comm POPULATIONS :

The figures below provide an assessment of the health of the cormorant population on Prince Edward Island based on the number of nests in known colonies of Great and Double-crested Cormorant on Prince Edward Island from 1977 to 1997. The data and figures have been provided by the Fish and Wildlife Division.

GREATCORMORANT

DOUBLE—CRESTED CORMORANT

s

NUMBER W NESTS § § r —1"—'— l fl

NUMBER OF NESTS

O

7779818365878991939597

.1973 SURVEY INCOMPLETE ‘ [

The decline in numbers of breeding Great Cormorants led the Society to bring pressure to close the autumn shooting season on cormorants on P.E.I. The Society is pleased to report that the government has closed the cormorant hunting season. Nuisance permits are still allowed for ponds. The Society has contested this practice in the past as cormorant are a natural part of these ecosystems. However, these are waters rarely frequented by the Great Cormorant.

NEWS FROM ABOUT: compiled by Dan McAskill

In July, 1997, the Hillsborough River became the Island’s first Canadian Heritage River. Congratulations to the Board and members of the Hillsborough River Association, Doug Murray of Enterprise PEI, Canadian Heritage and the residents both present and former for bringing this vision to reality. The monument is located in Glen Roy, a few miles west of Mount Stewart. This site offers an excellent view of the river and over looks the landing area of the Scots, lies beside a Mi'kmaq reservation, and was important in the French period of colonization.

Nova Scotia woods and fields have seen the outbreak of a new leaf eater. This time it is the White Marked Tussock Moth. From a small area with light defoliation, this insect caused light to severe defoliation on 400,000 acres in 1997. This creature feeds on a wide selection of plants from blueberries to trees. While it does not seem to like the red spruce, in a single year it can strip and kill certain other conifers including balsam fir and white spruce. (adapted from information from Ed MacAuley and Rob Uttaro, NSDNR)

The Long Point Bird Observatory is still very active with its Ontario programs including Bird Conservation strategy for Ontario, the Woodlands Project, Marsh Monitoring Program, Ontario Rare Birds at Risk, the James Berry Drain Project and the Nocturnal Owl Survey. This is but a sampling of their overall projects. The first project includes the determination of the proportion of the species' breeding range

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