Population status of Canada's migratory birds
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Birds perform important ecological functions such as controlling insect and rodent populations and dispersing seeds. They also provide opportunities for bird watching and hunting. This indicator reports the proportion of bird species listed in the Migratory Birds Convention Act whose populations fall within their acceptable goal range and provides a snapshot of the general state of birds in Canada.Footnote 1 When species fall below their population goal range, that signals the need for more effective conservation action to help them recover, whereas species that are above their goal range can be destructive to their habitats and may require further management.
Key results
Key results
In 2022, of the 328 bird species with adequate monitoring data:
- 54% had populations within their goal range
- waterfowl and wetland birds were the 2 groups with the highest proportion of populations within their goal ranges (73% and 72%, respectively)
- only 24% of grassland birds and 29% of aerial insectivores had populations within their goal ranges
- Only 2 species, Ross’ goose and snow goose have populations above their goal ranges. These 2 species are found in both the waterfowl and Arctic birds groups.
Figure 1. Status of bird species listed in the Migratory Birds Convention Act in relation to population goals, Canada, 2022
Data table for the long description
| Ecological group | Status in relation to population goal | Species | Species count |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waterfowl | Above goal range | Ross's goose,[A] snow goose [A] | 2 |
| Waterfowl | Within goal range | Barrow's goldeneye,[A] blue-winged teal,[A] brant,[A] bufflehead,[A] cackling goose,[A] Canada goose,[A] canvasback,[A] cinnamon teal,[A] common eider,[A] common goldeneye,[A] common merganser,[A] gadwall,[A] greater scaup,[A] greater white-fronted goose,[A] green-winged teal,[A] harlequin duck,[A] hooded merganser,[A] mallard,[A] northern shoveler,[A] red-breasted merganser,[A] redhead,[A] ring-necked duck,[A] ruddy duck,[A] surf scoter,[A] trumpeter swan,[A] tundra swan,[A] wood duck [A] |
27 |
| Waterfowl | Below goal range | American black duck,[A] American wigeon,[A] black scoter,[A] king eider,[A] lesser scaup, long-tailed duck,[A] northern pintail,[A] white-winged scoter [A] | 8 |
| Wetland birds | Within goal range | Alder flycatcher,[A] American avocet,[A] Barrow's goldeneye,[A] blue-winged teal,[A] Canada goose,[A] canvasback,[A] Caspian tern,[A] cinnamon teal,[A] common goldeneye,[A] common loon,[A] common merganser,[A] common yellowthroat, eared grebe,[A] gadwall,[A] great blue heron, green-winged teal,[A] hooded merganser,[A] horned grebe,[A] least bittern, mallard,[A] marsh wren, Nelson's sparrow, northern shoveler,[A] pied-billed grebe, redhead,[A] red-necked grebe,[A] ring-billed gull, ring-necked duck,[A] ruddy duck,[A] sandhill crane, sedge wren, sora, swamp sparrow, trumpeter swan,[A] Virginia rail, western grebe,[A] willet,[A] Wilson's phalarope,[A] wood duck [A] | 39 |
| Wetland birds | Below goal range | American bittern, American black duck,[A] American coot, American wigeon,[A] black tern,[A] black-crowned night heron, California gull,[A] common gallinule, common tern,[A] Forster's tern,[A] Franklin's gull,[A] green heron, northern pintail,[A] spotted sandpiper,[A] willow flycatcher [A] | 15 |
| Wetland birds | Data deficient | Clark's grebe,[A] king rail, snowy egret, western cattle egret | 4 |
