2023
Focus on the Recovery of Eastern Whip-poor-will
Granted $15,000.00 for supporting landowner stewardship and conservation of at-risk aerial insectivores in southern Ontario.
Project Objectives:
This project will focus on the recovery of Eastern Whip-poor-will, through targeted landowner outreach and stewardship initiatives in southern Ontario. As aerial insectivores are the group that are experiencing the fastest declines of any other bird group in North America, this project focuses on the most likely primary threats to population persistence of Eastern Whip-poor-will. The Recovery Strategy of Eastern Whip-poor-will identify principal threats to the recovery of this species as the decline of insect prey abundance, and habitat loss on the breeding and overwintering grounds. Additionally, Birds Canada’s Dr. Silke Nebel, lead author of “Falling through the policy cracks: implementing a roadmap to conserve aerial insectivores in North America , outlined the first immediate action for effective recovery of aerial insectivores as: “develop targeted communication strategies to increase public awareness of the role of insects in ecosystems, and aerial insectivores as indicators of environmental health”. Additionally, we will fill critical knowledge gaps regarding habitat selection, prey availability, migratory paths, and overwintering sites of Eastern Whip-poor-will. This is particularly important in southern Ontario, with increasing intensity of land alteration and reduction of forested areas in known critical habitat.
