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March 14, 1995 _ There may still be hope for the Eskimo Curlew nature's corner Some believe that it was the autumn storms at sea that caused them to drown in large ; ken carmichael In my last column I mentioned the great ornithological find--an Eskimo Curlew nest was discovered in tA Northwest Territories on July 7, 1992. This nesting site is believed to be the first breeding record of this bird in over 130 years. | thought that perhaps some of my readers might be interested in learning more about this species. There are four species of Curlews which inhabit the North American continent. The long- billed Curlew found in the prairie provinces; the Whimbrel 'which nests in the eastern Arctic just above the tree line; the Bristle-thighed Curlew which breeds rarely in western Alaska; and the Eskimo Curlew whose status is not known. All these birds are large (15 to 19 inches) long-legged, brownish shore birds with a long, sickle bill. Both male and female are alike in appearance. For habitat, they prefer marshes or grass over barren ground. The Eskimo Curlew is the smallest of the species with its length just over 11 inches. Its bill is shorter, thinner and just slightly curved. It has cinnamon wing linings and the central crown stripe is less pronounced than that of the Whimbrel. It is sometimes nick-named the Dough-bird, Little Curlew or Prairie Pigeon. It nested in the Mackenzie Delta and wintered in Argentina or Pategonia. It is an absolute pity that we must speak of this bird in the past tense as its disappearance is yet another tribute to the effectiveness of modern firearms and the short- sighted selfishness of the North American hunter. It is hard to believe that this bird once collected in large numbers in Labrador and Newfoundland. One observers says the birds came in the millions and literally darkened the sky. After moving down the coast to Nova Scotia, they launched out over the ocean for South America and many never sighted land again until the reached the West Indies. Autumn storms and gales however, diverted many of them from their course, cousifp them to put down on the bedches of New England. Once they finally reached South America, they would continue southward, spreading out over the continent as far south as Patagonia. In March and April they would start to appear on the states that border the Gulf of Mexico, and they would continue their flight in a northerly direction up the Mississippi River Valley to Canada and on to their breeding grounds in the Mackenzie Delta. It must be noted that the migration of the Eskimo Curlew was the most extensive of any of our North American birds--a distance of some 8,000 miles. What happened to this species? Why was a bird, once so plentiful, reduced to little more than a handful by the turn of the century? Ontario LOL 1A7 Township of Scugog PUBLICNOTICE REGIONAL COUNCIL SEAT VACANCY Pursuant to the provisions of the Municipal Act and the Region of Durham Act, the Council of the Township of Scugog has declared that on Monday, March 27th, 1995 at 2:00 Council shall consider vacant Regional Council You must be a Canadian Citizen, 18 years of age and a resident of the Township of Scugog and you must file a Certificate in writing consenting to accept the office if appointed. If you are interested, please file a resume together with the necessary certificate by 4:30 p.m. on March 17th, 1995 with the under- Earl S. Cuddie, Administrator/Clerk signed. Township of Scugog Clerk's Department, 208 North Street, Part Perry, Telephone : 985-7393 applications to ih the However, this must be disputed as un-true because the Curlews are indeed swimmers. Others said it didn't matter if this species ceased to exist because they had no value to the farmers of North America because they did not feed on" insects that damaged crops. This again was proven false because Curlews feed on grasshoppers, crickets and grasshopper larvae which they probe with their bill. The only answer to the question of why they all but , disappeared from North America is that they were slaughtered by wagon-loads in the fall and spring by market hunters. The hunters called this the "dough-bird" because it was so far in its autumn flight, the breast would often break open when it fell to the ground. Vi It was a delicious morsel for the table, which made it so popular with the hunters. And it was so tame and unsuspicious that as it flew in dense flocks, it could be easily shot in large numbers. Since 1900, about a dozen specimens have come to the attention of ornithologists--all dead birds. The Eskimo Curlew is a species whose status is rare to extinct. The belief that is gone forever, however, continues to be proven wrong because there are yearly sightings during migration over the North American continent. It was interesting to discover a newspaper article dated October, 1962 which reported several sightings on Galvestan Island in Texas. Let us hope that this is possible and a few of these birds still exish The great flocks may be gone, but the 'species, in my opinion, may not be completely doomed. ith Heath As long as there are sightings, there is hope. We don't want to admit that the Eskimo Curlew has followed the trail of the Passenger Pigeon, the Great Auk, the Labrador Duck and the Carolina Parakeet, which are most extinct. One book I would strongly suggest you read is "Last of the Curlews" by Fred Bodsworth. It brings tears to my eyes each time 1 read it. This year, I plan to travel to Texas, and who knows, I just might be lucky enough to get a look at the Eskimo Curlew as it wings its way north to its summer nesting grounds. One can only hope, (Ken Carmichael is an avid bird-watcher, naturalist and noted wild-life photographer. A resident of Scugog Township, his column Nature's Corner appears several times a year in the Scugog Citizen.) Beware of the previews BOYS ON THE SIDE (Whoopi Goldberg, Drew Barrymore, Mary-Louise Parker) Valentines came and went and I got what I deserve. Suffice it to say that my sweetheart thought about what I really liked and gave it to me. Hé was in Hamilton that day and he had to fight traffic all the way home before this particular store closed. My hero. He was hoping that this store had "some" left. Best of all I can take "it" with me 10 times when I go to the theatre. The perfect gift for me. Thank you. I took my 'first one' with me on Wednesday night (which leaves 2 at home) but I should have bought the soundtrack and just stayed home. The music was great. Sometimes the movies are so disappointing. Do you ever see Draw sponsored by the - and LABATTS The Winchester Arms C4) Doubles Kd Doubles TUESDAY, MARCH 21st Registration 6:30 PM - Games start 7: od PM Winchester Arms the previews and perceive the movie to be a certain way? After watching these previews you are sure this one is a comedy. It's not. Whoopi's performance was the most disappointing. Drew Barrymore's performance was excellent, it rose above the of the film. Whogpi plays a not-so-good singer who answers Mary-Louise Parker's ad for a driver to help her get to the West Coast. Qn their way they decide to drop in on Whoopi's old friend Drew who at the time is being beaten up by her drug dealing boyfriend. (Are you laughing yet?) They tie him up and inadvertently kill him. (Yeah, that's funny.) They run half way across the country. with Mary-Louise getting sicker and sicker. No one knows what is wrong with her and she doesn't want to share it with anyone. In Arizona they discover that she has full-blown AIDS and can't go on. They live out the rest of Mary-Louise' life here. I haven't laughed yet. I just don't get it. Why does Hollywood choose to show only the funny parts in their previews? I feel that I've been tricked by the theatre. Take a chance on the content of the film and tell it like it is, give us a chance to spend our $8. knowingly. Videos of the Week Here are the top ten 'videos for the week, from Videorama, 68 Water Street, Port Perry. Check them out! Milk Money; Natural Born Killers; It Could Happen To You; Time Cop; Clear and Present Danger; Colour of . Night; Corrina, Corrina; Lion King; Andre; Exotica THE SHATTERING TRUTH ABOUT AIRBAGS Airbags save lives and help prevent Injuries. But they only work when you are hit from the front. Ifyou are hit from the side or rear, they don't infate. The truth SEAT BELTS SAVE (Gl e]g] Ele)