Nature lovers recruited to track species in B.C.
Larry Pynn
Sun
Rufous hummingbirds nest on Westham Island in Ladner. COURTESY TOM MIDDLETON
Nature lovers from all over B.C. are being asked to get out their binoculars and notebooks and participate in an ambitious science project aimed at mapping the province for breeding birds.
The intent is to compile a long-term Web database, the B.C. Breeding Bird Atlas, from which scientists can track changes in bird species and abundance resulting from influences such as urban development or, increasingly, climate change.
“The big one is the pine beetle,” said Rob Butler, a retired Canadian Wildlife Service biologist who is coordinating the effort. “We’ll see the repercussions on birds from the changing forest.”
More than 300 bird species breed in B.C., more than in any other province. Sixty-five of those — including the tufted puffin, ancient murrelet, and sage thrasher — breed nowhere else in Canada.
The atlas is a way for average British Columbians to have fun and contribute to important science. Butler hopes that participation proves “addictive,” with people making special forays into regions of the province they might not otherwise visit to help record birds.
Forty coordinators have already been named to help organize the volunteer effort by region.
Butler said in an interview Wednesday he is now looking for birders willing to assume responsibility for identifying birds within 10-square-kilometre blocks in those regions.
But any member of the public who sees a nesting bird is encouraged to register online and contribute sightings, which will go to the coordinator in that given area.
Consulting biologist Dick Cannings, who first suggested B.C. produce an atlas two years ago, is responsible for coordinating bird breeding reports in the south Okanagan, one of the four most endangered landscapes in Canada.
“This is a huge and very complex project,” he said from the South Okanagan town of Naramata. “It will be very popular with birders because they love projects that involving birding with a purpose.”
The project is operating the first year on a $150,000 budget, mostly from the provincial and federal governments. Butler figures it will take five years to complete the atlas, with the goal of repeating the process about every 20 years. The specific location of nest sites won’t be revealed to protect the birds from potential harassment or harm.
He expects urban areas such as Vancouver to receive 100-per-cent coverage, dropping to two to five per cent in remote northern regions.
Researchers will also conduct special forays into certain areas, such as the central coast, to visit spots that would not otherwise be canvassed.
While the peak of breeding won’t occur until later spring, the great horned owl is expected to launch the nesting season any day now, with Anna’s hummingbird and the bald eagle not far behind.
The website, www.birdatlas.bc.ca, is operated by Bird Studies Canada.
Similar databases have been established elsewhere in North America and Europe. More than 150,000 volunteer hours have already been put into the Ontario atlas.
