Meet the family that has been a part of Birdathon since the beginning. Ricky Dunn and David Hussell started the original Birdathon back in 1976 to support Birds Canada’s founding program, the Long Point Bird Observatory. Their family hasn’t stopped participating since.
We invited long-time Birdathon participant David Love to share the impact of the event over the years. Click through to the blog for some fascinating Birdathon lore: facts, figures, notable participants and more!
Photo: Credit: Christopher Kindratsky/Western Communications | Protecting birds starts with knowledge. Understanding where they move, when they travel, and how they use the landscapes that we share, is one of the first steps to helping them thrive. This can’t happen in isolation. Across Canada, there’s a growing commitment to better understand and help birds.
Whether you have a big garden or a balcony with some pots – these patches of habitat add up to something meaningful for bird populations. Read about some of the best plants for attracting birds to your space: hummingbirds, warblers, and even winter favourites!
From coastal cliffs to wetlands – Bank Swallows like a vast range of habitats. It makes monitoring them challenging, yet so fun! Our team is using new innovations, new friends, and a lot of hours on dusty dirt roads to track down Bank Swallows – ultimately striving to protect their habitats and halt troubling declines.
Marshes are extremely challenging environments to live in. The fluctuating water levels, dense vegetation, and muddy conditions are no picnic. Yet, from head-to-toe, Marsh Birds have incredible adaptations to thrive in these unique habitats. We take a special look at what toes can tell us about life in the marsh.
With the 50th annual Birdathon fast approaching, take a look at some of the projects that last year’s fundraising is helping to support. From Bicknell’s Thrush surveys in New Brunswick, to Motus tagging in British Columbia – the conservation impacts are wide-reaching and aim to protect the birds we love.
We’ve been getting lots of questions about the changes happening at Wasaga Beach, and how they will impact the Piping Plovers that nest there. Thank you for caring!
Birds Canada’s first-ever Science in Action Report is a celebration of something powerful: what happens when decades of standardized monitoring, cutting‑edge tools, and thousands of passionate people come together for birds? It answers a big question in a very grounded way: How does science actually improve things for birds and the places they depend on?
Photo: Merri-Lee Metzger | Evening Grosbeaks are widely distributed in Canada, occurring as far west as the Pacific Coast, north to the Yukon border, and east to the Atlantic Coast. We are currently in the midst of an irruption of this species throughout central and eastern Canada. So, with the Evening Grosbeak fresh in the minds of many Canadians, what better way is there to celebrate and learn about this bird that so captures the imagination than to make it our 2026 Avian Ambassador?
