Thought this would be of interest:
Birders migrate away from area The Windsor Star
Thu 15 Feb 2007
Page: A5
Section: News
Byline: Sharon Hill
Dateline: LEAMINGTON
Source: Windsor Star
LEAMINGTON - A decline in local birdwatching is costing Windsor and Essex County $3 million a year and the region wants those birders back.
Birdwatching has a $12 million to $14 million local economic impact a year but the number of birdwatchers coming to Point Pelee National Park and the region has dropped 20 per cent in the last 15 years, says a report being released today in Leamington.
"I don't think there's a lot of individuals in the community that recognize how much money these birders do leave here," Sandra Bradt, tourism director with the convention and visitors bureau, said Wednesday. "The loss represents $3 million. That really hammers it home for people."
The $18,000 report by local birdwatcher Tom Hince recommends 44 changes including focusing on attracting U.S. and European visitors and targeting novice and intermediate level birdwatchers.
"These are the people that might not have as much equipment hanging around their neck but they're a little bit more interested in the winery, a theatre experience, some museums and staying a couple days in a nice hotel," Bradt said. "That's the type of person that's going to leave much more money in the community."
The typical birdwatcher according to the report is a well-educated white female in her 40s who enjoys walking.
The report found "the international birder has disappeared completely." In 1986, 47 per cent of birdwatchers came from the United States, 48 per cent lived in Canada and five per cent were international visitors. By last year it appeared 18 per cent of birdwatchers were American and 82 per cent were Canadian, the report said.
Other recommendations include a regional website and publication for birders, a study to consider a regional birding trail by linking Ohio, southern Ontario and Pelee Island, and a shared fall festival between Point Pelee and Holiday Beach. The park and the conservation authority are already looking at creating a regional park pass.
Municipalities should be approached about allowing birdwatchers to access sewage lagoons where some birds hang out, the report said.
BACKYARD COUNT
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society are calling on birdwatchers to count birds in their backyards this weekend.
The 10th annual Great Backyard Bird Count runs Friday to Monday.
"I predict we'll have lots of birds for people to count this weekend," said Paul Pratt at the Ojibway Nature Centre. With the snow, birds should be congregating at birdfeeders.
Pratt said the count makes winter more interesting for birdwatchers.
The Great Backyard Bird Count website at
www.birdsource.org/gbbc asks participants to count birds for at least 15 minutes between Friday and Monday in their backyards, at birdfeeders or in a park and keep separate lists for each day or location. Count the greatest number of individuals of each species that can be seen together at any one time within the 15 minutes (so you aren't counting birds twice) and enter the results on the web.
Illustration:
• Photo: Scott Webster, Star photo / FEEDING TIME: A red-bellied woodpecker, top, and a black capped chickadee feed from a suet log at the Ojibway Nature Centre.
Edition: Final
Story Type: Business
Note: Ran with fact box "Backyard Count" which has been appended to the story.
Length: 490 words
