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We have just finished a 5-week birding trip to Ghana, Sao Tome and Principe. Our travels took us from Vancouver to the Ghanaian capital Accra where we met our guide Kwame Brown for the Ghana leg of the trip. It’s always a pleasure to bird with the world’s best guides like Kwame without whose expertise you simply wouldn’t see a fraction of the birds! We wanted to cover the entire country to maximize the west African species we could see and traveled the length and breadth of the country from Accra on the southern coast to the eastern border with Togo; to the western border with C?te d'Ivoire and north to the border with Burkina Faso. Sao Tome and Principe were about the endemics of which we saw almost of them including a long hike in to primary forest for Sao Tome Scops Owl and the critically endangered Sao Tome Ibis, of which there may only be less than a hundred mature individuals remining. As always there were a number of major highlights, a definitive lowlight and one very funny story worth mentioning: Highlights: Picathartes! This was the highlight of the trip and an all-time top 10 birding experience! It involved a long hike in to a known roost site from a local village in to the Nyamebe Bepo Forest Reserve. We waited and waited for about 2 hours sitting quietly as it got darker and darker wondering if the birds would come, knowing that in birding nothing is guaranteed, but then they appeared and it was spectacular! They bounce around the ground and the trees like miniature kangaroos – there were 4 of them and we had spectacular views as they checked us out. We got absolutely soaked in a tropical storm on the way out to the village but it was worth it - A once in a lifetime experience! [VIDEO] We made sure to buy things from the village store as well as generously tipping the local guides. This village makes money from protecting the forest and the birds in the area. It is so important for them to see that saving the birds can be more lucrative than cutting down the trees and destroying the forest. Carol bought the whole jar of candy from the store and was immediately surrounded by all the village kids as she handed it out to all of them! Being on the 40m high canopy walkway in Kakum National Park at dawn above the canopy of the pristine rainforest surrounded by all the forest canopy species so hard to see from the forest floor: Blue-headed Wood-dove, Congo Serpent Eagle, Forest Wood-hoopoe, Fire Bellied Woodpecker, Blue Cuckooshrike, Black-winged Oriole, Sharpe’s Apalis, Violet-backed Hyliota, Little Grey Flycatcher, Tessman’s Flycatcher, Ussher’s Flycatcher, Fraser’s Sunbird, Superb Sunbird, Preuss’ Golden Warbler and Chestnut-breasted Nigrita. Driving 11kms in to the remote, 500 sq.km. pristine rainforest wilderness of the Ankasa Forest to a beautiful forest pool where we waited until dark for another iconic species, Nkulengu Rail – another tough bird to see as the density is something like 2-3 pairs per 200 hectares of rainforest and you have to find them roosting! As darkness fell, Kwame heard one call and charged off in to the forest – our local guide stayed with us and after a while Kwame whistled to guide us in to where he had found two birds roosting about 25’ off the ground – God knows how he found them but what a bird – and what a great way to end the day! [VIDEO] Tracking down Egyptian Plover which had moved from the location Kwame knew due to high rainfall and flooding and finally finding it late one afternoon below the bridge at the border to Burkina Faso – we scrambled down the bank and got insane views and photos of another iconic species: [VIDEO] Lowlight: We said our goodbyes to Kwame at Tamale airport to fly back to Accra when I started to feel unwell, by the time I got to the hotel in Accra I was feeling really sick and the following day was taken to hospital in an ambulance (another first!) and spent the day on an IV drip! It didn’t end there as during the next week I was seen by two other doctors in Sao Tome and Principe. After copious amounts of antibiotics and other drugs I finally stared to

FYI - this applies to the lower Mainland too Bob Begin forwarded message: From: Robert Hay <rbhay2020@...> Date: 23 September 2024 at 11:58:01 am GMT-7 To: [email protected] Cc: Duncan Taylor <dmtaylor@...>, Paul Johal <pauljohal1@...> Subject: I’ve spent 32 years writing about the great outdoors. We’ve both changed more than I could ever have imagined | Birdwatching | The Guardian ?Declining birds in the UK. I’ve witnessed the same here in southeastern Vancouver Island over the past 5 decades. It’s great that expert birders with powerful scopes can see pelagic birds off our seacoast & others find vagrants, but many of the once fairly common bird species are decreasing. I’ve gone out recently around Cassidy, Ladysmith & Nanaimo & have seen few passerines during what should be fall migration. What will it be like in another couple decades? I hope that birder groups detail this trend, help with conservation efforts & don’t just concentrate on reporting rarities. Bob Hay Cassidy, BC https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/sep/23/ive-spent-32-years-writing-about-the-great-outdoors

