"I cannot stress enough just how significant Sylvan Heights is to endangered waterfowl conservation efforts, Without this facility, captive breeding and conservation efforts would be set back by decades."

Doug Piekarz
VP Collections and Grounds,
Akron Zoological Park

Survival Breeding Programs

The heart and soul of Mike Lubbock's waterfowl conservation efforts are the breeding programs conducted at Sylvan Heights Waterfowl Breeding Center. Very few zoos or other biological institutions conduct any significant breeding of the world's most threatened waterfowl -- the White-winged Wood Duck of Asia, the Orinoco Goose of the South American llanos, the Madagascar Teal of Africa or Australia's Freckled Duck. These bird species and many more are struggling for a future. In some cases, fewer than 250 birds are all that separates a species from extinction. The survival breeding programs at Sylvan Heights is their best last hope.

These are just a few of the most significant survival breeding programs underway at Sylvan Heights: 

Conservation Projects in the Wild

Mike Lubbock and the staff at Sylvan Heights Waterfowl Breeding Center are also dedicated to saving waterfowl species which are threatened in their native habitat. Recent work has taken Mike or Sylvan Heights' conservation partners to Cambodia (White-winged Wood Duck project), Venezuela (Torrent Duck and Orinico Goose projects) and Brazil (Brazilian Merganser project).  

 Mike Lubbock's Thesis on Aviculture and Waterfowl Conservation

Sylvan Heights Waterfowl founder, Mike Lubbock, presented a paper at the IV International Symposium in Toronto, Canada on the topic of breeding birds in captivity. The paper, entitled The State of Captive Waterfowl in the United States, was delivered to the conference attendees on September 15, 2007. The paper is an important read for friends of waterfowl because it clearly demonstrates the immense conservation value of managed breeding programs, such as those conducted at Sylvan Heights Waterfowl Breeding Center. The paper also makes a case for wetlands and waterfowl education opportunities for the public at the Sylvan Heights Waterfowl Park & Eco-Center in Scotland Neck, North Carolina.

Those who worked on the project tend to refer to the manuscript as simply The Toronto Paper.  If you invest the time to read the entire document, you're sure to come away with a better understanding of the immense challenge for survival these birds face as well as the insightful manner and unique approach Mike Lubbock brings to waterfowl conservation.

The Toronto Paper  Full Manuscript