Feb. 4. 
     
    
   
   
    
     it doesn't deserve". 
     
    
   
   
    
     motion for the Island. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Instead of dark, dirty, 
     
     ‘;we saw a lot of wonderful underwater shots of cormorants 
     
     "swimming and feeding, and the birds in flight with great 
     
     shots of Prince Edward Island as a backdrop - the Depart— 
     
     ment of Tourism couldn't have done a better job as a pro- 
     
    
   
   
    
     .- r 
     
    
   
   
    
      Puts .blame on mom 
     
    
   
   
    
     BY GARY SCHNEIDER 
     
    
   
   
    
     stinky rats of 
     
    
   
   
    
     The double-crested cormorant is a bird that has taken . 
     
     a lot of criticism on Prince Edward Island over the past 
     
     two years, and so it was with great interest and anticipa— 
     
     tion that I watched CBC's The Nature of Things program on 
     
     "The Sea Raven" painted a much different picture 
     
     of the double-crested cormorant, "a bird with a reputation 
     
    
   
   
    
     the bird world, 
     
    
   
   
    
     The show made the point that double-crested cormorants are blamed for 
     
     for eating salmon and trout, but all studies show those species are only a 
     
    
   
   
    
     tiny part of their diet, 
     
    
   
   
    
     and that they mostly feed on fish of no commer— 
     
    
   
   
    
     cial value. On the other hand, cormorants‘are victims of gulls eating their 
     
     eggs, pesticides sprayed on potato fields above their colonies that are 
     
     absorbed by fish and then affect young feeders, and of course, man. 
     
    

    
     The host told about a colony in Mahone Bay that had a healthy popula~ 
     
     tion five weeks before filming, and then we were treated to recent film 
     
     at the colony, the ground littered with dead cormorants and shotgun shells 
     
     and only two birds that escaped the killing. Some of the conclusions reach- 
     
     ed were that with the pressure to reduce the population, the cormorants 
     
     face an uncertain future, partly because even though they're protected, 
     
    
   
   
    
     law enforcement is lax, 
     
    
   
   
    
     and that people, 
     
    
   
   
    
     not cormorants take the largest 
     
    
   
   
    
     catch of fish and have caused serious depletions of some commercial species. 
     
     David Suzuki closed the program with the following observation: "We're 
     
     forever looking for scapegoats to blame for the damage done by human act— 
     
     ivities. Destroying innocent wildlife won't solve complex economic and en— 
     
     vironmental problems. The roots of those problems are much closer to home." 
     
    
   
   
    
     MISI‘G‘I’IOI’! Sfudy 
     
     now (won lable 
     
    
   
   
    
     The Prince Edward Island Museum 
     
     and Heritage Foundation has produced a 
     
     Short Study on the spring bird migra- 
     
     tion on P.E.I. The study, done by NHS 
     
     recording secretary Geoff Hogan, in- 
     
     cludes why and where birds migrate, 
     
     behavioural differences, keeping re- 
     
     cords and a suggested reading list. 
     
    

    
     The back page is a table on when 
     
     to expect new species as spring pro- 
     
     gresses. The study is well-illustrated 
     
     and designed (by Reg Vessey and Cheryl 
     
     Cudmore, respectively) and hopefully 
     
     is the first in a series. We look for— 
     
     ward to Short Study 2. The study is 
     
     available from the Foundation, or by 
     
     writing to Short Study Series, 2 Kent 
     
     St., Ch'town CIA 1M6. 14 
     
    
   
   
    
     A 
     
     3%.}! 
     
    
   
   
    
     HinEdwadeaMMImm 
     
    
   
   
    
     5133}; Study 
     
    
   
   
    
     Spring Bird Migration on P.E.I. 
     
    
   
   
    
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