N.S. Bird Society forming southwest chapter

Chapter’s first meeting set for Sept. 25 at Yarmouth County Museum

The Nova Scotia Birding Society is establishing a chapter in southwestern Nova Scotia and the group’s first meeting is scheduled for Sept. 25 at the Yarmouth County Museum.

The society’s growing membership in Yarmouth, Digby and Shelburne counties “has created a desire for a new hub of birding opportunities in the province,” said Dave Currie, president of the Nova Scotia Bird Society.

The plan is to have regular meetings on various topics related to birdwatching and conservation in the area, he said.

“We especially hope to offer programs for youth to help mentor their interest and skills in nature activities,” he said.

The society notes that the tricounty region is recognized as a good place to view rare birds, with great birding locations such as Brier Island, Cape Forchu and Cape Sable Island.

John Kearney, a Yarmouth County resident who is leading the organization of the bird society’s southwest chapter, said birding has grown in popularity in this part of the province over the past decade or two.

“There are far more birders in southwest Nova Scotia now than 10 to 20 years ago,” he said. “It is not unusual to see other birders in the field when visiting such birding hotspots as Baccaro Point or Cape Forchu.”

More birders also are participating in citizen science projects, he said, such as Project Feeder Watch, the annual Christmas Bird Count and the North American Breeding Bird Survey.

Donna Crossland, resource management officer at Kejimkujik National Park and National Historic Site, will be the guest speaker for the Sept. 25 inaugural meeting of the bird society’s southwest chapter. The session is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Crossland’s work entails conducting songbird surveys, loon monitoring, vegetation management with a focus on managing a beech restoration seed orchard, and managing invasive species such as glossy buckthorn and the hemlock woolly adelgid.

Aside from her work at Kejimkujik, Crossland is on the executive board of the Medway Community Forest Co- op and vice- president of Nature Nova Scotia.