Staff
All of our staff at The Wildbird General Store are passionate about birds, and are extremely knowledgeable. When they’re not working at the store you may find them banding owls, counting raptors, monitoring bluebirds, or leading groups on nature walks. We feel very lucky that each of our staff have agreed to spend a little bit of their time at the store, and we encourage you to come in and have a chat with them any time.
Here is a little bit more information about them:
Ray Cromie
Ray Cromie is a retired school teacher and vice-principal in the Sherwood Park school system. He’s also an avid backyard bird feeder and bird enthusiast. Ray’s hobby for many years has been studying owls in northern Alberta. He has extensive knowledge of the abundance and distribution of owls, and in the course of time has banded many. His field work has been outstanding and he has been a contributor to a number of owl research projects in the province.
Ray has been working at the store since 2002 and is always enthusiastic to provide information about local owl sightings.
Marc J. Demers
Born in St-Jean Quebec, Marc obtained his first pilot license during his last year in high school. He flew for the Royal Canadian Air Force and later for two private companies. He retired from flying in Edmonton in 2002 after a 52 year career as a professional pilot. If you ask him, he would say that his main claim to fame is that all his passengers and airplanes were brought home safe and sound.
We in the store welcomed him as an enthusiastic and dedicated member of our staff in 2006. Marc has been a birder since he was a boy. Since his retirement he has become keen on learning all he can about owls and other raptors. Watching Marc dedicate his efforts to involving his grandchildren in nature conservation is a delight to behold.
Jim Lange
Jim Lange is one of Alberta’s most experienced birders, and is particularly proficient in the identification of birds of prey. Jim grew up on a mixed grain farm northwest of Westlock, Alberta with parents who were very interested in nature. After moving from the farm, Jim worked for CN Rail in their Edmonton yards as a labourer and forklift operator. Jim is now retired from CN, and has been working at The Wildbird General Store® since 2004, where, among other duties, he is in charge of the Northern Alberta Birding Hotline®.
Jim’s formal birding began in 1977 with a Beginners Bird Course offered through the Royal Alberta Museum. For many years, Jim Lange has been a dedicated participant in the executive of numerous local conservation organizations including the former Edmonton Bird and Nature Clubs (8 years as President), and the Federation of Alberta Naturalists. He was also on the Board of Directors of The Federation of Alberta Naturalists for many years. As a field naturalist, Jim is actively monitoring raptors at Misty Ridge Ski Hill north of Barrhead, and has actively organized and led innumerable club field trips.
Dan Heinrichs B.Sc.
Dan is the newest addition to The Wildbird General Store. In April 2009 he graduated from the University of Alberta with a major in Conservation Biology, and began working at the store in June. Dan has lived in Edmonton for the past 4 years, and was raised in British Columbia and Manitoba. Growing up in a rural setting surrounded by forests in B.C. and then prairie in Manitoba, he developed a passion and great appreciation for nature. Over the past couple of years his focus has turned to bird watching, in conjunction with hiking and skiing, as a way to appreciate and learn about the ecology of the Parkland and Montane regions.
Along with working in the store Dan is involved in his community. He is working to help his community league by recruiting volunteers, and he is also helping to start a community garden in Queen Mary Park. Dan loves to play and watch soccer, he is an avid non fiction reader, and is an enthusiastic bird watcher.
Jack Park
Jack has the longest employment record at the store and continues to serve the conservation public in many ways. Jack was raised on a farm northwest of Edmonton in the small community of Glenister. He moved to Edmonton at the age of 24 and took up a career as a mill worker. After 37 years in the trade he retired and started working at The Wildbird General Store in 1994.
Jack began bird watching at Beaverhill Lake near Tofield. In 1968 he started working the brand-new Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) at Thunder Lake and he has run it continuously since then. In 1971 he became the BBS coordinator for Alberta, a position that he still holds.
Jack also got involved with Mountain Bluebirds. In 1974 he helped set up a Bluebird Trail south and east of Sherwood Park along Range Road 522 and 520. He still maintains this trail, taking groups and individuals out who are interested in Bluebirds.
