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Network News - L’entreFILET du Réseau

Winter 2014/2015


In this Issue:

 

It is hard to believe that it has been over a year since our network members met at Port Rowan, ON to share information, discover new initiatives, and reconnect with old friends. All of us left that meeting excited about the path ahead, and with a renewed vision on what was important for our members. Your Steering Committee has been working hard behind the scenes on many of your priorities (see below). A new Sub-Committee structure is working really well, and we’re moving some important projects ahead at a good pace. It may seem like we’re quiet to the general public, but we’re steadily chipping away at the mountain of action items that we set for ourselves at the last face-to-face meeting. This upcoming year will be when the fruits of our labour really start showing. Communication and idea sharing was identified as one of your priorities, so this newsletter will be the conduit that will allow us to showcase our work and our products to the CMMN membership and other interested parties. 

This newsletter is available in both French and English.  You will be receiving this initial newsletter in both language versions, so just keep the subscription to the newsletter version that you prefer.  Our french translation will be sent soon. 


We want to grow our readership, so we encourage you to share this Network News with your members, friends and fellow conservation organizations.  So welcome to Network News - L'entre FILET de Réseau! We hope you enjoy this new initiative. 

New? Sign up for the CMMN newsletter mailing list here!

Who is part of the Canadian Migration Monitoring Network?

The Canadian Migration Monitoring Network (CMMN) is a unique network that works collaboratively to monitor avian migration in Canada. The CMMN tracks migration of Canada’s birds in the spring and fall each year, adding to our knowledge of population trends, demographics, phenology, and other essential information about the species that pass through each location. This information is used by governments, environmental organizations, scientists and others to direct our collective actions and improve our ability to conserve Canada’s birds.  Most CMMN members are small, non-profit organizations that depend on large numbers of motivated volunteers.  Your support is welcome and very much appreciated!

To find out more about the network, check out the CMMN website.
 

Participants at the 9th National Meeting of the Canadian Migration Monitoring Network/Réseau canadien de surveillance des migrations in Port Rowan, On. 

CMMN Steering Committee Update:


At the 9th CMMN National Meeting, the members of the 2013-2015 CMMN Steering Committee were announced. The four committee members elected by the stations were Ann Nightingale (BC), Ted Cheskey (ON), Ted Murphy-Kelly (YT), and Patti Campsall (AB).  Bird Studies Canada continues to be represented by Jon McCracken, Stu Mackenzie, and Audrey Heagy, all  based at Bird Studies Canada's headquarters in Port Rowan, ON. Environment Canada's representatives are Marie-Anne Hudson (ON), Bruno Drolet (QC), and Alaine Camfield (ON). We are happy to report that Marie-Anne and Bruno also agreed to be the Co-chairs for this term. One of our first orders of business was inviting Doug Collister (AB) and Erica Dunn (ON) to help round out the Steering Committee as our members at large.
 
There were great discussions at the 2013 meeting. The Steering Committee received clear input for the Network, which helped to direct our projects over the next two years. Based on your top priorities, three Sub-Committees were created to tackle the many action items.
 
Science Sub-Committee (Chair-Bruno Drolet). Updated population trends were a big topic of discussion at our last meeting, and remain a main focus for the CMMN. A priority for this group has been getting the latest trend results online, but first they needed to develop a new framework for classifying species. Piloting of the new species review process has taken place at three stations and the rest of the stations will be contacted this winter by the Sub-Committee to complete the review of their specie's data. Active involvement by the stations is critical to this process. The goal for this process is to ensure that both the public and stations understand how these trends were calculated,   and how they should be interpreted. Other priorities for this sub-committee include creating data sharing agreements and completing the Feather Isotope Project.
 
Network Sustainability Sub-Committee (Chair-Audrey Heagy). The focus of this group has been improving communication between the Steering Committee and the Network.  Understanding how we can share and gather information more effectively between our members and keep some of that network energy flowing between national meetings has been a priority. This newsletter is one of this sub-committee's initiatives as well as several surveys that were recently been sent out to each station to gather up-to-date information on your programs. Streamlining of the CMMN-RCSM membership application process has also been a priority for this group, including tackling some of the outstanding applications. We are happy to report that Tatlayoko Lake and the two Yukon Bird Observatories (Albert Creek and Teslin Lake) are now officially full-members of the network. Congratulations and welcome!
 
Partnerships and Outreach Sub-Committee (Chair-Ted Cheskey). Promotion of collaborative research opportunities with our network, as well as expanding communication to other networks and stations, are priorities for this sub-committee. This also includes facilitating the use of CMMN-RCSM data by third-party researchers. Our network data and local station field expertise are valuable resources for collaborative research partnerships, and we should be actively promoting it. This group is also developing a system to make it easier for the network, as well as stations, to maintain an up-to-date CMMN publication library.
 
A lot of great work has been accomplished so far, and these are all steps towards building a strong network and even stronger member stations.


