How Birds Do It

As an Emeritus Professor of Wildlife Biology and Director of the Avian Science and Conservation Centre of McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Dr. David Bird has published 200 peer-reviewed papers and supervised 50 graduate students on a wide range of wildlife themes, including endangered species, toxicology, captive propagation of birds of prey, human-wildlife conflicts, and more recently, the application of UAVs (drones) to wildlife research and conservation.

Until his retirement in 2012, he taught several university-level courses, including ornithology, wildlife conservation, ethology, and scientific communication. He has written and/or edited several books, the most recent ones being The Bird Almanac: A Guide to Essential Facts and Figures on the World's Birds in 2004, Raptor Research and Management Techniques in 2007, Birds of Canada in 2010, and two newer versions, Birds of Eastern Canada and Birds of Western Canada in 2013. Dr. Bird is a past-president of the Raptor Research Foundation Inc. (an international organization devoted to birds of prey), past-president of the Society of Canadian Ornithologists, an elected Fellow of the American Ornithologists= Union, a former member of the Board of Directors of the American Birding Association, and an elected member representing Canada on the prestigious International Ornithological Committee. He currently sits on the boards of Unmanned Systems Canada, an organization dedicated to the use of unmanned vehicles, and Bird Studies Canada. Besides his innumerable public lectures and radio and television appearances, Dr. Bird was also a regular columnist on birds for The Gazette of Montreal and continues to write a column for BirdWatcher's Digest magazine.

Blake is a Wallaceburg based birder, with great skill and a lot of experience birding in the Rondeau area in particular. If anyone knows where to find good birds in the Rondeau area, it's Blake.

Brett Fried has been a keen birder for over a decade and is also a dedicated bird bander. In 2012 Brett spent the breeding season working for the Manitoba Breeding Bird Atlas, gathering data in remote areas across the province. He has volunteered at the Long Point Bird Observatory, and maintains his own banding station located on the rare Charitable Research Reserve property, near his home in Cambridge, ON. Brett enjoys mentoring young banders and has demonstrated bird banding for school groups and the public. Brett has spent the last two summers overseeing six banding sites that are part of a MAPS (Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship) study around the Fort McMurray, Alberta area. During the winters he is involved in a wintering raptor study near Linwood, ON where he monitors and bands a variety of raptor species.

Brett has lived and worked in the areas around St. Clair National Wildlife Area and has great experience birding its local environs. Brett is a Stewardship Coordinator for the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and helps the landowners of Essex County with habitat restoration and creation. Brett has led field trips at previous OFO Conventions.

Bruce is native of Ottawa, Ontario and his passion for birds and birding began at the age of 8, when he hand-tamed a Black-capped Chickadees at his family cottage at Constance Bay, Ontario. From these simple beginnings emerged both a life-long passion and career in the field of birding. He is a weekly columnist on birding in Canada?s capital newspaper, the Ottawa Citizen and teaches birding courses. His first spring trip to Point Pelee was in May 1974 and Bruce has been a regular spring birder at Pelee since 2001. He has traveled extensively in North America and has lead birding trips to Costa Rica, Ecuador, Australia and a number of Caribbean destinations, including Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Bahamas, and Cuba. In addition, Bruce has authored numerous articles over the years for Nature Canada, Ontario Birds, Birding, and Ontario Birding News. Bruce was a member of the championship Kowa Birding Team that successfully won three World Series of Birding titles in New Jersey and one championship title in the Texas Birding Classic.

Dave leads field trips for Quest Nature Tours, and Flora and Fauna, in Ontario, North America and internationally. He knows birds as well as butterflies, flowers and mammals. He regularly leads tours at Point Pelee. Dave has been a member of the OFO Board of Directors for the past nine years.

Dean is interested in various conservation programs, including monitoring Prothonotary Warblers, and was contracted to search for breeding Prothonotaries at Holiday Beach, Hillman Marsh and Pelee Island. In 2001-2003, he led a number of week-long birding tours for visiting Japanese tourists.

Jeremy Bensette has birded the Point Pelee area daily for the last few years, only taking breaks to explore wildlife in places such as Texas, Florida, and James Bay. He loves to talk birds: ask him where any of the great birds are in Point Pelee and Essex County any day of the year!

Jody Allair is an avid birder and naturalist who enjoys sharing his enthusiasm for the natural world. As a Biologist and Science Educator at Bird Studies Canada, Jody conducts research on at-risk forest birds in southern Ontario, and he coordinates BSC?s Bird Science and Environmental Education Program. He also leads birding trips for Eagle-Eye Tours.

Josh Vandermeulen is a birder, wildlife photographer, and budding ecologist, finishing his degree at the University of Guelph. He has spent the last few summers studying two species of endangered snakes in the Windsor, Ontario region - a location close enough to Point Pelee National Park to allow frequent early morning or weekend birding trips

Justin Peter grew up in Ottawa's east end where he explored and birded his own "secret spots" along wooded bluffs and the Ottawa River. After university schooling in the biomedical sciences, he pursued his childhood passion in wildlife and education by working as Park Naturalist at Gatineau Park and then for several years as Senior Park Naturalist at Algonquin Park. More recently he became Director of Programs at Quest Nature Tours in Toronto. He is a consummate educator and continues to lead field trips for nature clubs as well as moderating the popular Facebook group Ontario Birds. Despite having lived in Toronto and Algonquin Park, he is still deeply attached to Ottawa's unique network of natural areas which he considers his "native habitat". Justin especially enjoys pointing out and interpreting interesting bird behaviour to his excursion participants.

Ken Burrell volunteered at the Long Point Bird Observatory in his early teens and is now in his last year at the U. of Waterloo, majoring in Environment and Resource Studies and studying reverse migration as part of his thesis.

Kory caught the birding bug at Point Pelee in the spring of 2011 and ever since, birding has been his biggest outdoor passion. He spends the majority of his time in the Pelee area and is out birding all seasons and in all weather. He is also active with the Holiday Beach Migration Observatory where he is a hawk counter and member of the Executive Committee.

Maris Apse is a former member of OFO's Board of Directors and has led numerous field trips for OFO. He is particularly knowledgeable about the Rondeau area.

Mike Burrell has been a regular volunteer at Long Point Bird Observatory since he was fifteen. He worked as a naturalist for many summers in Algonquin Park and has recently returned to Long Point to run the Old Cut field station.

Paul is a general all round naturalist who has led many nature tours on Pelee Island and for Lambton Wildlife Inc. Snakes, butterflies, and birds are a few of his outdoor interests. He is also an avid reader. Paul has said ?I am not the greatest birder, but I am the happiest?. Others who bird with him think of Paul as a cross between Stephen Leacock and Red Green.

Paul is head naturalist at Windsor's Ojibway Prairie Provincial Nature Reserve and is a familiar face leading field trips in Point Pelee National Park at past OFO Conventions.

Sarah is a Point Pelee girl at heart, currently working for Parks Canada as the park's education coordinator. Having spent a good part of her youth birding Point Pelee with her family, she knows the area well.

Todd has been a keen birder and field trip leader in the Pelee area for more than a decade. As General Manager of the Essex Windsor Solid Waste Authority he has access to some excellent grassland habitats, and he knows the hotspots of Essex County well.

Vicki is a Species at Risk Recovery Specialist working with Parks Canada where she works with recovery teams on species recovery plans, monitoring and recovery. She is also very familiar with the local birding areas of Essex and Chatham-Kent.