In 2018, we carried out a project on the Canada Warbler. This small forest bird is designated threatened under Canada’s Species at Risk Act. The Canada warbler makes annual migrations from its nesting area (from New England to the boreal forest) to its wintering area (South America). This bird faces many threats, whether it be the huge coffee plantations in Colombia or logging in its breeding area. Our project aims to find nesting pairs in order to define which habitat elements are most used in the Centre-du-Québec region.
In order to detect its presence, we use an automated acoustic recording system. The principle is simple: using a stereo microphone, we record the birds singing every morning (during the breeding season) between 5:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. Later, at the office, we can analyze the audio tapes quietly for warblers. Habitat inventories adapted to this species ultimately make it possible to determine which habitat elements they favor the most.
Ultimately, these results will help the various committees working on the recovery of this species to define what is the critical habitat of the Canada Warbler according to the different regions.
