[two_third]On this day in 1962 biologist Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring was first published and started a groundswell that may have forever changed the way we look at humankind’s interactions with the environment.

Many other bloggers and organizations have spent today and the weeks leading up to this anniversary detailing Carson’s phenomenal contribution to environmental awareness and her role in an eventual ban on the use of 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-di(4-chlorophenyl)ethane, or “DDT“, in many countries. As many will recall, DDT has significant impacts on wildlife – other than the invertebrates it is meant to kill – including being lethal to many aquatic organisms and impacting the biological process responsible for egg shell formation in the females of many bird species. An informative essay by renowned biologist Paul Ehrlich and others is available here, which addresses the impacts of DDT on North American bird species such as Brown Pelican, Osprey, Bald Eagle and Peregrine Falcon.

In the spirit of continuing Carson’s efforts to promote environmental awareness – particularly that around birds, their populations trends and the threats they face –  I’d like to draw your attention to three reports Nature Canada staff authored or had a hand in co-authoring this year. They are:

The State of Canada’s Birds 2012, available in English and French

Birds at Risk – The Importance of Canada’s Boreal Wetlands and Waterways, available in English and French

and

The Underlying Threat: Addressing Subsurface Threats in Environment Canada’s Protected Areas, currently only available in English.

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Nesting Osprey – Carmen Schlamb

Peregrine Falcon

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