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Wye
Marsh Important Bird Area
(IBA) comprises the 920
hectare Wye Marsh Provincial
Wildlife Management Area
and the 60 hectare Wye Marsh
National Wildlife Area.
This IBA includes a large
wetland system along the
Wye River and surrounding
forests, old fields, and
the Wye Marsh Wildlife Centre.
The IBA is located near
Midland Ontario, along southeastern
Georgian Bay. It is recognized
as continentally significant
for its populations of Trumpeter
Swan, a reintroduced species,
and breeding Black Terns
and Least Bitterns. Important
Bird Areas are part of a
global network of sites
critical to the long-term
survival of bird diversity.
This conservation plan is
the result of research and
numerous consultations with
members of the Wye Marsh
IBA steering committee.
It describes the IBA, its
significance, threats to
its species, and elaborates
on what is needed for its
long-term protection and
enhancement in the action
plan’s vision, goals, objectives,
and specific actions. The
IBA steering committee has
adopted the following vision
and goals.
Vision
Wye
Marsh Important Bird Area
is striving to promote,
conserve, and enhance the
wetland and woodland habitat
to support wetland species
and migrant birds, a significant
habitat where birds can
be studied, monitored, and
enjoyed. Our focus is to
maintain and enhance the
Wye Marsh wetland for Trumpeter
Swan, Black Tern, Least
Bittern, and other birds
by respecting the habitat
and species diversity of
the entire IBA.
Goals
- maintain
habitats that support
viable and healthy populations
of breeding marsh birds,
including but not limited
to Trumpeter Swan, Least
Bittern, and Black Tern.
- maintain
habitats that support
viable and healthy populations
of breeding forest birds
while respecting habitat
diversity.
- maintain
and promote habitats that
support migrating birds.
- develop
communication strategy
and actions to promote
bird conservation among
partners, stakeholders
and to the public.
- respect
the site’s natural diversity
of habitats and existing
conservation policies
and initiatives.
- support
monitoring and research
on populations of significant
species and their habitats
to inform management and
stewardship activity.
- create
recreational opportunities
for community interest
in birds.
Introduction
Markus slept with his eyes
open. He drifted off sometimes
but was always aware of
his surroundings. The heavy
night air was occasionally
broken by the rattle of
a Marsh Wren or the cooing
of Least Bittern – sounds
Markus had grown up with,
all comfortingly familiar.
The bright moon shimmered
off the water, illuminating
the edge of the dyke and
the surrounding vegetation.
All seemed peaceful ...
until the moonlight was
reflected back, just for
a fraction of a second,
from the eyes of something
large moving slowly across
the dyke. The brief flash
caught his attention. They
were being watched, perhaps
stalked! Realizing the immediate
threat, he sounded a deep
and resonant note. His family
drifted away from the cattails
to the middle of the pond
where the youngsters settled
in between their large and
powerful parents, who were
formidable opponents for
most predators.
While Markus the Trumpeter
Swan may be fictitious,
the story of the swans in
Wye Marsh, a wild bit of
wetland in south-central
Ontario, is not fiction.
Despite a long list of potential
predators, lead poisoning
and many other hazards,
the reintroduction of Trumpeter
Swan to Ontario has been
successful. The efforts
of Wye Marsh Wildlife Centre
are central to the success
of this reintroduction.
However, the virtues of
Wye Marsh go well beyond
the swans to a thriving
community of wetland birds,
including nationally significant
numbers of Least Bittern
and Black Tern. These virtues
have merited “Important
Bird Area” recognition for
Wye Marsh. The close proximity
of Wye Marsh to Tiny Marsh
and Matchedash Bay, also
IBAs, underscores the importance
of this area to wetland
birds. This plan is about
Wye Marsh and its significance
to birds, and how to conserve
and protect this special
area.
Important Bird Areas are
recognized around the world
as the most important sites
for protecting the bird
diversity. Wye Marsh is
one of approximately 1,200
IBAs recognized in Canada,
and one of approximately
20 for which conservation
plans are being produced
in Ontario.
This conservation action
plan lays out the framework
for bird conservation action
in the Wye Marsh IBA. It
is intended to be a “work
in progress.” Sections of
the plan describing the
site, its birds, and the
institutional arrangements
are presented in Chapters
3 to 8. Chapters 9 and 10
explore opportunities within
the Important Bird Area
(IBA) for conservation as
well as threats to the IBA
species. Chapter 11 elaborates
the conservation action
plan, presenting the vision,
goals, objectives, and strategies.
The vision of the Wye Marsh
IBA follows:
Wye Marsh Important Bird
Area is striving to promote,
conserve, and enhance the
wetland and woodland habitat
to support wetland species
and migrant birds, and maintain
a significant habitat where
birds can be studied, monitored,
and enjoyed. Our focus is
to maintain and enhance
the Wye Marsh wetland for
Trumpeter Swan, Black Tern,
Least Bittern, and other
birds by respecting the
habitat and species diversity
of the entire IBA.
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