Alberta's Songbirds — in TROUBLE!

Every spring, colourful tropical songbirds migrate to Alberta to breed, nest, and raise their young. The woods are adorned with flashes of red, orange, yellow, and chestnut; a symphony of songs and calls fills the air. But for how much longer? Studies show that songbirds have decreased at an alarming rate. Songbirds are sensitive to environmental changes and their decline is a cause for concern!

WHY should you be concerned?

Birds are extremely important to our own well-being. The joy and thrill of birdwatching enriches our lifes. Birds help to maintain the health of forests, from the dispersal of seeds, the pollination of flowers, to keeping insect populations in check. For example, a pair of Yellow Warblers feed their young an average of 120 caterpillars a day. Without birds, we would be in serious ecological trouble.

WHAT is a songbird?

Over half of all the birds worldwide, about 4000 species, are songbirds. We've all seen familiar backyard songbirds like robins and sparrows. The most sought-after birds in North America are songbirds. Brightly coloured wood warblers such as the Magnolia Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, and Cape May Warbler are an unforgettable sight.

At the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory, 23 different wood warbler species have been observed.

Surprisingly, crows and ravens are songbirds too. A few songbirds stay in Alberta year 'round. Most migrate south to spend the winter months in Mexico, the Caribbean, Latin America, and South America.

WHY are songbirds declining?

The main reason is habitat loss. Deforestation of tropical rainforests is relentless. By 1983, up to 80% of Costa Rica's original forest cover was destroyed. Haiti has lost 95% of its forests. In Alberta, 95% of the aspen parkland has been lost to agriculture and urban development and less than 10% of oldgrowth forests remain.

Alberta's boreal forest is also changing rapidly. Oil and gas exploration and forestry are the main industrial activities affecting the boreal forest. Up to 75% of the vertebrate life in the boreal forest is migratory birds. The migrants depend on the boreal forest for critical breeding grounds.

Forested areas that are harvested for wood and paper products provide poor habitat for forest birds like the Cape May Warbler. Air pollution and acid rain also damage forests in North America.

Bird banding in Alberta

People have been banding birds for centuries. The first record of a banded bird is from 1710. A Grey Heron was banded in Turkey and later re-caught in Germany. The Beaverhill Bird Observatory, located on Beaverhill Lake, 72 km east of Edmonton, is Alberta's first banding station and was established in 1984.

Banding birds contributes to our understanding of migration timing, migration flyways, population numbers ( including changes in productivity and mortality) and bird conservation. Banding data helps to develop conservation plans and identify critical habitat areas for birds.

HOW can you help?

Volunteers band thousands of bird each year. You can volunteer at three research stations in Alberta — Beaverhill Bird Observatory, Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, and Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory. If you can't volunteer at one of these stations, you can help in others ways:

Please visit the Project Feederwatch section of our website and find out how you and your backyard birdfeeder can help collect important data.