CURLEW AND LOOKS SIiIHTED: by D.G. Stewart E

My wife and I were walking our Irish wolfhound on Blooming Point beach last evening about 18:30 [July 17]. It was an overcast evening, but the light was quite good. About 1/2 mile down the beach - we were walking east - I spotted two large shorebirds ahead. As we got closer, I looked with binoculars and saw the long curlew bill. I looked in vain for the striped Whimbrel head, but neither of us could see striping no matter what angle of view. As we got even closer, they flushed and flew past us just off shore. I noted the cinnamon underwing but did not know what this meant until I tried to find what they were in the various field guides at home.

When we turned to go home, we flushed them a few more times. They would fly about 100 metres and feed again. I was struck by their large size and very long down-curved bills. My Shorebirds of the World reference book appears to confirm the Long-billed

miuhfl Curlew diagnosis. I would presume they were *5 \ probably juveniles who took a wrong turn. I \\ l/ was not quite close enough to determine

feather patterns for wear, etc. so determining age was impossible. There was also a pair of Common Loon with two chicks just off the bridge over the ponds. We also saw a short-tailed tern flying off shore. It disappeared before I could deploy my binoculars so I have no idea what it was

RAIN GUARD FOR TUBULAR FEEDERS: by Wylie Barrett

For too long I have been plagued with finch feeders getting wet from leakage at the feed points and becoming a sticky mess at the bottom of the feeder. I have resolved the problem by cutting a piece of medium stiff plastic six inches in diameter with a two and one half inch hole in v the centre. This I place on the feeder tube FLASTfic two inches above the top of the upper feed holes and then run some caulking around the joint. Diameter of tubular feeders differ slightly but this principle can be applied, . adjusting the measurements as required. If the hole in the plastic is cut for a very tight fit, the rain shield can be snapped down like the brim of a hat. The plastic stock I used was a car dealer's advertisement from the front of a car. (the car looks better without it)

CQULKV" t!

ARE BIRDS DECLINING AT ISLAND PEEDERS by Tyler Fraser 5 Shane Thompson

Procedure:

We developed a seven question survey. We gave the survey to people we know who feed birds, advertised our survey in the Guardian, left copies with the Island Nature Trust, and with the Bird’s Eye Nature Store. We also read articles, both local and around the world, about bird populations. An article in Eco-news, written by Gary Schneider was helpful because it talks about the situation here. We then interviewed Dan McAskill, a well known bird expert who works for the Department of Agriculture and Forestry. His comments are included in this report. We then collected all the surveys and analyzed the data.