Seabird Projects

On Haida Gwaii and the Central Coast of British Columbia, Birds Canada coordinates predator detection and eradication efforts, working with local First Nations partners to detect and remove rats and raccoons from colonies where vulnerable, burrow-nesting seabirds (including Ancient Murrelet and Cassin’s Auklet) raise their chicks . These efforts directly prevent seabirds and their chicks from being eaten by predators. Birds Canada is also conducting pre-eradication introduced predator survey work in the newly declared Scott Islands Marine National Wildlife Area, in partnership with Indigenous groups, and Provincial and Federal Governments.

In Atlantic Canada, Birds Canada coordinated a GIS-based mapping study that overlaid the marine distribution of 14 seabird species with marine-based risks (fishing, shipping traffic, offshore oil and gas production, light pollution) to highlight marine risk hotspots where seabirds were most vulnerable. The resulting maps and database can help inform and guide marine conservation and management plans in coastal Atlantic Canada.

In Atlantic Canada, Birds Canada is coordinating multi-partner research at six key petrel colonies across New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland. We aim to study (i) predators at colonies, (ii) local and year-round migration, (iii) adult survival, (iv) chick growth and fledging rates, (v) mercury, (vi) diets, and (vii) microplastics. The results will help decipher what threats may be responsible for the 40-50% decline in Leach’s Storm Petrel populations in recent decades.