About Us

In 1995, a part of the Stoneycroft Wildlife Area begin to be used by McGill University ornithology students for occasional banding activities in both spring and fall. ## Par David Bird ? The Stoneycroft Wildlife Area is an approximately 22-hectare property adjacent to the Morgan Arboretum that belongs to the McGill Macdonald campus. Acquired in the 1940’s, the property has been the site of many research projects and educational field trips by university students. The Stoneycroft Wildlife Area is known to contain over 240 species of plants, over 130 species of vertebrates and a large insect population that requires much more study. The various vegetation zones and seasonally flooded habitats found on the property serve as nesting habitat, foraging areas and shelter for permanent and transitional species. In recent years, the property has fallen under disrepair. The purpose of this report is to review the current state of the Stoneycroft Wildlife Area to serve as the basis for future proposals to restore the area.   The Stoneycroft Wildlife Area is a 221,600 meters’ (22,16ha) reserve owned by McGill University. In 1966, the area was set aside strictly for the research purposes of students and staff from the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental sciences. The Wildlife Area provides shelter to approximately 250 species of vascular plants, 100 species of insects and 130 species of vertebrates. In a recent land value assessment, the City of Montreal described the Stoneycroft Wildlife Area as one which contains one of the last centennial forests on the island of Montreal andassessed its value at $593,352 (Hodder and Thiffault, 2001). Since its conversion into a Wildlife reserve in 1966, the Stoneycroft Wildlife Area has been host to numerous research studies. McGill students used the Stoneycroft Wildlife Area for their graduate studies as early as 1976. For many years, McGill instructors have brought their students to the Stoneycroft Wildlife Area for field laboratories. Al of the professors teaching the course Natural History of the Vertebrates use of have used the area to observe birds, amphibians and reptiles with their students. D.r Lewis uses the area in his Science of Inland Waters course so that his students can look at live specimen of invertebrates, plants, and amphibians in their natural habitat. He also brings students from his Insect Biology course for similar purposes. Dr. Bird and D.r Titman bring their students to the area for bird watching and mist

This is were the adventure begin for the passionate graduate student who decide to create the McGill Bird Observatory. In August 2004, volunteers restored an old cabin on the Stoneycroft property, which is now used as the McGill Bird Observatory banding station. Ten passerine nets comprising five groups were set up for the fall 2004 season, plus a separate cluster of six nets for Saw-whet Owl migration monitoring. A census route was established in 2004 that provides access to the various habitats around the property. During fall and spring migration, the census is walked daily to ensure a comprehensive overview of the birds present. It also provides a good way to get an overview of the species in the area during the off-seasons in winter and summer.  

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Owl migration has been actively monitored at MBO during 13 fall seasons, including standardized coverage since 2011 over the six-week period from September 25 to November 6.