowing down to a trickle. We are also starting to observe flocks of migratory waterfowl passing overhead. We are still waiting for the late rush of Myrtle Warblers in the nets, but they may be on their way as over 600 myrtles were observed passing overhead one morning this week. Myrtle Warblers are our number one banded species at the station due to their overall abundance and long migration windows. Overall, it is shaping up to be a regular fall with almost 1900 birds banded of 58 species so far. Top banded species to date: American Redstart (297), Tennessee Warbler (291), Swainson’s Thrush (173), Yellow Warbler (152), and Canada Warbler (128).
(l to r) Julia Ritter – field assistant, Saige Burnett – Info Officer, Danika Wack – Educator, Willow Pawlak – Interpreter
As fall migration slowly winds down, so do the summer programs at the Boreal Centre for Bird Conservation. So that means it is time to say thank you and sadly say goodbye to some of our summer education team at the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory.
Our lead educator Danika Wack started with us in spring 2022. If you have been on a school fieldtrip, family program or banding lab tour over the past few years, you have had the pleasure of learning with Danika. A graduate of the UAlberta Conservation Biology program, she has the special ability to share her love of boreal forest ecology with audiences of any ages. Best of all, her genuine kindness brings such positive energy to our education team. Danika is already getting ready for another busy fall delivering programs for the Boreal Centre as well as our education partner, the Lesser Slave Forest Education Society.
Willow Pawlak joined us at our summer interpreter this year. A BSc. Biology graduate from Ambrose University in Calgary, she has an incredible love of learning and is constantly expanding her knowledge of boreal forest ecology. Best of all, Willow absolutely loves to organize our world and create fun education activities! Our library and resources room have never looked so good!
For the second summer in a row, Saige Burnett returned as our information officer. Have a question on boreal forest ecology, need help with a program, Saige was your person. But her real superpower is her passion of movie pop culture which came in very handy for our very popular “Owl Wars” program this summer. We wish Saige good luck as she returns for her second year of Biological Sciences at the UAlberta.
We need a big education team to make it all happen each summer. Alberta Parks Visitor Engagement Supervisor, Ceiridwen Robbins and her summer interpreters Alisa Echeverria and Ben Epps helped deliver spring fieldtrips and exciting interpretive programs in the campgrounds this summer. Braidi Locke with WildBoreal Environmental Educators also helped us on busy program days and wowed us with her incredible knowledge of boreal forest ecology.
Interested in our next family program? The Fall Owl Monitoring Program will be starting up this weekend and our very popular Owl Nights will be taking place on October 4 and 5th. Call 780-849-8240 to register!
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- Willow with her new Geology Rocks program
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- Danika with students learning about birds!
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- Braidi exploring the Songbird Loop
By Patti Campsall, Executive Director
