Migrating Golden Eagles to be Slaughtered in Ontario

Press release provided by Save the Eagles International, May 22, 2015.

In October/November each year, as snow covers their hunting grounds, golden eagles from Canada fly south to warmer climates in the United States. Those migrating from Northern Ontario and the western half of Quebec (all the way up to the Ungava Peninsula) must deal with a major obstacle: the Great Lakes.

Unlike sea gulls, large raptors won’t travel long distances over water if they can avoid it. They prefer to follow the shore till they find a convenient crossing point, such as Holiday Beach at the western tip of Lake Erie, where 93 golden eagles were counted over a migration period, and thousands of other raptors (1). Prince Edward County (PEC), a headland protruding southwards into Lake Ontario where it meets a string of islands leading to the US shore, is another concentration area: 60 golden eagles (GEs), 25 bald eagles, and 1,100 raptors were counted there on a single day, October 29th 2009 (1). The Species at Risk study, commissioned for the White Pines’ wind project on PEC, reports the sighting of four migrating GEs per day on average, which would come to 120 a month. “This is clearly the main flyway for this species”, comments the South Shore Conservancy (2). Indeed, the entire GE population of Ontario and Western Quebec is estimated to number no more than 250 birds. Equally alarming is this observation reported in the study: “most were flying at blade level” (2).

​Map showing the Prince Edward headland, the string of islands used by migrating birds to cross the lake, and the wind projects that will butcher them. Available at Ontario Wind Turbines

According to Parks Canada: the island chain is a migration corridor for birds. Over 12 million birds pass through this area each year (3). Before crossing the lake, large numbers of birds often congregate on the south shore of PEC, which is a designated Important Bird Area (4). Yet, two wind projects may soon be built within that “protected” area - Whites Pines and Ostander Point - and a third one is in waiting: Loyalist. If this is not a premeditated crime against migrating birds, what is? These are indeed "protected" under Canada's Migratory Birds Convention Act and the international Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

The Ontario government state on their webpage (5) that the conservation status of the Golden Eagle in Ontario is “endangered”: “the species lives in the wild in Ontario but is facing imminent extinction or extirpation”. They also acknowledge that “during migration they (GEs) … are most frequently seen migrating west along the shores of Lake Ontario and Erie in November”. “In the fall of 2008, several stations on Lake Ontario and Erie reported more than 50 (GEs) in one day”. Finally, the risk of collision is acknowledged, if grudgingly: “collisions with wind turbines have been documented at some sites”.

The “some sites” they refer to are those rare wind farms where monitoring of bird mortality has been performed. At most wind plants, where no monitoring is done, no carcasses are found, or at least reported, except on rare occasions. Windfarm employees are not keen on reporting what will hurt their employers, and their own jobs. Besides, eagle feathers, talons and beaks are worth money on the black market. But in spite of this cover up on eagle mortality, it has been documented that thousands of GEs have been killed by wind turbines (6). They are in fact attracted to them, as are ospreys and other raptors (7). This is why so many are getting struck by turbine blades, something that financial and political interests have been trying to hide, while proposing ineffective measures of mitigation or compensation (8).

Common sense demands that migration routes, bottlenecks and staging areas be spared by wind developers. The Ontario government agrees to this in its Golden Eagle Recovery Strategy: “It is recommended that provisions should be made to incorporate any future information gathered on migration corridors and stop-over sites (habitat used for resting, roosting and foraging during migration) for inclusion within a habitat regulation” (9).

This hasn’t been done, yet it has been known for years that PEC is a vital stop-over site for GEs and 12 million birds each year (3), and possibly for millions of bats as well. The Ontario government knows it, ornithologists know it, and so do bird watchers. There will be carnage, but the decision makers behave as if the developers' impact assessments were unbiased. In fact, this attitude is fairly common all over the world: conflicts of interest, i.e. corruption, pave the way for the destruction of our environment (10).

Once the wind projects are built (White Pines and Ostander Point, and later perhaps Loyalist, Amherst, Trillium Power Wind 1, Wolfe Island Shoals), "habitat regulation" will become meaningless. It will be too late. The massacre will begin.

We respectfully request the Ontario government to stop these projects.

