Would you like to have fun outdoors, see lots of amazking animals, and contribute to a globally-unique scientific research project? Then read on! From March to August each year we work together with enthusiastic volunteers
from the naturalist community, as well as students and colleagues from UBC, U of T, UWO
and UVIC, studying the physiological, behavioural and demographic effects of food
and predators on Song Sparrows, at several sites in and around Victoria, B.C. Every year we monitor about 100 Song Sparrow territories. Half of
these are located in Victoria, in the Rithets Bog and Swan Lake Conservation Areas, while the other
half are located on several small islands (Brackman, Hood, Portland, Russell and
Tortoise) near the Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal. We welcome the participation of any enthusiastic naturalist in our
study. Our activities include basic bird watching for the identification of colour-banded
individuals, nest searching, mist-netting, measuring nestlings, radio-tracking juveniles, and small mammal
inventories for predator identification. Our sites in Victoria are an easy stroll from the nearest parking
area. Travel to the islands is via a small boat, which requires a bit more stamina, but offers rewards in
the form of breathtaking scenery and the chance to see seals, porpoises, Rhinoceros
Auklets, Marbled Murrelets and other marine life. If you would like to volunteer, please download the volunteer sign-up sheet
in MS Excel format, fill it in and send it to us as an e-mail attachment, or download the Adobe PDF version, print it out, fill it in and post it to us. For more information
please e-mail or phone: Dr. Liana Zanette Department of Biology lzanette@uwo.caVolunteer Opportunities
Song Sparrow crew hard at work on Portland
Island 
Colour-banded Song Sparrow 
Potter trapping (small box bottom left) and
mist-netting on Portland Island 
Colour-banding and measuring nestlings 
Don't worry, we do have a bigger boat than this!
University of Western Ontario
London, Ontario, N6A 5B7
Ph: (519) 661-2111 ext. 88317
Liana, Elena and Anne look on as research
assistants Chris de Ruyck and Josh Malt take a dip
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