North America's migratory birds are in 'real trouble,' report finds

The melodic chorus of diminutive migratory birds that fills the Canadian Prairies every spring is quieting as feathered characters such as the Sprague's pipit become increasingly rare onthe northern Plains.

But agroup of scientists calling for international action still hopewecan turn back the clock and "bringall of thatbiodiversitywith us into the future."

"These birds link us, they unite us, and we have a joint and shared reasonability towards them and toward the environments they are intimately tied in with, so it requires an [international] collaboration," said ChristianArtuso,abiologistwith Bird Studies Canadaand director of the Manitoba Breeding Bird Atlas.

"This will come back to bite us if we don't deal with it while we still have a chance."

The shrinkingnativegrasslands thatSprague's pipits shack up in every summerbelongto a group of threatened ecosystems flagged in a massivenew report released Wednesday on the state of North America's imperilled bird populations.The report says one-third of the roughly 350migratory bird species across the continent are approaching extinction at an unsettling pace.

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Flocks ofpolicy-makers, non-profit organization representativesand scientists migrated to the nation's capital this week to discuss the report's findings and how to bolster conservation efforts across borders.

The Trilateral Committee for Wildlife Ecosystem and Management was held in Ottawaand markedthe 100th anniversary of the Migratory Birds Convention.The conventionbroughtconservation biologists and government officials from Mexico, the U.S. and Canada together just days after International Migratory Bird Day.

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The first trilateral meetingtook place in the middle of the First World War, when the Canada-United States Migratory Birds Convention was signed (Mexico signed on 20 years later).

'Spread our wings beyond our own nests'

"Canada, the United States and Mexico share an amazing wealth of birds. And not one of them carries a passport. They know what they need, and where to find it,"federal Environment and Climate Change MinisterCatherine McKenna said in a statement."Partnerships like this allow us to 'spread our wings'beyond our own nests."

As is the case today, the committee met in 1916 to discuss conservation issues, includingperceived declines in bird populations and their causes.

But muchhas changed since then.

For one, somebird species thatweren't doing well in the early1900shave rebounded due to conservation efforts.As a group, ducks are doing much better than they were, thanks in large part to initiatives such as the North American Waterfowl Management Planand wetland preservation policy helped along by avid game and subsistenceduck hunters.

A species like thewood duck is doing particularlygreat,but it wasn't always that way. It'sone of the most abundant waterfowl species in some parts of Canada now, but that's only because intergovernmental actionswere taken to rescue the population after itwas nearly driven to extinction through market hunting and habitat loss.

Hawks, eagles and other birds of prey also experienced broad scale increases due to conservation projects across the continent.

Battle to protect birds ongoing

Other migratory bird groups oceanic birds, tropical forest birds, song birds and grassland birds like the Sprague's pipit are in "real trouble," butArtusoand his peers say they hope the committee can help change that.

About 60 per cent of all Sprague's pipits breed in Canada's native grasslands in the summer a habitat that isdisappearing due to development on the Prairies. The state of its winter home in Mexico is just as important to the species' fate.

"The battle to protect migratory birds is ongoing," Artuso said."Whatever we do in Canada will be ineffective unless that is equalled in the wintering grounds, and vice versa."

1st report of its kind

The "Statusof North America's Birds" report represents the first comprehensive assessment of birds across the continent.

While it features a fewcomeback stories of species brought back from the brink, the effects of climate change, developmentand habitat destruction have made formass declines over pastdecades and are jeopardizing bird diversity across the continent.

We've already lost some species along the way.Let's not lose anymore. It's not necessary if we work at this.- Christian Artuso

"The report paints a troubling picture," McKenna said."There is no single reason for the decline in our bird populations.They range from habitat loss and pesticides to global climate change."

Charles Francis, manager of bird population monitoring with the Canadian Wildlife Service, said while the report presents some alarmingfindings, the purpose was also to inspire change.

"We did not want to have a report that said, 'There's disasters everywhere; we need to fix it' without providing solutions, and without providing evidence that if we put our minds together and work on those solutions we can actually achieve success," he said.

Hope amid 'declines and declines'

Effectively monitoring changes in migratory bird numbersand communicating findings with each othercomewith challenges, but the trilateral meeting is meant to help scientistsrecalibrateandalign their wildlifemanagement strategies as new data pours in.

"The thing about migratory birds is they connect us. What we do up here in Canada affects what goes on down in the southern U.S. and Mexico and even further beyond, throughout the whole hemisphere,"Artusosaid, adding as our footprint increases in North America, so to do the problems of migratory birds.

"All the more reason why we take a big picture perspective and look at where there are opportunities to make gains."

Artuso said while the situation is dire and bird conservation talk is often one of "declines and declines and declines," he also hopes the report will influence policy and minds.

"I know that many people, rightly so, are worried about things like health care and other priorities, but I believe we have to take care of our environment for our own health and our long-term health and the health of our great-great-great-grandchildren," he said."We've already lost some species along the way.Let's not lose anymore. It's not necessary if we work at this."