Press Release April 16/07

 The Southwest Outdoors Club and Holland Testing(Dale Holland) of Wheatley  agreed to sponsor a small Diving Duck called the Greater Scaup for $1000 to be fitted with a Satellite Transmitter so that it's movements may be studied though out it's migration routes of North America." Ironically we made this decision on the late JACK MINER'S birthday which is now know as National Wildlife Week." April 8th-11th.
Things have moved very fast since last Tuesday... I just found out
Saturday that the bird will be caught by Dr. Scott Petrie and crew of the Long Point Wetlands & Waterfowl Research Fund(LPWWF) on Monday-Tuesday.
Southwest Outdoors Club also wished to have a school group name the bird. This naming will happen on Monday morning April 16th.
It will be  Mrs. L. Coristine's class of JK's at Gore Hill Public School in Leamington.

If you have any questions at all feel free to call. Dean Ware-
Home-519-825-9462

Please see below the press release Dr. Scott Petrie sent:

thank you ,

Dean Ware
Waterfowl/Avian Chairman
Southwest Outdoors Club
Wheatley ON.
www.swoc.ca

"Working together to protect and improve our outdoors"

 Scott Petrie <spetrie@bsc-eoc.org>
  Dean Ware" <peleeisbirder@hotmail.com>


Hey Dean,

Good talkng to you today - thanks again for your generous support!


"We at LPWWRF are very grateful for the generous support being provided by the Southwest Outdoors Club. To date we have spent close to half a million dollars studying the contaminant burdens and migration patters of our declinng scaup populations. Approximately 90% of this funding has been provided either directly or indirectly through the generosity of the hunting community. Hunters contribute 12 dollars to wildlife research and conservation for every dollar that non-hunters contribute.  For this, we as researchers, conservationists and hunters are extremely grateful!

The combined continental population of Lesser and Greater Scaup has declined by 3.5 million birds since the mid-1980s. We at LPWWRF have determined that most scaup departing the lower Great Lakes have selenium burdens that are elevated enough to potentially impact reproduction or survival. Birds appear to be acquiring this selenium through the consumption of zebra mussels, an exotic, filter feeding bivalve that has a high capracity for contaminant uptake. Our satellite tracking work is helping us to answer several key questions pertaining to scaup migration patterns and the potential influence of selenium acquisition on reproduction.

Keep well

Scott