Contact:

Mark Duchamp, President

save.the.eagles@gmail.com

References:

1) – golden-eagles-would-funnel-through-a-turbine-killing-zone-in-prince-edward-county

Of particular interest, the mention of a letter from the Ministry of the Environment which states: “An observation credited to Phil Taylor of 1100 raptors at Prince Edward Point Oct 29 2009, including 60 Golden Eagles and 25 Bald Eagles (BR Sec. 3.7, p. 3.9, para 6). These numbers are confirmed by David Okine, director of Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory.” Note: this is a one-day count.

2) - species at risk

3) - effects of wind turbines
wind turbines

4) - important bird area

Important Bird Area ”During fall migration, large numbers of raptors, both diurnal and nocturnal, move over the Point. Up to 2,000 hawks a day can regularly be observed including large numbers of Sharp-shinned, Red-shouldered, and Red-tailed Hawks.” And: “In total, some 298 species of birds have been recorded at Prince Edward Point with about 220 species being recorded during the average year. Most of these species are recorded during migration, although at least 74 species nest within the area. The number and diversity of landbirds that concentrate in this small area during spring and fall migration is outstanding.”

5) - golden eagle
golden eagle

6) - eagle mortality statistics

Note: these eagle mortality statistics were gathered by chance, and represent the tip of the iceberg. Besides, they haven’t been updated since 2006.

– Some of the ospreys killed by wind turbines (tip of the iceberg)

– Effects on red kites: (pages 96, 97).

7) - raptors attracted to windfarms

8) - covering up the massacre

9) - golden eagle

10) - Tax Agency uncovers alleged wind farm payoff scheme in Castilla y León

Pigeon Invasion in the Niagara District

Grimsby, in the Niagara district, has been invaded by millions of wild pigeons. A report says the pigeons have taken possession of all the available woods within a range of five or six miles south of Grimsby. The farmers have turned out with shot guns and other weapons, and are slaughtering them by hundreds. It is believed they have made a temporary roost of the locality referred to. They came from the direction of the south-east. Limbs of many large trees are reported to have broke down with the weight of the pigeons perched thereon.

May 8, 1875. Pigeon invasion. Winnipeg Standard 34: 4.

Flocks of Pigeons Cross Niagara River

The Niagara, Canada West Mail, of the 19th ult. states — A tremendous emigration of pigeons from the adjoining states took place on Sunday inst. They were crossing the Niagara from before nine o'clock in the morning until past one in the afternoon, and taking the speed flight at forty miles an hour, the flock must have been upwards of one hundred and twenty miles in length.

May 4, 1847. Flocks of pigeons. Middlebury Northern Galaxy 12(1): 2.

Numbers of Wild Pigeons at Quebec

Quebec, June 27.

The number of wild pigeons which have made their appearance in this neighborhood now exceeds any other for many years past. They are sold as low as 2d; and 4d. per dozen is commonly asked for. The pigeons pass in numerous flocks early in the morning, and afford great amusement to the sportsmen. Upwards of one hundred persons with guns, place themselves on heights outside of St. John's and St. Lewis Gates, and during a few hours the whole air resounds with a close succession of discharges.

July 10, 1822. [Numbers of wild pigeons at Quebec.] Independent Chronicle and Boston Patriot 56 (4300): 4. Issued July 10, 1822. Also July 16 in Richmond Enquirer, with brief accounts on price paid in several other newspapers.

Immense Flocks of Pigeons at St. John, New Brunswick

Halifax, July 13.

Extract of a letter from St. John, N.B., dated July 3. "The immense flocks of Pigeons which have passed over this place within these few days far exceed any thing of the kind in the recollection of the oldest inhabitants. They are so tame that they roost on the rigging of the ships in the harbor; they are already destroying the Buckwheat, and our farmers will doubtless suffer severely by this visit. The people here catch them in nets, 90 or 100 at a time.

August 8, 1822. Halifax. Connecticut Mirror 14(7): 3.

Trees in Canada Universally Covered with Pigeon Nests

Portland, July 1.

Extract of a letter from Bridgeton, to the Editor of this Paper.

"The following discovery has lately been made at Sunbury Canada, a new settlement on Amaroscoggin River.

