The Boreal Centre for Bird Conservation facilitates and welcomes interest from a variety of researchers including:
- birders and naturalists, both as individuals or in clubs, with interests in conservation initiatives and citizen science
- individuals working on requirements for Masters or PhD programs
- educators looking to deepen their knowledge in related areas, and
- corporations needing to conduct environmental impact assessments of existing or planned activities in forestry, oil & gas and other industries.
We also prepare and conduct unbiased research on behalf of corporate and government agencies needing to collect data on the boreal forest.
Past and present projects at the BCBC have included:
The Canada Warbler Project – The Canada Warbler (Wilsonia canadensis) is one of the least studied warblers in North America, however evidence suggestions populations have been in decline for the last 30 years. This study of locally breeding populations helps researchers to better understand the breeding ecology of this species.
The Owl Monitoring Project – The Northern Saw-whet Owl (Aegolius acadicus) is a nocturnal owl species with a large breeding range that includes the boreal forest surrounding Lesser Slave Lake Provincial Park. This research monitors long term population trends to provide further insight into the demographics and biometrics of the owls.
Migration Monitoring – The Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory is part of an international effort to monitor landbird migrations using daily mistnetting (capturing birds in nets using a procedure developed at the Manomet Bird Observatory), visible migration counts (recording every bird species observed within a defined space at set intervals) and casual observance.
The Christmas Bird Count – The BCBC is a participant in the annual Christmas Bird Count conducted between mid-December and early January in over 1800 locations across Canada, the United States and Latin America. This supports a huge ongoing database of information on the distribution and numbers of North American Birds.
Project Feederwatch – Project Feederwatch is a winter-long survey of birds that visit feeders in backyards, nature centres, community areas and elsewhere in North America. This helps scientists track the broad movements of winter bird populations, and the long-term trends in bird distribution and abundance.
MAPS –The Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship program was created by the Institute for Bird Populations to assess and monitor vital rates and population dynamics of over 120 species of North American land birds. As one of just six MAPS sites in operation throughout Canada, the BCBC lies within the Boreal & Arctic Canada Region and contributes data of national significance.
For more information on these research and monitoring programs, please check out the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory website.