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Archived Postings

June 12, 2008 – June 18, 2008

Now that the breeding season is in full swing, the LSLBO has been working on the Canada Warbler Project. This project was initiated by the LSLBO in 2004 with the purpose of studying the breeding ecology of Canada warblers. The project was created because aspects of their breeding ecology have not been well studied and the LSLBO is in a position to collect some of the missing data. The forest surrounding the banding lab contains ideal nesting habitat for Canada warblers and the study site established for the project has a high density of breeding pairs (between 10 to15 pairs). The first step of the study is to locate breeding territories. We start by marking individuals with unique colour band combinations then follow the birds to track their territories. Colour bands are used because they allow for easy identification of individuals through binoculars. Once territories are found, we begin nest searches. Locating nests is critical to gathering the breeding data we are looking for. Unfortunately, nest searches are time consuming. Canada warblers are ground nesters and ground nests can be very difficult to find. Once a nest is found, we cheer, give high fives, then begin to monitor it daily. Video cameras are set to passively film the nests. From the video, we can gather information on incubation rates, feeding rates, food sources, and other nest activities. In Alberta, Canada warblers where listed as “sensitive” in 2005. This means that the species is not at risk, but special attention may be required to prevent the species of becoming at risk. This designation was placed on Canada warblers because of declining populations over the past 20 years. However, the cause of the population decline has not been identified. Canada warblers breed throughout Canada, and a national status report was prepared for the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) in 2007. After assessing the status report in April 2008, COSEWIC designated Canada warblers as “threatened”. This designation was used because Canada warbler populations across Canada have been significantly declining over the long-term (based on population trends) and there is no evidence that the decline will be reversed. According to COSEWIC “a threatened species will become endangered unless limiting factors are reversed.” Reasons for the population declines are speculative, but are not fully known. Suddenly, the Canada Warbler Project turned from a side project to collect missing information into studying a threatened species. It is our hope that the information we gather can contribute to understanding the reasons for the declining populations. In the meantime, we will continue collecting as much data as possible. So far this season we have located three nests. All three nests were found while the female was constructing the nest, which is something that has not been done at the LSLBO before. We will monitor these nests and begin searching for the nests of the other breeding pairs. There are six more known breeding pairs in the study site. We have some work to do.

2010