Hot off the Press: 

New CMMN Policy for Data or Data Collection Requests by Researchers

Spring is fast approaching and that means researchers are busy contacting the CMMN and our member stations about potential research collaborations. The CMMN encourages network participation in research and facilitates the use of our data for analysis and publication. To help guide that process, the Steering Committee has developed a new CMMN Data Sharing Policy for Cooperative Research Projects. The goal of this document is to ensure that we have a clear procedure for processing data or research requests as well as ensuring that all parties' contributions are recognized and protected during the project. Questions about this policy can be directed to your CMMN Steering Committee Chairs: Bruno Drolet (Bruno.Drolet@eg.gc.ca) or Marie-Anne Hudson (Marie-Anne.Hudson@ec.gc.ca). 

You are invited to check it out and adapt it to suit your requirements for handling researcher requests for data or data collection. Microsoft Word versions are available by contacting aheagy@birdscanada.org.  Good luck and we look forward to hearing about your exciting research initiatives.

Download the new CMMN Data Sharing Policy here!

 

The National Data Centre:
 

Benefits for CMMN Stations


Submitted by Catherine Jardine - Bird Studies Canada
Thinking Outside the Station: Collaboration on Research Initiatives
The CMMN consists of 25 migration monitoring stations located across Canada, which have generated over 370 station and year-specific datasets. This massive data resource now represents a major source of raw information to investigate a wide range of potential questions such as population trends, fluctuations, stressors, geographic variability, as well as inter-annual breeding success rates and morphometric characteristics of species. Each year, CMMN stations from across the country submit data to Bird Studies Canada (BSC); in turn the data are standardized into a single format and hosted on NatureCounts, BSC’s data analysis and dissemination portal. Through this portal, independent researchers, consultants, government agencies or other CMMN stations may query these datasets and submit data requests. These requests are reviewed by each station’s representative and, when approved, the data are automatically made available for download. Datasets from stations across the country are made available in one accessible location, making this system an efficient and effective means of sharing data while still allowing the data to remain within the control and ownership of each individual station. This approach fosters collaborative studies and allows for network-wide analyses, important considerations to increase the utility of CMMN data. To explore this download portal please click here.
 
Making an Effort: Archiving Effort Data
The new Microsoft Excel version of the CMMN Daily Estimated Totals (DET) data entry program was released in 2013. Many stations have already made the switch and are submitting data in this new format. One of the main benefits of moving to the new DET entry program is that effort data collected in this new format will be automatically uploaded and made available through NatureCounts! The National Data Center encourages all stations to consider moving to the new Excel DET program, available here.  This will be the first time that CMMN effort data will be available through the NatureCounts portal and it is the first step in an initiative to archive all historic effort data, which will open up new options for data analysis across the network. Stay tuned for news on this exciting initiative!
 
Safety First: Data Security
The data collected at CMMN stations is one-of-a-kind. Every year, an irreplaceable set of time series data is collected. Ensuring that data are securely archived, in full, is a major benefit of hosting data with the National Data Center. Offsite backups ensure that irreplaceable data is secure for the long term, even if station computers fail or employees move on. Original files, as well as standardized data are available to stations at any time should the station accidentally lose or corrupt their data files, and stations can be confident that they maintain full control of how their data are used and who is given access to their information. Most stations already submit DET data to Bird Studies Canada, but did you know that BSC will archive Banding Data from stations as well? Morphometric and body condition measurements such as wing chord, body weight and fat deposits are not currently archived by the Banding Office and are at risk of being lost if station files are not carefully archived. If you are interested in backing up your banding data, in any format you’d like (Excel, Access, Bandit, BandManager, etc.), or if you have any questions about the National Data Center, please contact Catherine Jardine at cjardine@birdscanada.ca. She can provide answers and support with data management, submission and archiving. We commend all CMMN stations for their incredible efforts to maintain and build this remarkable dataset, and we appreciate your support and engagement as we continue to build and improve the utility of the data collected through the network. Thank you!

 

 

Owl Monitoring News


Many of our CMMN stations monitor the fall migration of Northern Saw-whet owls, and are active members of Project Owlnet. The June 2014 edition of the Wilson Journal Of Ornithology featured "Northern Saw-whet Owl: Regional Patterns for Fall Migration and Demographics Revealed by Banding Data" (see abstract) by Confer et al. We are proud to report that several eastern CMMN stations contributed to this large scale analysis of Northern Saw-whet Owl migratory movements and population dynamics. Has your station conducted or contributed to great research lately?  We want to know!
 

Stay connected to the CMMN!

We would like to encourage you to become a more active member of your network! Whether it's posting a Fall Migration summary, sharing an interesting species observation, or showing a new technique that you use...there are many ways to be more engaged with your network. We would love to hear from you!
Become a Fan of the CMMN-RSCM Facebook Page
Join the CMMN-RCSM List Serve Yahoo Group!
Follow us on Twitter.

The Canadian Migration Monitoring Network is a success due to the collaborative efforts and support of our members. Thank you to the following organizations and stations for your commitment to avian migration monitoring!

Copyright © 2014  Canadian Migration Monitoring Network, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
Canadian Migration Monitoring Network
C/O Bird Studies Canada
Box 160
Port Rowan, ON  N0E 1N0
Email: aheagy@birdscanada.org
Phone: 1-888-448-2473 Ext 166


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