Hello Readers of WINGS,

Spring is in full bloom, and we hope you're enjoying the longer, warmer days and catching a glimpse of some migrating birds! We’re pleased to share some updates on our current projects from the last couple of months, and what we have coming up this summer. Audiences continue to enjoy Dr. Bondar’s new book, Space for Birds, which was recently featured in a Toronto Lit Up event. Dr. Bondar and the RBF team have continued fieldwork for the Space for Birds research project, capturing captivating photos of several bird species during the winter fieldwork season. We're looking forward to another exciting Summer Camp Bondar Challenge season, and the announcement of the School Bondar Challenge winners soon.

Keep reading to catch up on what's new with our projects and programs!

On May 7th, Dr. Bondar's book Space for Birds: Patterns & Parallels of Beauty and Flight was featured for a Toronto Lit Up book launch event at the Toronto Public Library, Lillian H. Smith Branch. Dr. Bondar’s participation was the result of selection by the Toronto Lit Up Committee.

Toronto Lit Up was started in 2016 by the Toronto International Festival of Authors and the Toronto Art Council. It features local writers and artists with book launch events that run throughout the year. The events are free and open to the public. Dr. Bondar provided a short presentation on the backstory of creating the book and her personal reflections, followed by a conversation with Nicole Mortillaro (CBC senior reporter) and an audience Q&A. Afterward, Dr. Bondar stayed to sign copies of the book.

The venue was full with 83 people attending! 

Space for Birds was also selected as the winner of a Next Generation Indie Book Award in the Science, Nature & Environment category. 

The Next Generation Indie Book Awards is the largest international awards program for independent authors and publishers. Now in its nineteenth year of operation, the Next Generation Indie Book Awards were established to recognize and honour the most exceptional independently published books in 80+ different categories each year, and is presented by Independent Book Publishing Professionals Group in cooperation with Marilyn Allen of Allen Literary Agency.

This winter, Dr. Bondar and RBF Chair Prof. Bonnie Patterson continued fieldwork for the Space for Birds research project, photographing an array of migratory bird species in their winter habitat in Florida. You may remember from our last WINGS edition that the hurricanes in Florida last fall significantly disturbed many shorebird habitats. Fortunately, several areas that were inaccessible earlier in the winter were quickly cleaned up, making our fieldwork in these critical habitats possible again. 

A Red Knot flock takes flight on the shores on North Beach in Fort de Soto Park, Florida.

Dr. Bondar used her Nikon Z8 camera with an 840mm focal length lens (600mm + teleconverter lens) to capture these photos. These photos were taken in March and show Red Knots (rufa subspecies) from a flock of 350+ that were observed on North Beach in Fort de Soto Park, Florida.

In the two photos on the right, you'll notice that the Red Knot's feathers are changing from their gray and white non-breeding plumage to their signature reddish brown breeding plumage. Some birds had completely changed their plumage by the end of March, while others are still in the process of moulting.

Also in preparation for summer, the Red Knots pictured below are foraging for molluscs as the high tide gives way to low tide—intertidal foraging. Their feeding here will fuel the first part of their migration north to their summer habitat.

Many of these birds will stop in Delaware Bay, a favourite stopover spot for the rufa Red Knot and many other migratory birds that feed on horseshoe crab eggs, a lipid-rich energy source that helps them complete their migrations. The horseshoe crab eggs eaten by migrating birds would normally dry out in the sun because they are exposed in shallow depths in the sand, rendering them unviable to produce offspring. Those laid much deeper where the birds cannot access them, survive and produce a new generation of horseshoe crabs. 

Interestingly, horseshoe crabs are not a true crab species; they are Arthropods, which are more closely related to Arachnids like spiders or scorpions than crabs. Horseshoe crabs are an ancient marine lifeform (older than true crabs), and the only living member of the Merostomata class of Arthropods.

If you look closely at the legs of the Red Knots in the photos on the left, you will notice that these birds have been banded. Dr. Bondar has reported the info on the tags directly to the researchers who tagged these birds, with whom the RBF is collaborating. Registering the various tags enables scientists tracking their migratory paths to understand choices made by the Red Knots with more accuracy, which is critical for conservation efforts. The light green *6A tag on the Red Knot in the top left photo was added in the United States.

The Red Knot is listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as Near-Threatened. The rufa subspecies of the Red Knot, seen in these photos, is listed by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) as Endangered. The main causes of their population declines are habitat loss and depletion of their main stopover food source, horseshoe crab eggs.

Bondar Challenge submissions are in from the 2024-2025 school year! We received 321 submissions from 202 schools this year, including 2 submissions in the new video category.

EcoSchools, our program delivery partner, will be organizing and judging the photos over the next two months. Watch for the announcement of the winning submissions in the next edition of WINGS!



The 2025 summer camp season is quickly approaching! If you or someone you know is looking for innovative art, science, and nature programming for their summer camp, consider joining the Bondar Challenge.

In response to requests from camps, we've added new environmental education resource materials to the program this year which will help participants better understand the ecological and biodiversity elements of their photographs. In partnership with The Being Human Foundation, we've also added new resources designed to encourage participants to reflect on their experience in nature.

Circle 129 is a community of the Roberta Bondar Foundation that was launched on January 22, 2022, at the 30th Anniversary event of Dr. Bondar's historic spaceflight. Supporters include people from various parts of the world who share Dr. Bondar’s belief in the importance of inquiry, creativity, and the conservation of our natural world.

The significant and ongoing commitment of these individuals ensures that the organization can undertake long-term programming and seize opportunities that make a positive impact. Join Circle 129 and enjoy unique opportunities to connect and learn with the RBF community.

Donations to RBF are put into action to decrease the growing nature deficit in society and inspire conservation of our natural world. Together we can make great strides in addressing the growing challenges of declining biodiversity, habitat loss, and a changing climate. Please take a moment and make your gift today using the secure form below.

Copyright © 2025 The Roberta Bondar Foundation. All rights reserved.