| Marine birds | Within goal range | Ancient murrelet, Atlantic puffin, Barrow's goldeneye,[A] black guillemot, brant,[A] bufflehead,[A] Caspian tern,[A] common eider,[A] common goldeneye,[A] common loon,[A] common murre, eared grebe,[A] greater scaup,[A] harlequin duck,[A] Heermann's gull, horned grebe,[A] Iceland gull,[A] lesser black-backed gull, Northern gannet, Pacific loon,[A] razorbill, red-breasted merganser,[A] red-necked grebe,[A] red-throated loon,[A] rhinoceros auklet, surf scoter,[A] thick-billed murre,[A] tufted puffin, western grebe [A] | 29 |
| Marine birds | Below goal range | Black scoter,[A] black tern,[A] black-legged kittiwake, California gull,[A] Cassin's auklet, common tern,[A] Forster's tern,[A] glaucous gull,[A] glaucous-winged gull, great black-backed gull, herring gull, ivory gull,[A] king eider,[A] Leach's storm-petrel, long-tailed duck,[A] marbled murrelet,[A] northern fulmar, pigeon guillemot, roseate tern,[A] western gull, white-winged scoter,[A] yellow-billed loon [A] |
22 |
| Marine birds | Data deficient | Arctic tern,[A] Bermuda petrel, black-footed albatross, black-headed gull, Buller's shearwater, Clark's grebe,[A] Cory's shearwater, dovekie,[A] flesh-footed shearwater, fork-tailed storm-petrel, great shearwater, great skua, horned puffin, laughing gull, Laysan albatross, long-tailed jaeger,[A] Manx shearwater, parasitic jaeger,[A] pink-footed shearwater, pomarine jaeger,[A] red phalarope,[A] red-necked phalarope,[A] Ross's gull,[A] Sabine's gull,[A] short-tailed albatross, short-tailed shearwater, sooty shearwater, south polar skua, Wilson's storm-petrel | 29 |
| Forest birds | Within goal range | Acadian flycatcher,[A] American redstart,[A] bay-breasted warbler,[A] black-and-white warbler,[A] black-backed woodpecker, blackburnian warbler,[A] black-capped chickadee, black-headed grosbeak, black-throated blue warbler,[A] black-throated green warbler,[A] blue-headed vireo, brown creeper, Cape May warbler,[A] Cassin's vireo, chestnut-sided warbler,[A] dark-eyed junco, downy woodpecker, hairy woodpecker, Hammond's flycatcher,[A] hooded warbler,[A] Hutton's vireo, Lewis's woodpecker, Louisiana waterthrush,[A] magnolia warbler,[A] mountain chickadee, northern parula,[A] northern waterthrush,[A] orange-crowned warbler, ovenbird,[A] Philadelphia vireo,[A] pileated woodpecker, pine grosbeak, pine warbler, pygmy nuthatch, red-breasted nuthatch, red-breasted sapsucker, red-eyed vireo,[A] red-headed woodpecker, red-naped sapsucker, ruby-crowned kinglet, ruby-throated hummingbird,[A] Swainson's thrush,[A] Tennessee warbler,[A] Townsend's solitaire, Townsend's warbler, varied thrush, veery,[A] warbling vireo,[A] western tanager, white-breasted nuthatch, white-winged crossbill, winter wren, yellow-bellied flycatcher,[A] yellow-bellied sapsucker, yellow-rumped warbler, yellow-throated vireo [A] |
56 |
| Forest birds | Below goal range | American three-toed woodpecker, band-tailed pigeon, blackpoll warbler, black-throated gray warbler, Bohemian waxwing, boreal chickadee, Canada warbler,[A] Cassin's finch, cerulean warbler,[A] chestnut-backed chickadee, Connecticut warbler,[A] dusky flycatcher,[A] eastern whip-poor-will,[A] eastern wood-pewee,[A] evening grosbeak, golden-crowned kinglet, gray-cheeked thrush,[A] great crested flycatcher,[A] hermit thrush, least flycatcher,[A] MacGillivray's warbler, marbled murrelet,[A] mourning warbler,[A] Nashville warbler,[A] olive-sided flycatcher,[A] Pacific wren, pine siskin, prothonotary warbler,[A] purple finch, red crossbill, rose-breasted grosbeak,[A] scarlet tanager,[A] Vaux's swift,[A] western wood-pewee,[A] white-throated sparrow, wood thrush[A] |
36 |
| Forest birds | Data deficient | Bicknell's thrush,[A] chuck-will's-widow,[A] Kirtland's warbler,[A] Williamson's sapsucker | 4 |
