Hundreds of bird experts from Canada, the United States and 39 other countries are in town for the largest annual ornithologist conference in North America.
Members of the American Ornithological Society (AOS) and Society of Canadian Ornithologists – Société des ornithologistes du Canada (SCO–SOC) are meeting at RBC Place from Tuesday to Saturday. It’s the first time the event is being held in the Forest City.
“London’s kind of a central meeting place for Canadian bird researchers from across the country,” said organizer and research scientist Greg Mitchell. “I’m really excited for everybody to come to London and see London and experience some of the things London has to offer in terms of being a bird-friendly city.”
More than 820 people are registered to attend, with at least 450 scientific talks and 200 posters that will be presented. The topics are vast, ranging from feather structure to migration routes to how climate change is affecting birds in the Arctic.
One of the most important issues at the table, said Mitchell, is conservation. Research shows that Canada and the U.S. have lost 29 per cent of their birds since the 1970s. That translates into three billion birds in four decades.
Research shows bird singing makes us happier
“Birds are very important to the environment,” he said.
Birds provide ecosystem services such as pollination. They provide reliable signals to scientists whenever there’s been a change in the environment, and are allies to farmers by keeping insects at bay.
They also help us to de-stress.
“There’s some really cool research coming out now showing the sound of birds singing actually makes us happier,” said Mitchell. “Folks that live in neighbourhoods with more birds tend to be happier than people that live in neighbourhoods with fewer birds.”
The theme of this year’s conference is “Birds as Bridges.” It’s a nod to how the study of birds links different areas of science such as physiology or conservation and how, on the whole, they bring people together from all different fields and walks of life.
There are opportunities for non-ornithologists to take part in the conference. Doors are open for a keynote talk on conservation on Tuesday night, followed by the screening of the documentary Flyaways on Wednesday.
It will be a chance for people to see for themselves how passionate ornithologists are about what they do, said Mitchell.
“It’s kind of a way of life,” he said. “I feel like I’m one of the most fortunate people in the world personally because I get to be outside a lot of the year watching birds and observing birds, and looking at how they interact with nature. And I think we all really, really appreciate that.”
Details of the conference and the American Ornithological Society and Society of Canadian Ornithologists are available online.