A Mr. B. Ruffe, was hunting in the woods in the beginning of May, and found a large extent of ground where the trees were universally covered with Pigeon nests, containing the young. On his return home, his account was not credited by his neighbours. About a fortnight after, several of them accompanied him, and found his account did not equal what they there beheld! A large extent of land of several miles, thro' which they passed, (how much farther they knew not) the trees on which were entirely covered with Pigeon nests. The young were mostly in their nests, but ready to fly. There was but one in a nest, still they took four dozen from a tree. They took from 50 to 100 dozen in a day.

The scene was admirable to behold! The young were hovering on the nests, and calling for food, while the old ones darkened the air with a continual motion to and from the nest, busily employed in feeding their young."

July 13, 1791. Portland. Litchfield Monitor 6(314): 3. Issued July 13, 1791.

Extraordinary Number of Wild Pigeons at Maritime Counties

Boston, Aug. 28.

The extraordinary number of wild pigeons which have visited the maritime counties, and those adjoining, the present season, has been a subject of much conversation. Some persons ascribe this abundance to the war on the Canadian frontier, as having driven all from that vicinity.

August 30, 1813. [Extraordinary number of wild pigeons at maritime counties.] New York Evening Post 3455: 3.

Canadian Birder Receives Recognition for Decades of Banding Owls

The recipient of the 2008 Champion of Owls award has spent more than six decades banding a plethora of owls and other birds in Canada.

Dr. C. Stuart Houston received the award – being one of several nominees – from the Center for Biological Diversity in late February at the annual awards event, held at the International Festival of Owls in Houston, Minnesota.

Stuart Houston holding a Great Horned Owl. Photo courtesy of Dr. Houston.

Houston banded his first birds in 1943, working for Ducks Unlimited Canada. As a youth, "Ducks Unlimited (permit no. 00077) paid me 10 cents, then 20 cents per duck banded,” he said.

Through the end of 2007, 136,479 bands had been placed on 209 species in Saskatchewan, with authorization by permit 00460, the second lowest number active for the banding program managed by the Canadian Wildlife Service in Ottawa.

The year 2008 will be his 66th year of banding birds near his home in Saskatoon, and Mary Houston, his wife’s 57th year.

Houston mentioned several values to banding efforts:

1) Most important is the publicity that helped people realize that owls have a niche in nature. Owls were being shot, but 25 years later Saskatchewan farmers realized the value of owls in the natural scheme.

2) Mentoring and educating youth about the natural world; several helpers have become professors of zoology or ornithology, one became the Saskatchewan Minister of the Environment, and one became Canada's Minister of State for Science and Technology in Ottawa. Others have played prominent roles in conservation.

3) Returns from banded birds provides details needed to determine how long owls may live. Early on one owl lived a record 13 years, then another lived for 20 years, and one old owl was around for 26 years.

4) The large number of recoveries and encounters provided data showing that owls will live longer if born in a year with larger prey populations that allow the fledged young to remain in the area where born. Otherwise, many go elsewhere, moving up to 1000 km southeast into the Dakotas, Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska.

Houston’s wife of more than 56 years has been essential help in the banding effort, Houston said. She also helped with extensive banding of colonial waterbirds as well as banding thousands of tree swallows and bluebirds, and more than 5000 Bohemian Waxwings. About half of the Bohemian Waxwing band recoveries for North America resulted from rings she placed on the waxwings, Houston said with pride in his voice.

Several subpermittees have also provided essential assistance during the years, with a number eventually achieving the skills and knowledge to receive their own banding permit.

The cooperation of local farmers has been essential in banding the local owls, Houston said. Landowners would locate nests, get permission from their neighbor the land owner and then tell us about them so we visit them to band the young.

In the 1940s, Bill Horseman was instrumental in getting Houston started in owl banding. Horseman was a high school student earning cash by trapping weasels, muskrats and beavers. Bill noted Great Horned Owl nests in trees along his trapline, and asked Houston if he would be interested in banding the owlets. That first season, 22 young in ten nests got aluminum rings on their legs. This effort received recognition in the continent summary in Audubon Field Notes. Fifty young were banded the following year and 150 the year after that. From this experience, Houston realized the value of organizing farmers to find nests.

"It has required a lot of driving and hours to band the birds," Houston said. "This could not have been done without the help of farmers and a good team that spelled me off by climbing the most difficult trees."