A very depressing new study! :( https://focusingonwildlife.com/news/new-study-confirms-building-collisions-kill-over-one-billion-birds-annually-in-u-s/?utm_source=mailpoet&utm_medium=email&utm_source_platform=mailpoet&utm_campaign=newsletter-post-title_1120 Daniel Bastaja danielbastaja@... <mailto:danielbastaja@...>

Thanks to all for input. Update on the swallows. Barn swallows - confirmed. The person emailed the Mayor, had an almost immediate response and a followup from Engineering. Appears the birds are on the verge of leaving - it was suggested it would be a great opportunity for the city to put up nesting boxes in time for next year. Perry Edwards North Vancouver

“Scientists are still learning about the various pathways mercury can take as it cycles between the atmosphere, land, and water. Wildfires are an important pathway because when forests burn, the mercury sequestered in the trees and soils can be released into the atmosphere or washed into waterways in ash and destabilized post-fire soils. Once released, the mercury may encounter conditions where it can be converted into methylmercury and pose a hazard to wildlife and humans.” https://birdpop.org/pages/blogPost.php?id=122 Pamela Zevit RPBio | Biodiversity Conservation Planner T 604.590.7254 Check out how we are conserving biodiversity in Surrey As the second generation descendant of settlers, it is a privilege for me to work on the traditional lands (tém:éxw) of the s?myám? (Semiahmoo), sq??c?iy?a?? (Katzie), K?ik?????m (Kwikwetlem), q??ɑ:n????n? (Kwantlen), Qiqéyt (Qayqayt), Sc??waθ?n (Tsawwassen) and x?m?θk??y??m (Musqueam). *Please note my work week is Monday – Friday, 7:30-3:30.

Hello, I wanted to share the interesting results of our Birds Canada study in Iona from last year (insect monitoring and bird data analyses), thanks to the group of students from UBC who analyzed the data. Please find attached their Executive Summary (3 pictures). Based on this study, students provided management recommendations to minimize disturbance of the Aerial Insectivore bird community, as the upgrades to the Iona Island Wastewater Treatment Plant are ongoing. We are hoping to resume insect and bird monitoring next year, as well as nest box monitoring and Tree Swallow tagging, so stay tuned! Rémi Torrenta Birds Canada rtorrenta@...

“New research mapping a hummingbirds’ sense of touch onto specific areas of the brain shows the little creatures are sensitive to even slight puffs of air.” https://science.ubc.ca/news/may-05-2024/hummingbirds-have-feelings-too-acute-sense-touch-could-help-them-hover Pamela Zevit RPBio | Biodiversity Conservation Planner T 604.590.7254 Check out how we are conserving biodiversity in Surrey As the second generation descendant of settlers, it is a privilege for me to work on the traditional lands (tém:éxw) of the s?myám? (Semiahmoo), sq??c?iy?a?? (Katzie), K?ik?????m (Kwikwetlem), q??ɑ:n????n? (Kwantlen), Qiqéyt (Qayqayt), Sc??waθ?n (Tsawwassen) and x?m?θk??y??m (Musqueam). *Please note my work week is Monday – Friday, 7:30-3:30.

Just a reminder that the global City Nature Challenge starts Friday! It’s looking to be a bit of a damp one this year (for Metro Vancouver anyway). I recognize many birding folks use eBird, but if you use iNaturalist as well and happen to be in Surrey Friday-Monday feel free to add to our local count. We're also part of a Metro Vancouver Regional-wide project this year. Participating cities can also use help with ID'ing observations on iNaturalist from April 30 - May 5. Further info https://www.surrey.ca/citynaturechallenge, and the Metro project page journal for specific events. Would love to see that Oriental Turtle-dove get included this weekend, would make for a unique observation to report in the international results! Pamela Zevit RPBio | Biodiversity Conservation Planner T 604.590.7254 Check out how we are conserving biodiversity in Surrey As a second generation settler, it is a privilege for me to work on the traditional lands (tém:éxw) of the s?myám? (Semiahmoo), sq??c?iy?a?? (Katzie), K?ik?????m (Kwikwetlem), q??ɑ:n????n? (Kwantlen), Qiqéyt (Qayqayt), Sc??waθ?n (Tsawwassen) and x?m?θk??y??m (Musqueam). *Please note my work week is Monday – Friday, 7:30-3:30.