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BIRD STUDIES CANADA
Founded in 1960 as Long Point Bird Observatory, BSC is Canada's national bird conservation organization. Our mission is to advance and encourage the wider understanding, appreciation and conservation of wild birds and their habitats, in Canada and elsewhere, through studies engaging the skills and enthusiasm of our supporters, volunteers, staff and the interested public. BSC now conducts local, regional, national and international programs in support of bird conservation under the direction of a professional staff, an advisory National Council of prominent Canadian ornithologists and conservation partners, and an active Board of Directors.
BSC works with bird and habitat organizations in a global partnership called BirdLife International, headquartered in Cambridge, England, and active in more than 90 countries.
BSC has adopted the "integrated population approach" (IPA) to govern the selection of field projects -- IPA means (i) monitoring bird numbers to identify species where the weight-of-evidence points to serious population declines; (ii) identifying stages in their life cycles that are associated with these changes; (iii) identifying the human or other causes of these changes; (iv) proposing remedial or conservation measures; and (v) identifying agencies and other organisations that can take appropriate actions. In Canada, the IPA requires coordination of volunteer activities across the country, working in partnership with others to achieve conservation results, and working north-south to ensure that "our" migrant birds are protected during the winter.
BSC's programs make valuable contributions to the conservation of Canadian landscapes and their natural inhabitants. Some programs identify specific lands that need to be acquired and protected to conserve our most important bird species. Working in partnership with others, BSC ensures that these sites are secured. Other BSC programs provide advice for the sustainable management of grasslands, marshes and forests, while still others track trends in bird populations: since birds occupy almost all natural habitats, these trends serve as important direct measures of our success, or lack of it, in land conservation and management practices.
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