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| In late September
2010, forty-eight University of Windsor students took part in a field
trip to study birds at Point Pelee National Park, University of
Windsor's Pelee Environmental Research Centre, and Holiday Beach
Conservation Area. A strong wind from the north made for an outstanding
day of birding, particularly for raptors. We observed Peregrine
Falcons, Merlins, American Kestrels, Sharp-shinned Hawks, Cooper's
Hawks, Red-tailed Hawks, Broad-winged Hawks, Northern Harriers, and
Bald Eagles. Owing to the generous help of the Holiday Beach Migration
Observatory, the group banded songbirds and raptors, and learned about
their decades-long hawk monitoring program. By the end of the day, the
group had observed 51 different species of birds, and learned a
tremendous amount about the biology of birds. |
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 Birding at Canada's most southerly point of land; Point Pelee National Park. |
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 Students observe a Passenger Pigeon specimen in the Point Pelee Visitor's Centre. The specimen was donated to the park by University of Windsor's Department of Biological Sciences. |
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| The students visit
the future site of University of Windsor's Pelee Environmental Research
Centre on a property recently donated by the Municipality of
Leamington. |
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 The 2010 Ornithology course was the first group of Windsor students to collect field observations at the University of Windsor's Pelee Envnironmental Research Centre at Leamington. |
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| At Holiday Beach
Conservation Area, the volunteer ornithologists of the Holiday Beach
Migration Observatory taught the students about their hawk count data
collection protocol. |
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| Bob Hall-Brooks and
his volunteer banding team taught the students about mist-netting and
songbird banding. |
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| Students had the
opportunity to release banded raptors and songbirds thanks to the help
of the Holiday Beach Migration Observatory researchers. |
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Dr. Dan Mennill and the
students of the 2010 Ornithology course wish to send a very special
thank-you to the Holiday Beach Migration Observatory for sharing their
knowledge with us. We wish to give a special thanks to Rene, Dan, and
Dorothy on the hawk tower; Bob, Caroline, Theresa, and Chris at the
Passerine banding station; and Dorothy, Gary, Claude, Bev, and
colleagues at the Hawk banding station. The volunteer work you do not
only helped enhance our understanding of birds, but it also leads to a
better understanding of migration biology of birds. Thank you!
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| Photos by Dan
Mennill with additional photos by students Nagham El-Houssein, Britney
Hewitt, and Bernard Pawlowicz. |
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| Return to Dan's Photo Page | Return to Dan Mennill's Homepage | |||
