They’re here!
Posted onAugust 6, 2023byHelmi Hess|Eastern Loggerhead Shrike, Loggerhead Shrike, News and Events
What is the Eastern Loggerhead Shrike Recovery Program? After a precipitous drop in the wild eastern loggerhead shrike population in the 1990s, Environment Canada invited Wildlife Preservation Canada to join the multi-partner recovery effort in 2001. Since then, the wild population size has fluctuated. Studies have shown that although the recovery effort has prevented the species from disappearing from Canada, more work is required to identify and address the causes of the species’ decline. WPC works to prevent the endangered eastern loggerhead shrike from disappearing by building the wild population in Ontario, and studying the species to learn more about the threats they face.
Welcome to the wild little ones.
Last week we welcomed the first group of conservation-bred eastern loggerhead shrikes to the release site in Carden, ON. These young birds will live in soft-release enclosures to acclimate them to the sights, sounds, and smells of their wild habitat, before they are released to rebuild the wild populations of this endangered songbird.
Some of these birds will be outfitted with radio-tag “backpacks” that allow us to track their migration this fall.
It is always an emotional milestone to release the first batch of birds each summer. They carry with them all the hopes for the survival of their species, built on all the hours of dedication our WPC’s team of biologists.
Take a look at the videos below to see our field teams observing the new arrivals from afar.
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