Mary and Stuart Houston. Photo by Dan Varland, as published in Wingspan, the newsletter of the Raptor Research Foundation.

Each May weekend, the banding team would start at 5 a.m. Saturday and go to midnight Sunday. Days were long at that latitude, Houston explained. Additional banding was done in early mornings and late evenings. "We worked from south to north and rarely had to change our itinerary to avoid rain."

"We covered a lot of country and met many nice people," he said. "Some farmers would provide a meal that would be a welcome change from our packed sandwiches. We stayed in small town hotels overnight. Our major cost was the gasoline for our 4-wheel-drive vehicle.

Dr. Houston started his medical career in family practice in 1951, but after nine years spent four years of study to become a radiologist. "It helps to have discretionary income, since banding birds has become an extremely expensive hobby, with no financial recompense."

During the many years of banding owls, there were no serious mishaps or accidents, Houston said. "We would do dangerous things very carefully and safely."

The most dangerous time for Houston was the cold day when a fledgling owl flew into the middle of the South Saskatchewan River. "I had to retrieve the bird before it floated too far down river," he said, "so I removed everything but my under-shorts and swam to get the owl. I was blue and hypothermic by the time I got back to the shore. That episode could have been fatal to both of us." And the owl was put back safely into its nest.

Houston has found that six out of 100 adult female owls will strike the climber. One Great Horned Owl pair nested for years in the cupola of an old barn. To protect its young in a light drizzle, the adult remained in place, covering her young to keep them dry. The climber seized the rare opportunity. He threw Houston's jacket onto the far side of the adult owl, to prevent her from flying out the open window. The owl was diverted back into the barn and fluttered down to the floor of the loft, heading straight for the farmer, Bill Cochrane. Bill enveloped the owl and the falling-off jacket in his arms as he went down onto his knees. A shout of triumph was followed by cries of pain, as the owl sank all eight claws into Cochrane's belly, Houston said. Although thick winter clothing prevented the claws from penetrating into his peritoneum, he was taken to the hospital for a tetanus shot.

Other highlights of Houston’s career include:

• Recognition as an Officer of the Order of Canada for his outstanding national service to Canada
• Writing 51 papers on owls
• Writing reviews of six books on owls
• Publication of 11 books, included Eighteenth-Century Naturalists of Hudson Bay in 2003
• Recipient of awards from the American Ornithologists’ Union and Raptor Research Foundation

Dr. Houston is currently working on a two-volume work on the birds of Saskatchewan, and continues to have a great interest in bird history of the north lands of America.

This coming season he will continue the sixth season of his latest project, wing-tagging of nestling Turkey Vultures, with a team of helpful and enthusiastic people. Please watch every Turkey Vulture you see. If it has a wing-tag, read or photograph the number and report it to the banding office. Information is irretrievably lost unless every bird band or marker is reported promptly. Phone without charge to 1-800-327-2263, giving details of when, how, and exactly where it was found.

Banding Records

Of the 209 species, bands have been found for 82, including several thousand for some of the species:

Total Number Banded (1943-2007) - Species With Band Recoveries - Total to end of 2007 - Percent of All-time Recoveries in North America

