It might sound boring to some, but the Nature Conservancy of Canada, along with local volunteers, spent Wednesday out in the cold
….counting birds.
And it’s a labour of love.
The Nova Scotia stewardship coordinator for the Conservancy, Doug van Hemessen says the bird count covered a large area.
“Well, we were kind of spread out. There are 8 of us and we’re in four different teams from Port Mouton to Lockeport. There’s
about 25 different survey locations because they’re close to the coast and you can see what out on the water.”
van Hemessen says while it’s just a single day, over time, they can see trends that can show a decline or increase in population.
“Each team will write down what they see…the numbers, the different species, even if it’s not just seabirds and we’ll correlate
that information back at the office.
He says it will help show if the conservation community is doing a good job in managing these areas.
Coastal habitats of the South Shore from Port Mouton to Lockeport have been designated as the Port Joli Important Bird Area encompassing four federal Migratory Bird Sanctuaries.