| Arctic Birds | Above goal range | Ross's goose,[A] snow goose [A] | 2 |
| Arctic Birds | Within goal range | Baird's sandpiper,[A] brant,[A] cackling goose,[A] common eider,[A] common redpoll,[A] greater white-fronted goose,[A] Hoary redpoll, Iceland gull,[A] Lapland longspur, least sandpiper,[A] Pacific loon,[A] red-throated loon,[A] Smith's longspur, thick-billed murre,[A] tundra swan,[A] western sandpiper [A] |
16 |
| Arctic Birds | Below goal range | American golden-plover,[A] black-bellied plover,[A] buff-breasted sandpiper,[A] dunlin,[A] glaucous gull,[A] Harris's sparrow,[A] Hudsonian godwit,[A] ivory gull,[A] king eider,[A] long-billed dowitcher,[A] long-tailed duck,[A] pectoral sandpiper,[A] purple sandpiper,[A] rock sandpiper,[A] ruddy turnstone,[A] sanderling,[A] semipalmated plover,[A] semipalmated sandpiper,[A] snow bunting, stilt sandpiper,[A] surfbird,[A] whimbrel,[A] white-rumped sandpiper,[A] yellow-billed loon [A] | 24 |
| Arctic birds | Data deficient | Arctic tern,[A] bluethroat,[A] common ringed plover,[A] dovekie,[A] eastern yellow wagtail,[A] Eskimo curlew,[A] gray-headed chickadee, long-tailed jaeger,[A] northern wheatear,[A] Pacific golden-plover,[A] parasitic jaeger,[A] pomarine jaeger,[A] red knot,[A] red phalarope,[A] red-necked phalarope,[A] Ross's gull, [A] Sabine's gull,[A] sharp-tailed sandpiper [A] |
18 |
| Long-Distance Migrants | Within goal range | Acadian flycatcher,[A] alder flycatcher,[A] American redstart,[A] Baird's sandpiper,[A] bay-breasted warbler,[A] black-and-white warbler,[A] blackburnian warbler,[A] black-chinned hummingbird, black-throated blue warbler,[A] black-throated green warbler,[A] blue-winged teal,[A] Bullock's oriole, calliope hummingbird, Cape May warbler,[A] chestnut-sided warbler,[A] golden-winged warbler, hooded warbler,[A] indigo bunting, least sandpiper,[A] Louisiana waterthrush,[A] magnolia warbler,[A] northern parula,[A] northern waterthrush,[A] orchard oriole, ovenbird,[A] Philadelphia vireo,[A] purple martin,[A] red-eyed vireo,[A] ruby-throated hummingbird,[A] solitary sandpiper,[A] Swainson's thrush,[A] Tennessee warbler,[A] upland sandpiper,[A] veery,[A] violet-green swallow,[A] warbling vireo,[A] western kingbird,[A] Wilson's phalarope,[A] yellow-bellied flycatcher,[A] yellow-billed cuckoo, yellow-breasted chat, yellow-throated vireo [A] |
42 |
| Long-Distance Migrants | Below goal range | American golden-plover, [A] Baltimore oriole, bank swallow, [A] barn swallow,[A] black swift,[A] black tern,[A] black-billed cuckoo, blackpoll warbler,[A] bobolink,[A] buff-breasted sandpiper, Canada warbler,[A] cerulean warbler,[A] chimney swift,[A] cliff swallow,[A] common nighthawk,[A] common tern,[A] Connecticut warbler,[A] eastern kingbird,[A] eastern wood-pewee,[A] Franklin's gull,[A] gray-cheeked thrush,[A] great crested flycatcher,[A] Hudsonian godwit,[A] least flycatcher,[A] lesser yellowlegs,[A] mourning warbler,[A] Nashville warbler,[A] olive-sided flycatcher,[A] pectoral sandpiper,[A] prothonotary warbler,[A] roseate tern,[A] rose-breasted grosbeak,[A] rufous hummingbird, sanderling,[A] scarlet tanager,[A] semipalmated sandpiper,[A] spotted sandpiper,[A] stilt sandpiper,[A] Vaux's swift,[A] wandering tattler,[A] western wood-pewee,[A] whimbrel,[A] white-rumped sandpiper,[A] willow flycatcher,[A] wood thrush,[A] yellow warbler | 46 |
| Long-Distance Migrants | Data deficient | Arctic tern,[A] Bicknell's thrush,[A] bluethroat,[A] chuck-will's-widow,[A] common ringed plover,[A] eastern yellow wagtail,[A] Eskimo curlew,[A] Kirtland's warbler,[A] long-tailed jaeger,[A] northern wheatear,[A] Pacific golden-plover,[A] parasitic jaeger,[A] pomarine jaeger,[A] red phalarope,[A] red-necked phalarope,[A] Sabine's gull[A] |