5512 - American White Pelican - 263 - 4.8%

4674 - Double-crested Cormorant - 267 - 5.7%

84 - Great Blue Heron - 3 - 3.6%

247 - Black-crowned Night Heron - 5 - 2.0%

26 - Snow Goose - 5 - 19.2%

53 - Canada Goose - 9 - 17.0%

5 - Tundra Swan - 1 - 20.0%

17 - Gadwall - 2 - 11.8%

85 - American Wigeon - 14 - 16.5%

2 - American Black Duck - 2 - 100.0%

2022 - Mallard - 419 - 20.7%

1501 - Blue-winged Teal - 72 - 4.8%

77 - Northern Shoveler - 7 - 9.1%

642 - Northern Pintail - 93 - 14.5%

82 - Green-winged Teal - 4 - 4.9%

94 - Canvasback - 27 - 28.7%

378 - Redhead - 80 - 21.2%

5 - Ring-necked Duck - 1 - 20.0%

17 - Lesser Scaup - 1 - 5.9%

113 - White-winged Scoter - 7 - 6.2%

11 - Bufflehead - 3 - 27.3%

148 - Common Goldeneye - 9 - 6.1%

5 - Common Merganser - 1 - 20.0%

5 - Western Grebe - 1 - 20.0%

265 - Turkey Vulture - 32 - 12.1%

609 - Osprey - 28 - 4.6%

78 - Bald Eagle - 4 - 5.1%

453 - Northern Harrier - 5 - 1.1%

250 - Cooper's Hawk - 4 - 1.6%

34 - Northern Goshawk - 1 - 2.9%

4805 - Swainson's Hawk - 184 - 3.8%

1004 - Red-tailed Hawk - 47 - 4.7%

4143 - Ferruginous Hawk - 69 - 1.7%

330 - Golden Eagle - 34 - 10.3%

1050 - Am Kestrel - 14 - 1.3%

1011 - Merlin - 14 - 1.4%

804 - Prairie Falcon - 9 - 1.1%

745 - American Coot - 28 - 3.8%

110 - Least Sandpiper - 1 - 0.9%

19 - Pectoral Sandpiper - 1 - 5.3%

1330 - Franklin's Gull - 4 - 0.3%

20448 - Ring-billed Gull - 432 - 2.1%

9855 - California Gull - 206 - 2.1%

395 - Caspian Tern - 7 - 1.8%

3107 - Common Tern - 25 - 0.8%

46 - Mourning Dove - 1 - 2.2%

7638 - Great Horned Owl - 580 - 7.6%

102 - Snowy Owl - 6 - 5.9%

160 - Northern Hawk Owl - 1 - 0.6%

14 - Burrowing Owl - 1 - 7.1%

19 - Barred Owl - 1 - 5.3%

177 - Great Gray Owl - 7 - 4.0%

710 - Long-eared Owl - 9 - 1.3%

30 - Boreal Owl - 3 - 10.0%

909 - Northern Saw-whet Owl - 9 - 1.0%

21 - Hairy Woodpecker - 1 - 4.8%

109 - Northern (Yellow-shafted) Flicker - 2 - 1.8%

40 - Eastern Kingbird - 1 - 2.5%

407 - Loggerhead Shrike - 2 - 0.5%

201 - Blue Jay - 16 - 8.0%

1285 - Black-billed Magpie - 45 - 3.5%

590 - American Crow - 12 - 2.0%

97 - Common Raven - 3 - 3.1%

1133 - Purple Martin - 8 - 0.7%

19986 - Tree Swallow - 36 - 0.2%

628 - Barn Swallow - 1 - 0.2%

1114 - Black-capped Chickadee - 8 - 0.7%

7959 - Mountain Bluebird - 21 - 0.3%

425 - American Robin - 8 - 1.9%

5179 - Bohemian Waxwing - 44 - 0.8%

218 - Chipping Sparrow - 1 - 0.5%

2574 - White-throated Sparrow - 2 - 0.1%

318 - Harris' Sparrow - 2 - 0.6%

502 - Gambel's White-crowned Sparrow - 2 - 0.4%

4905 - Slate-colored Junco - 4 - 0.1%

1229 - Common Grackle - 66 - 5.4%

396 - Purple Finch - 5 - 1.3%

314 - House Finch - 1 - 0.3%

3203 - Common Redpoll - 5 - 0.2%

38 - Hoary Redpoll - 1 - 2.6%

998 - Pine Siskin - 2 - 0.2%

943 - Evening Grosbeak - 3 - 0.3%

131,267 - Total recoveries from 82 species through the end of 2007 - 3365 - 2.6%

There are several highlights from this banding effort. The longest living owl banded was a Great Horned Owl which died when it was 20 years and 8 months of age.

Distant recoveries include:

• a Common Tern from Aitutaki, Cook Islands (9435 kilometers (km) southwest of the place where banded)
• a Pectoral Sandpiper, shot on its breeding grounds along the Jana River deep in Siberia, 5700 km WNW;
• a Franklin's Gull at Puerto Caldera, Chile, 9475 km south; Ospreys in Colombia and Ecuador;
• Swainson's Hawks in El Salvador, Panama, Paraguay, Uruguay and 18 from Argentina

Dr. Houston has noted than there have been no returns for 127 of the species banded. "Surprisingly, I have not had a recovery from the 276 Short-eared Owls, 458 House Wrens, or 568 Lincoln's Sparrows banded."