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BIRDS
Conservation
TRUMPETER SWAN - Restoration.
Prior to European settlement, the Trumpeter swan resided in Ontario. The restoration program began in 1982 with swan eggs collected from Grande Prairie, Alberta. The program was later revitalized with an increase of Alaskan birds into Ontario. Since 1982, more than 180 swans have been released into various areas of Ontario. The birds are fed after release and eventually disperse at maturity. In 2002, one pair nested on Zoo grounds resulting in five cygnets, three of which survived.
The Toronto Zoo is one of several release sites for immature birds. Last year three of nine cygnets were raised by wild birds on site. Presently the population has increased to more than 250 free flying birds in southern Ontario. Prospects for a successful restoration are good despite continued problems encountered with lead poisoning resulting from ingestion of spent shotgun pellets.
CANADA GOOSE - Management and Control.
In recent years, Toronto Zoo has carried out an egg-oiling program for Canada geese on the Zoo site. The aim of this project is to identify any effects and benefits of Canada goose egg-oiling programs and to test the effects of egg-oiling a marked sub-population. However, the long-term effectiveness of the program and its impact upon the goose population is not known. This year, the Zoo also experimented with herding the geese with a Jack Russell terrier and a Belgian Shepherd. A member of staff brought in her trained dogs in an attempt to reduce moult migrants. The Belgian Shepherd proved very effective in reducing the number of geese in an area with minimal amount of interaction, often the geese would leave an area as soon as they saw the dog.
ST. VINCENT PARROTS - Study of the St. Vincent Parrots.
The Toronto Zoo has joined a consortium to help preserve West Indian Amazon Parrots in the wild. The Zoo currently has one female Parrot that was recently sent to France for breeding. Hopefully this will lead to increased numbers of this critically endangered species.
ROUGE PARK - Rouge Park Bird Conservation Program.
This is a proposed six-year ongoing project, taking place within the Rouge Park and the Toronto Zoo. The goal of the study is to determine the number and diversity of species of bird that use the Rouge Park during the summer for breeding purposes, as well as other species that reside here without any breeding activity. 91 different species of birds were discovered in 2001, and 85 were observed in 2002. This program is being run concurrently with the Breeding Bird Atlas of Ontario study, organized by the Federation of Ontario naturalists and Bird Studies Canada. The purpose of these joint studies is to determine the range and breeding status of the birds of Ontario, providing a better understanding of their breeding requirements in order to preserve the necessary habitat and prevent the extirpation of threatened and endangered species.
Breeding, Recovery And Re-Introduction
LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE - Captive Breeding Program.
Although the Eastern Loggerhead Shrike is an established species in the southern U.S.A., it is critically endangered in Canada. It formerly bred in Ontario, Quebec, the Maritimes, the eastern U.S., and parts of Manitoba, but is presently almost entirely confined to Ontario. A captive population was established in 1997 at the Toronto Zoo and at McGill University. In 2002, experimental release cages were built in Toronto, and 5 pairs were taken to an in situ site, three of which nested. They produced a total of 10 offspring that will be released as an experiment. |
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