British Columbia's coastlines are of international importance for waterbirds. In winter, vast numbers of loons, grebes, cormorants, herons, swans, geese, ducks, shorebirds, and gulls can be found feeding and roosting in bays and estuaries, and along the rocky intertidal beaches of the BC coast. With increasing pressure from development and human population expansion, long-term data on the abundance and distribution of waterbird species is required to monitor and track changes in waterbird populations and habitat use.
In 1999 Bird Studies Canada began the BC Coastal Waterbird Survey, which aims to address information gaps and coordinate the efforts of people who care about waterbirds in British Columbia.
The data collected by volunteers helps us meet the following objectives:
This project was undertaken with the financial support of the Government of Canada.
Ce projet a été réalisé avec l'appui financier du gouvernement du Canada.