Five years ago, Su Rynard, Joanne Jackson, and Diane Woods created SongbirdSOS Productions Inc. with the idea of producing documentaries about the challenging affecting songbirds around the globe. This spring, SongbirdSOS Productions is releasing The Messenger, full-length feature film:
The Messenger is a visually thrilling ode to the beauty and importance of the imperiled songbird, and what it means to all of us on both a global and human level if we lose them. Humans once believed that birds could carry messages, their presence was meaningful. They have helped predict the change of seasons, the coming of storms and the rise of toxins in the food chain. Once again they have something to tell us, and the message is not a comfortable one.
Last Thursday, CBC’s longstanding “The Nature of Things” featured a special documentary on SongbirdSOS, narrated by David Suzuki and directed by Su Rynard. If you’re in Canada, you can watch the documentary at the CBC website. Because documentary films are expensive to make, there’s a crowd-funding page for The Messenger. The money raised will cover film post-production, completion of the sound mix, picture editing, colour grading, and mastering finishing costs. You can support The Messenger by helping to fund their Indiegogo campaign here. By donating, you can receive some great perks, including bird-friendly coffee, signed copies of books by Bridget Stuchbury who appears in the documentary, a DVD copy of the film, some great resource material from Bird Studies Canada, and more.
In Canada, Tree Swallow numbers have declined 62 percent since 1966, 
Prairie Birder 