Conservation Technology
Conservation technologies are transforming how we study and protect birds by revealing changes in populations, habitats, and movements as they happen.
Birds Canada is developing and applying the latest technologies to advance conservation.
©Cerulean WarblerPhoto: Jose Pablo Castillo
©Cerulean WarblerPhoto: Jose Pablo Castillo
Embracing Innovation
Through our technology platforms, NatureCounts and Motus, we support researchers, conservationists, volunteers and industries around the world in collecting, analyzing and sharing some of the largest biodiversity datasets available. Together, these tools power effective conservation action for birds.
By embracing innovation, our scientists and the broader conservation community can better monitor, understand and protect the birds we love. The knowledge we uncover through these technologies helps inform the projects, policies and conservation actions that lead to healthy habitats and thriving birds.
NatureCounts
NatureCounts is a technology platform that supports the collection, management, and sharing of biodiversity data. It consists of a suite of powerful tools, like the NatureCounts app, that helps monitoring projects and their volunteers easily collect high-quality data on birds and other species.
The data is stored in the NatureCounts data repository, the largest biodiversity database in Canada. Sharing and decision-support tools allow researchers, conservationists, and policy-makers to access this invaluable source of data and use it for vital research and conservation work, shaping the future for hundreds of species in Canada and beyond.
©NatureCountsPhoto: Kris Cu
Powering the State of Canada’s Birds
NatureCounts brings together millions of observations collected by volunteers, researchers, governments and organizations across Canada. These data help power the State of Canada’s Birds, our country’s most comprehensive assessment of bird population health.
Supporting Data Collection in the Field
The NatureCounts mobile app helps volunteers and professionals collect biodiversity data quickly, accurately, and efficiently. Designed for a wide range of monitoring and research projects, it streamlines field data collection and improves data quality, making it easier to contribute observations that support conservation, research, environmental assessments and land-use planning.
Photo: Kris Cu
Motus Wildlife Tracking System
The Motus Wildlife Tracking System is a groundbreaking international research network that uses automated radio telemetry to track the movements and behaviours of small flying animals. These animals carry miniaturized tags that transmit information to stations placed across the landscape and even to the cellphone in your pocket. As one of the largest global collaborative research networks in the world, Motus generates detailed data such as migration routes, timing, survival and habitat use across large geographic areas and timescales.
Motus in Action: Protecting Red Knots
Motus data revealed a critical fueling station along the migratory pathway of the Red Knot to eat Horseshoe crab eggs in South Carolina. This data allowed government agencies to adjust the harvesting policy, ensuring enough food sources were available. The result was the highest count in over a decade in 2025 with 54,000 Red Knots stopping over.
©Red KnotPhoto: Yves Aubry
Conservation Impacts
Reliable, accessible data is vital to the conservation of birds and biodiversity. These powerful conservation tools transform how we understand and protect wild species. They support innovative research and conservation work and open the door to exciting new opportunities for public engagement, awareness, appreciation, and involvement in conservation efforts.
- NatureCounts helps bird monitoring projects collect, manage, and share vast amounts of bird observation data. By making the data available and accessible, NatureCounts provides researchers and conservationists with the information and tools they need to understand and preserve biodiversity.
- Motus is an effective tool for tracking flying animals, enabling a deep understanding of how animals move through landscapes, how they use habitats, and the factors that shape their survival and migratory decisions.
- This knowledge helps identify critical habitats, connect populations, and guide effective conservation actions, like policy changes, that protect birds. The tools continue to evolve, ensuring precision, accessibility, and adaptability for researchers and conservationists alike.
- By connecting a global, diverse network of thousands of collaborators – including individuals, organizations, and academic institutions – these tools foster an open, inclusive, and cooperative approach to conservation. Sharing knowledge and working together are essential to achieve complex conservation goals.
- These tools are powerful engines for scientific discovery, contributing to hundreds of peer-reviewed papers, theses, and scientific reports in the fields of movement ecology, conservation biology, and environmental science.
©McIntyre RanchPhoto: Ralph Thrall
©Piping PloverPhoto: Peter Paton
©McIntyre RanchPhoto: Ralph Thrall
©Piping PloverPhoto: Peter Paton
Learn more at NatureCount.ca and Motus.org
Learn more about Birds Canada’s conservation tools, explore bird observations, track animal movement, and join a community helping to protect wildlife.