Question Period Note: Loss of 2.9 Billion Birds in North America

Loss of 2.9 Billion Birds in North America

• The Government of Canada understands that birds are of great economic, cultural, and spiritual importance to Canadians and are excellent indicators of the health of our water, air, and land.
• Overall, this study shows the number of birds in North America has declined over the last 50 years, driven by declines in some of our most common and familiar species.
• However, the same study shows that some bird populations are recovering from previous threats, due to our conservation efforts. International cooperation by the Canadian and U.S. governments to address pesticides (such as DDT), protect wetlands, and manage hunting has helped to recover populations of birds such as waterfowl ducks and birds of prey (eagles, hawks, and falcons).
• The Government is committed to conserving, protecting, and recovering Canada’s migratory birds by using Indigenous knowledge, science, and collaboration.
• Canadians and governments need to work together to integrate conservation considerations into all aspects of our economy, policies, and daily lives.
• Canada’s economy and well-being depend on the health of the environment.

The Government of Canada is responsible, under the Migratory Bird Convention Act, and the Species at Risk Act for protecting populations of migratory birds and at-risk bird populations in Canada.

On September 19, 2019 a scientific study was published in the prestigious journal Science, which showed that the total number of birds in Canada and the United States has declined by almost 3 billion, from just over 10 billion in 1970 to approximately 7 billion in 2017. This net-loss of 2.9 billion birds (29% decline) has occurred across almost all major biomes, including temperate and Boreal forests, grasslands, the Arctic, and coastal habitats.

The losses have occurred primarily in our most common bird species, including Dark-eyed Juncos, White-throated Sparrows, Eastern Meadowlarks, and many other species of sparrows, warblers, finches, and swallows. These common species are the foundation of the ecosystem services provided by birds, such as eating insect pests, dispersing plant seeds, and filling our forests, fields, parks, and backyards with song. The broad-scale decline of these most common species has direct consequences for people and indicates a broader decline in the health of our natural world.

Despite the overall losses, the study also showed that some bird species, including waterfowl and birds of prey, have increased since 1970, thanks to international conservation efforts and funding for wetland protection and restoration, and the banning of the pesticide DDT, respectively. These recovering groups demonstrate that when we have acted together to conserve birds and improve the health of our water, air, and land, we have been successful.

Although not a direct finding of this study, we know from many previous studies that the main threat to bird populations in Canada, and in their wintering areas, is the loss of habitat due to agriculture, urban and coastal development, and other changes in land use. Other important threats include environmental contaminants, such as pesticides and plastics, unsustainable practices in agriculture, forestry, and fisheries, outdoor cats, collisions with windows, and climate change. Migratory bird species make up most of the loss, highlighting the importance of international cooperation for effective conservation.

Environment and Climate Change Canada is an international leader in bird science, monitoring, and conservation, and is committed to the long-term conservation of biodiversity. The study was the result of an international collaboration among scientists at a number of leading U.S.-based conservation organizations and researchers at ECCC, including two ECCC scientists, and one retired ECCC scientist, who were coauthors on the paper.

The data that made this study possible came from long-term, international collaborations, in which ECCC is a major partner, such as the North American Breeding Bird Survey, the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, Partners in Flight, and others. These international conservation programs, particularly the long-term monitoring data, are crucial to identifying and understanding changes in our environment.

Question Period notes as provided by the Department to the Minister’s Office