State of the World’s Birds report says Canada is doing a good job
An abundance of water has helped bolster prairie waterfowl populations in recent years, but long-term growth is being linked to effective conservation and biodiversity.
The number of birds in Canada has dropped by 12 percent since 1970, said Jon McCracken, director of national programs for Bird Studies Canada, citing research from his organization.
Grassland birds and aerial insectivores such as barn swallows are part of that decline, but ducks, geese and swans are bucking the trend.
“I think we can pretty safely attribute that to effective protection and conservation efforts of wetland habitat,” McCracken said.
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He offered a quick survey of Canadian bird populations ahead of the release of a new BirdLife International report, State of the World’s Birds, which shows a similar decline in bird populations across the globe, including significant declines in farmland birds in Europe.
According to the report, one in eight bird species is considered globally threatened with extinction.
The loss of native prairie and pastureland is a factor in Canada. Internationally, the challenges are similar: agricultural intensification, infrastructure development, pollution and climate change.
“There’s more that can be done on the landscape here in Canada and elsewhere, but I think we’ve done a pretty effective job on demonstrating that these conservation actions are actually giving us the results we’re looking for,” said McCracken.
His observations are similar to what wildlife officials are seeing in the air and on the ground.
The Canadian Wildlife Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service conduct an annual aerial and ground survey of waterfowl on the Canadian Prairies, parts of the United States and the North.
In 2012, they pegged the Canadian population at almost 49 million, up seven percent from the previous year, as wet weather and flood waters provided suitable habitat for birds.
While water will concern growers, the ducks aren’t usually a problem, said John Trevor of Ducks Unlimited in Saskatchewan.
“As you’ve seen the last couple of years, the fall has been lovely, nice and dry,” he said.
“Guys get most of the crop off without any problem at all, even though the numbers are at some of the all time highs.”
Ducks Unlimited works with ranchers to create new grasslands and discourages draining natural wetlands, which Trevor admits can be difficult when farmers are chasing high commodity prices.He promotes winter wheat, seeded into canola stubble, as a crop that can benefit producers and conservationists.
“It provides a lot of cover for the birds to nest in and with that reduced disturbance as well in that field, and they do quite well in those areas that have winter wheat,” he said.
“That’s one of the things that we can do with agriculture.”
This year’s waterfowl census — conducted with the help of provincial governments and Ducks Unlimited — wrapped up last month on the Prairies.
“Based on what we’ve seen on the ground, it seems like the habitat conditions and habitat availability was similar to last year,” said Joel Ingram, head of population management with the Canadian Wildlife Service.
“We kind of expect similar population estimates to last year once the numbers come out.”
While populations of some ducks such as the lesser scaup have declined, he agreed waterfowl populations have fared better than other groups of birds.
He gave credit to the conservation efforts of private landowners and the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, which was developed in the mid-1980s as a response to low waterfowl numbers.
“Wetland protection not only protects ducks and other kinds of wildlife, but again also serves human interests quite well, particularly in the drought prone Canadian Prairies,” said McCracken.
BirdLife pegs the value of pest control offered by birds in Canada’s boreal forest at $5.4 billion per year.
Stuart Butchart, head of science for BirdLife International, said bird populations are often a harbinger of other environmental concerns, and their distribution often mirrors that of other wildlife.
“It demonstrates that birds are a great window on nature and they tell us about what’s happening to the environment more broadly,” he said.
“They help us to identify the problems and pinpoint the solutions.”
