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Imagine a place where if you want to see a Bald Eagle, all you have to do is look up.
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Bald Eagles have more than 7,000 feathers on their body. This large number of feathers helps them regulate their core temperature. NCC is working at sites across the country including Musquodoboit Harbour, Nova Scotia to protect habitat for Bald Eagles and other birds of prey.
Bald Eagle (Photo by Tim Ennis/NCC) |
Then you see a sight that takes your breath away. Out over the river, dozens of these majestic birds glide silently in search of food. You marvel at their beauty, grace and power. Welcome to Brackendale, British Columbia or, as it's more commonly known, "the world's winter capital for Bald Eagles." The birds come from as close as BC's interior and north coast to as far away as Wisconsin, Alaska and Arizona to feed on the salmon that spawn every year.
The visitors come too, hoping for a glimpse of this magnificent raptor. These eagles are safe here, free to spend the colder months resting in the cottonwoods and feasting on salmon. Bald Eagles and other species such as this owe their safety to caring Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) supporters like you.
The 420-acre (170-hectare) grounds of the North Vancouver Outdoor School is one of the areas helping the Bald Eagle. In a time of increasing risk to the area, including housing development and logging, the school worried about a risk to the eagle habitat on their grounds. They turned to NCC for help.
As a result, a conservation agreement was put in place on the school grounds, making it possible for the school to retain ownership while ensuring the principles of biodiversity protection and education would always be upheld. No subdivision will ever be developed on the property. No trees cut down. No roads built. This will always be a place of salmon, massive cottonwoods, ancient cedars and "clouds of eagles in the sky".
But for every protected site like this, there are hundreds of places that need our immediate attention. And there are countless species that need our help many of them endangered.
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A Peregrine Falcon can reach speeds of up to 300 kilometres per hour as it swoops on its prey. NCC is working to protect habitat for Peregrine Falcons on Ontario’s Western Lake Superior Coast. |
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Take the Peregrine Falcon: a bird so fast it can reach speeds of 300 kilometres per hour when it dives. At last count, there were only 57 breeding pairs in Ontario and 500 pairs in all of Canada. Sadly, the bird's impressive speeds aren't enough to escape the threats to its survival. NCC has developed a conservation plan for the Western Lake Superior Coast natural area. The plan includes sites with prime Peregrine Falcon nesting habitat on the cliffs of Lake Superior.
Like many birds of prey, Peregrine Falcons have specialized nesting requirements. They need steep cliffs for nesting the higher the better so they can teach their young how to fly. The cliffs of Lake Superior are idea, and NCC is working on securing land in this area. But we can't do it without your help.
As much as we celebrate our victory for wildlife in these places, and as grateful as we are to you for making it possible, we can't afford to stop now. We must take urgent action to preserve other critical habitats and the remarkable species that depend on them. Please help us protect Canada's natural places and give birds of prey like Bald Eagles and Peregrine Falcons a place to call home, now and forever.
Soon, hundreds of Bald Eagles will come home for the winter a home that will be here in its natural state thanks to caring people like you. Your gift today will help us assess, purchase, protect and manage threatened habitats every day.
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