16 |
| Shorebirds | Within goal range | American avocet,[A] Baird's sandpiper,[A] black oystercatcher, black turnstone, greater yellowlegs, least sandpiper,[A] solitary sandpiper,[A] upland sandpiper,[A] western sandpiper,[A] willet,[A] Wilson's phalarope,[A] Wilson's snipe | 12 |
| Shorebirds | Below goal range | American golden-plover,[A] American woodcock, black-bellied plover,[A] buff-breasted sandpiper,[A] dunlin,[A] Hudsonian godwit,[A] killdeer, lesser yellowlegs,[A] long-billed curlew,[A] long-billed dowitcher,[A] marbled godwit,[A] pectoral sandpiper,[A] piping plover, purple sandpiper,[A] rock sandpiper,[A] ruddy turnstone,[A] sanderling,[A] semipalmated plover,[A] semipalmated sandpiper,[A] short-billed dowitcher, spotted sandpiper,[A] stilt sandpiper,[A] surfbird,[A] wandering tattler,[A] whimbrel,[A] white-rumped sandpiper [A] |
26 |
| Shorebirds | Data deficient | American oystercatcher, common ringed plover,[A] Eskimo curlew,[A] mountain plover,[A] Pacific golden-plover,[A] red knot,[A] red phalarope,[A] red-necked phalarope [A] | 8 |
| Aerial Insectivores | Within goal range | Acadian flycatcher,[A] alder flycatcher,[A] Hammond's flycatcher,[A] purple martin,[A] Say's phoebe, violet-green swallow,[A] western kingbird,[A] yellow-bellied flycatcher [A] |
8 |
| Aerial Insectivores | Below goal range | Bank swallow,[A] barn swallow,[A] black swift,[A] chimney swift,[A] cliff swallow,[A] common nighthawk,[A] dusky flycatcher,[A] eastern kingbird,[A] eastern phoebe, eastern whip-poor-will,[A] eastern wood-pewee,[A] great crested flycatcher,[A] least flycatcher,[A] northern rough-winged swallow, olive-sided flycatcher,[A] tree swallow, Vaux's swift,[A] western wood-pewee,[A] white-throated swift, willow flycatcher [A] | 20 |
| Aerial Insectivores | Data deficient | Chuck-will's-widow,[A] common poorwill | 2 |
| Grassland Birds | Within goal range | Brewer's sparrow, lark sparrow, upland sandpiper,[A] western kingbird,[A] willet [A] | 5 |
| Grassland Birds | Below goal range | Baird's sparrow, bobolink,[A] chestnut-collared longspur, eastern meadowlark, grasshopper sparrow, Henslow's sparrow, horned lark, lark bunting, LeConte's sparrow, long-billed curlew,[A] marbled godwit,[A] Savannah sparrow, Sprague's pipit, thick-billed longspur, vesper sparrow, western meadowlark | 16 |
| Grassland Birds | Data deficient | Mountain plover [A] | 1 |
| All Migratory Bird Convention Act species | Above goal range | See above groups | 2 |
| All Migratory Bird Convention Act species | Within goal range | See above groups | 177 |
| All Migratory Bird Convention Act species | Below goal range | See above groups | 149 |
| All Migratory Bird Convention Act species | Data deficient | See above groups | 51 |
Note: [A] Indicates a species that is listed in more than 1 species group.
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How this indicator was calculated
Note: The grouping of bird species is the same as in the State of Canada's Birds but includes only birds listed in the Migratory Birds Convention Act. Fifty-one (51) species have insufficient data to be assessed and are not included in the figure. Of the 328 species with adequate monitoring data, 164 species are included in more than one category based on their feeding and habitat requirements but are only included once in the total number of birds assessed. For example, species grouped in the feeding behaviour category “aerial insectivores” may also be included in the habitat grouping “forest birds”. Some shorebird species data are only available up to 2019.
