Bicknell’s Thrush Conservation Program

Birds Canada leads monitoring, research, and stewardship programs for at-risk forest birds in several provinces. Programs focus on the species and habitats of highest priority for conservation. Our research helps track populations, assess threats such as habitat fragmentation, increase our understanding of habitat needs, and direct conservation action. We’re working on the ground with landowners, communities, and various stakeholders to promote stewardship for these birds and their habitats.

The Bicknell’s Thrush, a Threatened songbird, is among the landbird species of highest conservation concern in North America. In Atlantic Canada, the species’ breeding habitats include the thick conifer forests found on mountaintops and coastal headlands. It is also found in regenerating high-elevation industrial forest where tree density is very high. This habitat is at risk from wind power development, some forestry practices, acidic precipitation, mercury deposition, and climatic warming.