As herbivores, carnivores and omnivores, “birds occupy a high position on the food web, so that can help identify problems lower down on the food web,” she said explaining why monitoring is so important.
Using data from the Canadian Wildlife Service, an organization that has monitored birds for the past 30 years, Shepherd showed how bird species have been affected.
Aerial insectivores have lost about 70 per cent of their population since monitoring began. This includes some swallow species and the common nighthawk. Grassland birds are also in decline and experts theorize a variety of reasons for that, including habitat changes and the use of pesticides.
The outlook isn’t all bad, though. Raptors and waterfowl are two species that have seen population improvement. The latter is likely due to less hunting, and organizations like Ducks Unlimited, she said.
“We know that birds are changing across the continent, so it even becomes more important to understand what’s happening in Jasper,” said Shepherd.
Beginning June 10, she will once again begin monitoring at the bird banding station near the wetland behind Pyramid beach. This station is one of 500 sites across North America that captures birds in a fine net.
“We come along every 20 minutes with trained volunteers and delicately pull the threads off them, put them in a cloth bag, and carry them back to the tent where I am.”
Being trapped in a net is obviously stressful for the birds, but studying them provides a better understanding of species in the park and across North America, said Shepherd.
“For me it’s really important because we shouldn’t be handling birds and causing stress to them if it’s not going to be worthwhile for birds overall.”
When she receives a bird, she identifies its species, sex and age and places a small identifying band around its leg. This is so she can read the numbers and find out if she has caught the bird before.
“Thirty to 40 per cent of the birds we handle are birds we’ve handled before.”
Through monitoring, Shepherd learns what number of birds are born on site and what proportion of birds survive migration. This information is passed on to scientists at Point Reyes Bird Observatory.
Volunteers are the main reason that Shepherd is able to examine so many birds at the bird banding station. “Our site is a highly productive site.”
She also encourages children to experience a day with the birds. She said in the past, kids have enjoyed releasing the birds once they’ve been banded.
Shepherd will go out with a group of volunteers once every 10 days, which is six times during the summer. This volunteer experience is offered in partnership with Friends of Jasper National Park.
Another bird monitoring program that Shepherd participates in involves using sophisticated recording systems to capture birds singing. There are 100 locations in JNP where bird songs are recorded. This sound technique has been used for the past six years and it’s a way of monitoring birds that aren’t observed.
“We just started doing some analysis of the results and are starting to see some changes over a short time period.”
Research has shown that one of the greatest things to do for birds is provide them with the best conditions possible before they migrate, said Shepherd. Preserving their habitat, prescribing burns and curbing invasive plants help make JNP a prime bird location.
Volunteering at the bird banding station and learning about birds through Friends of Jasper is a great way to learn more about what people can do to help birds, she adds.
Though feeding birds is one way of getting close to them, Shepherd discourages using feeders during bear season because bears get into the food.
“It’s risky for bears and risky for people.”