Source: Birds Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada (2024). The State of Canada's Birds.
Populations of waterfowl have greatly benefited from targeted conservation actions, such as the North American Waterfowl Management Plan. Populations of some Arctic geese species (Ross's goose and snow goose) have increased to the point that they are now above their goal ranges and pose a potential risk to their habitats.Footnote 2 These species are found in both the waterfowl and Arctic bird groups. Of the Arctic bird species, 56% are below their populatioon goal ranges. Marine birds and Arctic birds have the highest proportion of data deficient species that could not be assessed: 29 species and 18 species respectively. Reducing these data gaps is important to gaining a better understanding of the status of these groups, as well as determining the best way to help conserve them.Footnote 2
About the indicator
About the indicator
What the indicator measures
The indicator reports the proportion of bird species listed in the Migratory Birds Convention Act whose populations fall within or are above or below national population goals. It provides a snapshot assessment of the state of bird populations in Canada.
Some bird species are managed towards specific population levels (for example, some hunted species or species of conservation concern). While the indicator reports whether species' populations are within their goal ranges, it does not indicate if management goals are being met.
Why this indicator is important
Birds are important to Canadians. Bird watching is a popular activity and millions of Canadians feed birds in their backyards.Footnote 3 Waterfowl hunting contributes to tourism, provides food and maintains traditions. Birds also provide ecological benefits by controlling insect and rodent populations, dispersing seeds, pollinating plants and playing other key roles in the functioning of ecosystems. These ecosystem services contribute to our economy and our well-being.
Bird populations fluctuate naturally in response to ecological conditions, but negative changes in bird populations reflect the overall effect of many different factors, including habitat loss, pollution, agricultural impacts, climate change, invasive species and hunting as well as other sources of direct mortality, such as collisions with windows and cat predation.
Because birds are sensitive to environmental changes, they can be used as an indicator of ecosystem health and the state of biodiversity. Tracking the status of Canada's birds can help identify the impact of these changes. Population goals are established to guide efforts to maintain and restore healthy populations of birds in Canada. When species' populations fall below their goal ranges, this flags the need for conservation action.
Related initiatives
This indicator supports the measurement of progress towards Goal 15 of the 2022 to 2026 Federal Sustainable Development Strategy: Protect and recover species, conserve Canadian biodiversity, supporting the target: “By 2030, increase the percentage of migratory bird species whose population sizes fall within an acceptable range— neither too low nor too high—to 70% from 57% in 2016.”
This indicator contributes to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. It is linked to Target 4: “Ensure urgent management actions to halt human induced extinction of known threatened species and for the recovery and conservation of species, in particular threatened species, to significantly reduce extinction risk, as well as to maintain and restore the genetic diversity within and between populations of native, wild and domesticated species to maintain their adaptive potential, including through in situ and ex situ conservation and sustainable management practices, and effectively manage human-wildlife interactions to minimize human-wildlife conflict for coexistence.” This is also linked to Target 21: “Ensure that the best available data, information and knowledge, are accessible to decision makers, practitioners and the public to guide effective and equitable governance, integrated and participatory management of biodiversity, and to strengthen communication, awareness-raising, education, monitoring, research and knowledge management and, also in this context, traditional knowledge, innovations, practices and technologies of indigenous peoples and local communities should only be accessed with their free, prior and informed consent, in accordance with national legislation.”
Conserving Canada's birds requires a range of actions. At the end of the 19th century, many species of North American birds had been hunted almost to extinction. Increasing awareness of their plight led to national and international protections, including the Migratory Birds Convention, signed by Canada and the United States in 1916. This convention has provided the foundation for nearly a century of international cooperation on bird conservation. Commercial harvesting of birds was banned, and regulations were enacted to promote sustainable recreational hunting in both countries. Many species, including herons, egrets and some waterfowl species, have recovered thanks to these protective measures. Creating and protecting habitat is essential for the survival of birds; not just in Canada, but also along migratory routes, in non-breeding ranges, and throughout the year. In addition, actions taken at the individual level can also help protect bird populations, such as keeping cats indoors and making windows safer, for example by putting up stickers to make them more visible to birds.
