“Our modern day canaries in the coal mine are not in little cages, instead it’s the wild birds… When we see the health of the populations going down it’s like seeing the canary falling off its perch. We know that there’s a huge problem with the environment that needs to be fixed.”

Purple Martins have declined by 78% since 1970. Dr. Bridget Stutchbury uses geolocators to discover when and where the birds go and the route they travel. Her groundbreaking work is a game changer. Is the timing and routes of first-time migrants coded in their DNA or is it learned behavior? With climate change reeking havoc with the cycles of nature, timing is everything.

Dr. Bridget Stutchbury is currently a Professor of Biology at York University. She completed her Ph.D. at Yale. She is affiliated with more than a dozen organizations that seek to preserve bird habitats. Her book, Silence of the Songbirds, is a best seller.