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The Eastern Lake St. Clair Important Bird Area
includes all of the open waters south of the St. Clair River delta under
Canadian jurisdiction, excluding areas under the jurisdiction of Walpole
Island First Nation. The land base within the IBA comprises a broad swath
of farmland and inland habitats adjacent to the lake from Wallaceburg to
the mouth of Thames River.
This IBA supports globally significant
numbers of waterfowl, particularly Canvasback and Redhead, several
dabbling ducks and Tundra Swan. Black-bellied Plover and American
Golden Plover stopover in the IBA during spring migration in globally
significant numbers. Several marshbirds breed in nationally significant
numbers including the nationally endangered King Rail, Black Tern,
Forester's Tern and Least Bittern.
The Eastern Lake St. Clair IBA is a vast
and highly complex waterscape and landscape. The land base is mainly in
private ownership. Most of the privately owned land is dyked and farmed,
while much of the marsh also dyked, and owned by private hunt clubs.
The key public property within the IBA is the St. Clair National
Wildlife Area.
The main threats to the IBA species and
habitats within the IBA include:
- loss of waterlands
- contamination and sedimentation of wetland habitats
- residential and recreational development within or adjacent to wetlands
- non-native fauna and flora
- disturbance to breeding or roosting birds
The Eastern Lake St. Clair Important Bird
Area has adopted the following Vision and Goals.
Vision
The Eastern Lake St. Clair Important Bird Area will promote conservation,
stewardship and hunding tradition to protect the area's significance for
breeding, wintering and migratory birds, as a place where birds can be
observed, monitored, studied and enjoyed for the ecological, educational,
economic and recreational benefits to the people of Ontario and beyond.
Goals
- ensure that species of conservation concern and their habitats are
adequately monitoed in the IBA
- maintain a viable and healthy wetland system that addresses the
ecological needs of all of the species of concerns within the IBA
- promote compatible agricultural practices
- promote awareness and education of the IBA and its values within and beyond the IBA
Introduction
On April
1 st, we were standing atop the tower
overlooking St. Clair National Wildlife
Area. The sheer number of brids swirling
around us was dazzling. A steady stream
of ducks poured by along the Lake
St. Calir shoreline, just beyond the
tangled and tree-lined dyke and too
distant for identification. Coots
grumbled away in the marsh openings,
and mysterious sounds emanated from
the dead stalks of last year's growth.
High-pitched cooings drew our gaze
skywards just in time to see the sun
reflecting off the immaculate white
wings of Tundra Swans, heading north
and west to their next staging area
on their long migration to the Arctic.
The coastal wetlands of Lake St. Clair
are a remarkable place for observing
bird and other wildlife. Unmatched
numbers of waterfowl stop here in
spring and fall. Marshbirds abound,
including several threatened species.
On the other side of the dyke, in
contarst to the verdant wetlands,
lie the flat expanses of highly profitable
balck soils of agricultural lands.
Expansive marshes and prairies once
blanketed these same rich soild, before
they were grazed upon, drained, ploughed,
or flooded, and transformed into the
farms or dyked wetlands. farming and
hunting drive the local economy. The
black soils grow seed crops or vegetables
such as onions, celery, beets, and
tomatoes. The dyked marshes are managed
for a major fall waterfowl hunt. Lake
St. Clair's significance for birds
is geographical as much as ecological.
Lying on two major flyways, the Atlantic
and the Mississippi, it is a critical
feeding, resting, and staging area
for numerous species.
Eastern Lake St. clair IBA includes
all of the open waters south of the
St. Clair River delta under Canadian
jurisdiction, excluding areas under
the jurisdiction of Walpole Island
First Nation. It includes a broad
swath of farmland and inland habitats
from Wallaceburg to the mouth of Thames
River. This IBA supports globally
significant numbers of watrefowl,
Tundra Swans, and Black-bellied Plover,
and nationally significant numbers
of several marsh species including,
he nationally endangered King Rail.
In November 1999 the first stakeholders
meeting for the Eastern Lake St. Clair
IBA was held. Several meetings and
a fledging waterbird festival later,
the IBA Steering Committee produced
the following vision statement:
The Eastern lake St. Clair Important
Bird Area will promote conservation,
stewardship and the hunting traditions
to protect the area's significance
for breeding, wintering and migratory
birds, as a place where birds can
be observed, monitored, studied and
enjoyed for the ecological, educational,
economic and recreational benefits
to the people of Ontario and beyond.
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