A few months ago I received an e-mail from a guy named Edward T.  Nickens. “Eddie” told me he was coming up to Ontario from North Carolina to write a story on the boreal forest and wanted to talk to conservationists, paper mill executives, MNR officials, First Nation leaders, and lodge operators. It was the Wildlife Conservation Society of Canada that suggested he contact us. His story, to be published in the Audubon Magazinein the fall of 2008, will be focused on the impact of man-made changes to bird populations and the boreal forest in general.

This past week Eddie was here with his gang: Dr. Jeff Wells, Senior Scientist of the International Boreal Conservation Campaign, photographer Per Breiehagen and his assistant Tim Trudeau. Their adventure was a three day canoe trip on the Albany, to count, log, and sound-record birds of the area. We picked them up at Fort Hope on Monday, after their trip, and taped a podcast with Dr. Wells, considered one of the top ten birders of the world.  You may listen to that chat now.

While we all enjoy the pleasure of seeing our aviary neighbours, we need to be aware that birds are often the first to perish in a poorly managed environment. We applaud these dedicated scientists, writers, and photographers as they work to keep us informed of our aviary friends in the boreal forest. We learned a lot from these gentlemen and look forward to the Audubon story in the fall. Photo Left to Right : Per Breiehagen, Tim Trudeau, Dr. Jeff Wells, Eddie Nickens

Recap of Last Week: As you’ll see from Tyler’s report from Striker’s Point Lodge, giant Pike were nearly jumping in the boat up on Whitewater Lake. According to Katelyn weather patterns are starting to settle down at Mim. MacArthur, at Makokibatan Lodge introduces us to a woman angler who caught a 30 inch Walleye. And Dr. Saunders confirms that summer is here and the Summer Solstice has occurred at last!

Keep in touch. I welcome your e-mails to guide us in creating a report that works for you…you can send me one now. OR chat at 888-465-3474
Alan