Raising awareness of the local bird populations

In Fort Needham Memorial Park in north end Halifax, Noel
Taussig’s ears perk at the staccato tweet of what he thinks might be a
magnolia warbler, a gorgeous little yellow-breasted bird. “Weep, weep,
weep, eeeep! Eep-eep-eep-eep-eep.” We tread lightly to the patch of
trees where the sound originates and hear it again, this time behind
us, right where we started from. We backtrack until he can point it out
to me. It turns out to be a song sparrow.

Taussig is not an ornithologist by training. He’s just learning how
to identify birds by their size, colour, patterns, sounds and how they
flap their wings. Not long ago he was a carpenter, until he hurt his
back. Now he works at the Ecology Action Centre, exploiting the
celebrity of the Hali-famous to get layfolk pumped about birds and
interested in ending the current plummet in their population. It’s part
of EAC’s Birds Are Back Celebrity Bird-watch Challenge.

Most newbie participants in the celebrity challenge were reluctant,
clueless as to the purpose of the exercise. In other words, normal
city-folk. But that changed. “For a city girl who hates anything to do
with outside and nature,” says Joanne Bernard, director of Alice House,
“I really enjoyed this…I even bought a couple of birdfeeders.”

For the record, Costas Halavrezos of CBC’s Maritime Noon fame
was the most ineffectual birder of the bunch. “I know there are loons
in Lake Micmac,” he says, “but perversely, they’ve stayed out of
sight.”

As much as the Hali-famous now love them, Taussig’s work is not just
for the birds. “They are an indicator of the health of all ecosystems,
including aquatic ecosystems.” Thanks to human use of pesticides,
destruction of forests and light pollution, the total bird population
in North America has been cut in half in just four decades.

If that’s an indication of the health of the environment on this
continent, we’re in as much trouble as the birds are. Cities have
become the worst habitat for most birds—Toronto labourers sweep away
hundreds of carcasses a day, usually victims of tall buildings covered
in reflective glass. They confuse the hell out of birds, creating a
nightmarish maze of their own reflections. Tall buildings are less of a
problem in Halifax, but new development rules under HRM by Design may
change that.

Only a few species do well in cities. Most bird watchers aspire to
escape the city every chance they get, but in Halifax there are a few
prime locations, like Frog Pond off Purcells Cove Road, Sullivan’s Pond
in Dartmouth and Point Pleasant Park.

For the hardcore, Halifax’s crows, starlings, sparrows and rock
doves (sort of a euphemism for what some call winged rats, or just
pigeons) are nothing to stay home about. Occasionally, the urban birder
may luck out and see one of our larger birds of prey: an osprey, a
(duck-eating) eagle, even a peregrine falcon, the world’s fastest
animal. “Falcons are just recovering from DDT,” Taussig says, adding
that urban pesticide use is perhaps the biggest bird killer of all, and
thus a major ecosystem killer. He has yet to see a peregrine in
Halifax, but says they actually thrive on steep surfaces like cliffs.
Or downtown buildings.

“For me, Halifax birds are still exciting because it’s all new to
me,” Taussig adds, but he feels himself falling deeper into the
strangeness of birding culture. “I’m slowly becoming one of them; every
time I step outside I’m looking up and listening.”

It shows. Despite his newbie status, Taussig can passionately recite
inspiring bird facts, ways in which we are attuned to our feathered
friends. “We think of them as timid and frightened, but birds are very
curious,” he says. “That’s why birders will make a strange psh psh
psh sound. If you do that, the birds come to you to see what the
heck the noise is.” In his short birding career, he has noticed that
starlings will mimic car alarms, and that higher perching birds tend to
make higher pitched calls. Also, he says, most birds are
monogamous.

Taussig is already planning for his next foray into raising bird
awareness: taking daycare and grade-school classes on birding
expeditions. He is confident the kids will quickly fall in love with
birding. “Everyone who gives it a real try loves it,” Taussig says.
“Birds poke us in just the right spot. As kids I think we all dreamed
about being able to fly.”

What do you see when you’re watching like a hawk?Let
me know: chrisb@thecoast.ca.

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This article appears in May 28 – Jun 3, 2009.