About James Baillie

from Bird Studies International

For nearly 50 years Jim Baillie worked as Assistant Curator in the Ornithology Department of the Royal Ontario Museum. Although not formally educated in ornithology, his knowledge of birds was unsurpassed. Jim Baillie had the ability to share his knowledge with thousands of people, amateurs and professionals alike, through newspaper columns, scientific publications and informal conversations with countless visitors to his museum office.

Baillie's enthusiasm and knowledge have inspired hundreds of naturalists to pursue bird study and conservation. Both the James L. Baillie Memorial Fund and the Baillie Birdathon have been named to honour this great Canadian naturalist, conservationist and educator.

BAILLIE BIRDATHON

FOR WORLDWIDE BIRD CONSERVATION

The Baillie Birdathon is a fundraiser for Bird Studies Canada for bird research. It provides funds essential to Bird Studies Canada's efforts to conserve Canada's wild birds and their habitats. Canadian Migration Monitoring Network is one of the many recipients.

It is held in May of each year. The club picks a 24 hour time period and then the involved members strike out to cover a variety of habitats to see how many different species can be recorded. Each registered participant receives the official Baillie Birdathon T-shirt and 25% of the funds raised will be given to the KFN.

In 2005, the Kawartha Field Naturalists raised $550; that amount increased to $585 in 2006 with 92 species identified. In 2007 we managed to raise around $600 with 82 species identified. Our lone participant in 2008, Loreen Randall, managed to raise $200 for the cause.

In 2009 our club dedicated the Baillie Birdathon to Lawrence Crossing, a former president who contributed so much to the club. A total of $1035 was raised. On May 9, a group of 10 KFN members started the day at the Crossing residence where 38 species of birds were identified. Then it was on to other places and in spite of rain, lightning and thunder, our species total for the day was 78! Great job KFN.

The 2010 version of the Baillie Birdathon produced two "lifers" for most of the participants. A lifer is a bird one has never seen before and we got them at the Lindsay Sewage lagoons. Susan Blayney spotted both of them: a Eurasian Wigeon and a Yellow-headed Blackbird. Last I heard, the male blackbird was still present in the cells north and south of the building. It moves back and forth across the dike and is often harassed by Red-winged Blackbirds. It seems to have no mate. The Eurasian Wigeon is seen around Southern Ontario more and more often and has been on the CKL check list for a few years. The following information was downloaded from the internet: E-Fauna BC: Electronic Atlas of the Wildlife of British Columbia; Eurasian wigeon: Population and Conservation Status: This species is abundant and stable across Eurasia, and the number of individuals wintering on both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of North America has increased dramatically over the past 60 years. In British Columbia, where this species was first documented in the 1950s, the number of wintering individuals has closely followed this trend. For example, on the Ladner Christmas Bird Count (where the largest numbers of this species are recorded) this species was first recorded as recently as 1971. Today, however, the average number of individuals detected on this count (based on the last 5 years of counting) exceeds 75 individuals, with some counts recording more than 100 birds. It is now possible to record more than 100 Eurasian Wigeons at a single location in certain areas of the Lower Mainland where enormous numbers of dabbling ducks regularly concentrate, such as Boundary Bay and Tsawwassen. Because it does not breed in North America, this species is not given a conservation ranking by either the federal (COSEWIC [Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada]) or provincial (B.C. CDC [Conservation Data Centre]) government. The Yellow-headed Blackbird is a western bird with the nearest breeding population in the Lake St Clair area of Ontario. It is not on the official CKL Checklist of birds yet and we were thrilled to have to write it in. Sixty four species were seen. A total of was raised.

All sponsors will receive an income tax receipt for donations of $10 or more. So if you cannot attend the event, please be involved by being a sponsor.

Please see the programme guide for more information.