Featured News Stories

A proposed shipping terminal expansion project in BC has returned to the media spotlight. The Roberts Bank Terminal 2 (RBT2) project would see an artificial island about the size of 150 football fields built in the heart of the Fraser River Estuary. This is expected to impact a number of species legally protected under Canada’s Species at Risk Act, such as Chinook Salmon and Southern Resident Killer Whales. Experts within Environment and Climate Change Canada have also warned it would irreparably damage vital habitat for long-distance migratory birds like Western Sandpipers.

Silver linings of the pandemic are scarce, but one of them is surely Canadians reconnecting to the outdoors and nature. We went for a bike ride or jogged when we couldn’t visit a gym. For relief from another Zoom call, we walked, catching up with friends and counting steps with family. And many of us discovered birds in our backyards and from our balconies for the first time.

Birds Canada is delighted to announce the launch of the Chimney Swift Chimney Restoration Fund, a major new initiative to help conserve important habitat for the Chimney Swift, which is listed as Threatened under Canada’s Species at Risk Act.

For a quarter of a century the annual Great Backyard Bird Count has been a bright spot for nature lovers. The 25th edition of the event is coming up February 18 through 21.

This year, we asked our many CBC volunteers to share with us what it means to participate in North America’s longest-running Citizen Science project. Thank you to all who took the time to share with us. We heard from participants from coast to coast. Birds are important to all of us, and your responses made that loud and clear.

Birds Canada is seeking new volunteers to participate in the Great Lakes Marsh Monitoring Program. This long-term monitoring program coordinates hundreds of volunteer Citizen Scientists throughout the Great Lakes basin of Ontario and the U.S. Volunteers collect information about the presence and abundance of birds and frogs in Great Lakes marshes to contribute to our understanding of these species and their habitat needs.

February 2 is World Wetlands Day! This is a perfect time to reflect on how we can look after our wetlands. We at Birds Canada work hard to restore and protect these amazing places, and with the help of our partners and supporters like you, we’ve been very successful. Thousands of wetlands, particularly those in agricultural landscapes, remain in peril of drainage.

Some of the best tools we have for gauging the health of Earth’s biodiversity are extinction risk listings. Nationally, we have the Canadian Species at Risk Act (SARA), which is based on assessments by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC).

In this free, fun event, people around the world count birds for at least 15 minutes on one or more days. Birds can be counted anywhere – from the warmth of your home, while out walking, or at your nearest park.

Birds Canada held a third successful bird count within the Fraser River Estuary Important Bird Area in British Columbia on November 20, 2021. Sixty-five volunteer surveyors detected 132 bird species and more than 180,000 individuals in this crucial wintering bird hotspot! An immense thank-you to all who contributed.