April 25, 2020 OFO is excited to announce OFO's Birding at Home Challenge! April 26th – May 31st
This initiative will give you the opportunity to bird while doing your part by staying home during these extraordinary times. This challenge is open to all – non-OFO members included, so please pass it on. To participate, just register on the OFO website, register your yard on eBird Canada, then record the birds in your backyard (or out your balcony or window!). Participants have a chance to win great weekly prizes and grand prizes including binoculars from Vortex Canada and an annual pass to Point Pelee National Park! For details on prizes and to register go to ofo.ca/birdingathome. #birdingathome, #ofobirdingathome COVID-19 Pandemic Response - Changes to Ontbirds Posting Policy This has been a challenging time for us all. Last week, we announced changes to the Ontbirds Posting Policy. We received passionate responses both for and against the changes. We appreciate hearing what you think as we try to navigate these unprecedented events. Here is the announcement in full: In the ongoing response to the COVID-19 outbreak in Ontario, the OFO Board has mandated the following changes to the Ontbirds posting policy, effective immediately. These changes are in support of local, provincial, and federal policies related to COVID-19. In addition to the existing suppression of rare bird reports, Ontbirds will no longer distribute reports of any bird sightings, including first-of-year reports and regional reports. This policy has been adopted to discourage travel for birding. At the same time, OFO recognizes that it is extremely important to continue to report sightings in eBird, provided that you are following all local, provincial and federal guidelines while birding. Ontbirds will continue to publish communications from OFO. Other birding organizations are encouraged to use Ontbirds to communicate with Ontario’s birding community. For the duration of the COVID-19 outbreak, however, the Ontbirds Moderator and OFO Board will review communications prior to posting. Thanks for your understanding during this time. Conservation Awareness – Update Regarding the Proposed Cormorant Hunt Reuven Martin, OFO’s Director of Conservation Awareness No decision on the cormorant hunt yet: the 2020 Ontario hunting regulations have been published, and the proposed Double-crested Cormorant season is listed only as “pending”. Hunting of this species is still not permitted for the time being, but any updates will be published at ontario.ca/page/hunting-notices-and-updates. April Ontario Birds will be Mailed Next Week As announced by Chris Risley in Ontbirds, the April issue of Ontario Birds will be mailed to OFO members next week. It looks like this will be another great issue – jam-packed with original research and observations by Ontario’s birders. Reminder: Princeton University Press Discount for OFO Members If you haven’t had a chance already, please check out the books published by Princeton University Press at https://press.princeton.edu/books?subjects[]=22671 and enter the discount code BIRD30. We want to hear from you! Your feedback is important -- please write to me at lynnef...@gmail.com or anyone else on the board to share your thoughts. Good Birding, Lynne Freeman OFO President -- Lynne Freeman lynnef...@gmail.com "Be bold, be brave, be amazing...." Simon de Pury, Work of Art _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide Visit the OFO Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/OntarioFieldOrnithologists