Related indicators
The Trends in Canada's bird populations indicator reports average population trends of various groups of native Canadian bird species.
The General status of wild species indicator reports extinction risks across a broad set of species and can reveal early signs of trouble before species reach a critical condition.
The Changes in the status of wildlife species at risk indicator tracks changes in the status of species at risk assessed by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada.
The Canadian species index indicator tracks average population trends for vertebrate species in Canada.
Data sources and methods
Data sources and methods
Data sources
Data on Canada's migratory bird species' populations draw from various monitoring programs that use a range of methods designed to survey different bird species or types of habitat.
More information
Many monitoring programs are designed by biologists but enlist the help of volunteers to collect data. Some volunteer programs, like the North American Breeding Bird Survey, Nocturnal Owl Surveys and Marsh Monitoring Surveys take place during the breeding season. Other programs monitor birds during migration (for example, the Canadian Migration Monitoring Network and Migration Program for Regional and International Shorebird Monitoring) or in winter (Christmas Bird Count and Project FeederWatch). Checklist programs like eBird and Étude des populations d'oiseaux du Québec (in French only) encourage birders to record their observations every time they go birding.
Environment and Climate Change Canada's Canadian Wildlife Service collates the data from many of these monitoring programs, often in collaboration with Bird Canada and Ducks Unlimited Canada. Results are reported in the State of Canada's Birds reports.
Species are classified into taxonomic or ecological groups with similar habitat or feeding requirements; the groups used here are drawn from the State of Canada's Birds 2024, though only those listed in the Migratory Birds Convention Act are included here. All bird species are included in the "All Migratory Bird Convention Act species" category.
Methods
The indicator summarizes the proportion of birds that regularly occur in Canada and are listed in the Migratory Birds Convention Act whose populations fall within or outside their goal ranges. Goals indicate a level at which a given species' population is considered secure and are determined using the best available data and information.
More information
Recognizing that bird populations vary naturally over time, some fluctuation around the goal is to be expected. The population goal framework defines lower limits for all species, but upper limits are only defined for a few species that could pose ecological concerns if they increase beyond a defined level.
The goal-setting framework has been applied to every species or management unit (for example, some regionally defined waterfowl or species-at-risk populations; hereafter all referred to as "species" for simplicity) that occurs in Canada, but only species-level assessments are reported here. For harvested species with defined management objectives and for species listed under the Species At Risk Act (SARA) based on small population size or restricted distribution, goals are adopted from the relevant documents (for example, from the North American Waterfowl Management Plan or from Species At Risk Recovery Strategies or Management Plans). For all other species, including those listed under SARA due to population declines, the population goal is set according to the goal-setting framework.
Prior to 2012, population goals did not exist for most bird species. Goals were established for these species, taking into account current, historical, and long-term average abundances; recent population trends; the amount of information available; reasons for SARA listing; whether full recovery to historical abundance is possible or not by 2050, given the severity of historical population declines; and the presence of ecological or societal concerns. Goals may be revised over time as new information becomes available.
Recent changes
The specific groupings included have been updated to match the State of Canada's Birds 2024 report. Individual species' assessments have also been updated and are available on the Species accounts website.
Caveats and limitations
Species whose populations fall within their goal ranges may still be of conservation concern. Examples might include cases where trends are negative or where a species remains at the lower end of the goal range for several years. Similarly, if populations for a group of related species remains near the boundaries of their goal ranges, it may signal the need for management or conservation intervention at a larger scale. However, it is important to note that natural fluctuations do occur.
The indicator is restricted to species regularly occurring in Canada and listed in the Migratory Birds Convention Act. While the act covers most groups of migratory birds, groups of species such as birds of prey and corvids (crows and jays) are not included. In addition, not all species in the act are migratory (such as, the downy woodpecker, American dipper, and Bewick’s wren).
Resources
Resources
References
Birds Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada (2024) The State of Canada's Birds. Retrieved on December 20, 2024.
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