British Columbia Beached Bird Survey
Dead and dying birds tend to wash up on beaches. The goals of the
Beached Bird Survey are to collect baseline information on the causes
and rates of beached bird mortality, compare current rates with
estimates from 10 years ago, and expand the coverage to a larger area
of the BC Coast.
The coastal waters of British Columbia support some of the highest
densities of seabirds, waterfowl and shorebirds in the eastern North
Pacific. The British Columbia coast also supports a large amount of
marine shipping traffic. This traffic means that there will be both
major and minor spills of petroleum products on occasion, as well as
chronic petroleum pollution.
Oil pollution poses a great threat to pelagic seabirds and coastal
waterbirds because the physical properties of oil degrade the
insulating and waterproofing properties of feathers. This is
particularly true in winter when air and water temperatures are colder
and birds are more vulnerable to exposure. In fact, in winter, a spot
of oil an inch in diameter on the belly of a bird is sufficient to
kill it. Ingestion or inhalation of oil can also poison birds
internally. In some parts of the world chronic oiling is responsible
for the deaths of thousands of seabirds each year.
Monitoring the levels of chronic oiling in BC is important and
beached bird surveys are an effective way of doing this. Volunteer
beached bird surveys conducted from 1989 to 1993 provided the first
baseline data for the BC coast. Results of this survey indicate that
6% of beached bird mortality is due to oiling. However, no recent
information on beached bird mortality has been collected. The primary
aims of the 2002-2004 BC Beached Bird Survey are to increase our
baseline information on the causes and rates of beached bird
mortality, compare current rates with estimates from 10 years ago, and
expand the coverage to a larger area of the BC Coast. By monitoring
birds on beaches and keeping track of whether or not they have been
affected by oil pollution, we can detect fluctuations in both the
amount of oil pollution occurring in BC, as well as its effect on
waterbirds. Beached bird survey data can also be used to determine
what species of seabirds are most affected by oiling, what time of
year the problem is most severe, and whether the proportion of oiled
birds washing up on beaches is changing over time.
Other beached bird surveys are also occurring in North America.
Bird Studies Canada coordinates surveys in Atlantic Canada through the
Cape Breton
Beached Bird Survey, and the COASST
(Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team) program co-ordinates
surveys in Washington State.
How Do I Join the Survey?
If there is a beach in your neighbourhood that you already like to
walk, you are halfway there. The steps involved in joining the BC
Beached Bird Survey are:
- Identify a beach you like to walk or beachcomb
- Contact the BC Beached Bird Survey Co-ordinator to discuss your
beach and request a survey kit
- Survey your stretch of beach once per month, during the last
week of the month if possible
- Send in your data!
You will also be asked to note physical characteristics of the
beach (wrack thickness, amount of driftwood), along with weather
conditions. The time it takes to survey a beach section depends on the
length of beach you wish to survey.
Surveys are to begin in August, 2002, but participants are welcome
to join in at any stage of the proposed two-year survey.
If you decide to participate in the survey, you will receive a
survey kit consisting of:
- instructions and datasheets
- 10 tags to tag beached birds to identify that you have
discovered them on a previous survey
- gloves to avoid contamination while touching the dead birds
- maps and tidetables
- plastic ruler to measure features on the bird to aid in
identification
To join the BC Beached Bird Survey and receive
your copy of the BCBBS protocol manual and the necessary
recording forms, please contact:
Peter Davidson
BC Projects Coordinator
Bird Studies Canada 5421 Robertson Road, RR 1
Delta, BC V4K 3N2
Toll-free: 1-877-349-2473
E-mail:
pdavidson@bsc-eoc.org
By participating in beached bird surveys you are
making a significant contribution to environmental stewardship by
helping to develop a baseline index of oiled birds in British
Columbia. It is important that monitoring our environment involves the
general public and not just government agencies, and by volunteering
in a science-based monitoring program you are helping to maintain and
improve the quality of our marine environment.
Thank you!
