*Eastern Loggerhead Shrike Recovery- Volunteers and sightings wanted! *
Wildlife Preservation Canada (WPC) is looking for volunteer surveyors for
the 2026 Adopt-A-Site program. We are looking for help in a number of
historic shrike 'hot-spots' across Ontario (Carden, Napanee, Grey-Bruce,
Manitoulin, Pembroke/Renfrew and Smiths Falls). Volunteers are asked to survey
their designated sites three times over the spring and summer (April 15th
to June 30th) for evidence of loggerhead shrikes, and a suite of other
birds found in the same habitat.
To be involved in surveys, volunteers require:
-a reliable mode of transportation to remote locations in one of the core
areas listed above
-available time on three days of your choice between April 15th-June 30th
(spaced apart evenly)
-the ability to spot birds from a distance using binoculars and/or a scope
The information that Adopt-A-Site volunteers collect directly contributes
to our team's work in conserving the species! The Loggerhead Shrike has
suffered serious declines throughout its historic breeding range over the
last 50 years. The eastern subspecies, found in Ontario, has been
designated as endangered in Canada since 1991. WPC has been leading the
recovery effort for this bird since 2003, and every year our field staff
monitor the numbers and breeding success of wild birds, and release
captive-bred juveniles to bolster the wild population.
Please contact birds@wildlifepreservation.ca by March 20th to learn more
or if you are interested in volunteering.
If you do not have time for dedicated site surveys, you can still get
involved by reporting any loggerhead shrike sightings in Eastern Canada!
Have you seen a Loggerhead Shrike? They are on the move!
With spring just around the corner, we will be starting to see early
migrants (like killdeer, red-winged blackbirds and song sparrows) returning
to Ontario! Did you know that loggerhead shrikes are among the earliest to
return and stake out territory on their grassland breeding grounds? We
expect a fast-approaching wave of migrants as the weather warms up!
We need your help! If you spot a shrike anywhere in Eastern Canada
(Ontario, Quebec, the maritime provinces),* let us know*! Email
birds@wildlifepreservation.ca with the date, location and any photos or
details of your observations, for our field biologists to follow-up and
include in annual population counts. You can learn more about the program
and how you can get involved at
https://wildlifepreservation.ca/species/loggerheadshrike/.
A summary of last year’s recovery activities can be found here, under
Publications:
https://wildlifepreservation.ca/eastern-loggerhead-shrike-program/
https://wildlifepreservation.ca/eastern-loggerhead-shrike-program/
Thanks in advance, from the whole Shrike Recovery Team
Helmi Hess
Lead Biologist, Eastern Loggerhead Shrike Recovery Program
Helmi Hess (she/her)
Lead Biologist, Eastern Loggerhead Shrike Recovery Program
Wildlife Preservation Canada https://wildlifepreservation.ca/
Canada's last defence for endangered species
We acknowledge with respect that WPC is headquartered on the homelands of
the Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee, and Attawandaron peoples, and on
the treaty lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. As
our teams work across Turtle Island, we also wish to
recognize the diversity of Indigenous peoples who have stewarded these
lands throughout time and continue to do so to this day.