Ontario Birds At Risk

The volumes in the Birds of Ontario series summarize life history requirements of bird species that are normally part of the ecology of Ontario. This is the second volume in the series and completes the treatment of the nonpasserine bird species occurring in Ontario on a regular basis. Information on habitat, limiting factors, and status is summarized for 83 species in this volume. These topics are covered for the three primary avian seasons: breeding, migration, and winter. Habitat, nest sites, territoriality, site fidelity, annual reproductive effort, habitat loss and degradation, environmental contaminants, and a variety of other topics are covered in the species accounts. Maps depicting breeding and wintering range are presented for most species along with drawings by Ross James. Birds of Ontario is an essential reference source for wildlife biologists, environmental consultants, and planners preparing or reviewing environmental impact statements and environmental assessments. Serious birders will find the volumes of interest as well. Although the books focus on Ontario birds, the information is highly relevant to adjacent provinces and states.

The volumes in the Birds of Ontario series summarize life history requirements of bird species that are normally part of the ecology of Ontario. This is the second volume in the series and completes the treatment of the nonpasserine bird species occurring in Ontario on a regular basis. Information on habitat, limiting factors, and status is summarized for 83 species in this volume. These topics are covered for the three primary avian seasons: breeding, migration, and winter. Habitat, nest sites, territoriality, site fidelity, annual reproductive effort, habitat loss and degradation, environmental contaminants, and a variety of other topics are covered in the species accounts. Maps depicting breeding and wintering range are presented for most species along with drawings by Ross James. Birds of Ontario is an essential reference source for wildlife biologists, environmental consultants, and planners preparing or reviewing environmental impact statements and environmental assessments. Serious birders will find the volumes of interest as well. Although the books focus on Ontario birds, the information is highly relevant to adjacent provinces and states.

"A thorough survey of bird use of cropfields has never been performed in southern Ontario where agriculture is intensive and noncrop habitats are dwindling. The knowledge of bird use of cropfields is critical for a finer evaluation of pesticide risk incurred by birds breeding in or migrating through this area. From July to mid-September 1987 birds were inventoried in six corn and soybean fields in Essex county, in five to six cornfields and apple orchards in Norfolk (Haldimand-Norfolk), and in six cornfields and grape vineyards in Niagara county"--Abstract.

When Julia Zarankin saw her first red-winged blackbird at the age of thirty-five, she didn’t expect that it would change her life. Recently divorced and auditioning hobbies during a stressful career transition, she stumbled on birdwatching, initially out of curiosity for the strange breed of humans who wear multi-pocketed vests, carry spotting scopes and discuss the finer points of optics with disturbing fervour. What she never could have predicted was that she would become one of them. Not only would she come to identify proudly as a birder, but birding would ultimately lead her to find love, uncover a new language and lay down her roots. Field Notes from an Unintentional Birder tells the story of finding meaning in midlife through birds. The book follows the peregrinations of a narrator who learns more from birds than she ever anticipated, as she begins to realize that she herself is a migratory species: born in the former Soviet Union, growing up in Vancouver and Toronto, studying and working in the United States and living in Paris. Coming from a Russian immigrant family of concert pianists who believed that the outdoors were for “other people,” Julia Zarankin recounts the challenges and joys of unexpectedly discovering one’s wild side and finding one’s tribe in the unlikeliest of places. Zarankin’s thoughtful and witty anecdotes illuminate the joyful experience of a new discovery and the surprising pleasure to be found while standing still on the edge of a lake at six a.m. In addition to confirmed nature enthusiasts, this book will appeal to readers of literary memoir, offering keen insight on what it takes to find one’s place in the world.

The most authoritative and up-to-date resource on the birds of Ontario.