Bird banding takes flight in Metro Vancouver

A female yellow-rumped warbler sits snagged in a net, hidden among trees swaying in the breeze on a sunny spring day at Iona Beach Regional Park near the Vancouver International Airport. 

The small songbird had been making her way north along the Pacific flyway when she was caught at the popular stopover for dozens of species of songbirds heading up and down the West Coast as the seasons change. 

The warbler is safe, her capture organized by the non-profit Wild Research. The organization trains budding conservation scientists to gather data on the birds and place a small band around their legs to track them. 

"Bird banding is an amazing opportunity to get up close and personal with these spectacular species," said bander-in-charge Julian Heavyside.

Canary in the coal mine

Across Canada, hundreds of volunteers gather at this time of year to monitor and band migratory birds. 

Each year, the Canadian Wildlife Service issues more than 700 bird banding permits across the country. Of those, 27 are part of the Canadian Migration Monitoring Network, which provides long-term data bird demographics and population trends for more than 200 bird species. 

Bander-in-charge Heavyside says bird banding is one of the oldest forms of animal science, dating back more than 100 years.

The data gathered by citizen and budding scientists helps researchers discover trends among the country's feathered citizens. 

"Birds are, as the saying goes … the canary in the coal mine," Heavyside said.

"If the birds are doing well, there's a pretty good chance that your ecosystem's functioning."

Data has shown that the number of songbirds in Canada has declined by 30 per cent over the last 50 years, according to a 2019 report on the state of Canada's birds.

After the birds are trapped, they're placed in a soft cotton bag where they wait to be measured, weighed and assessed. Volunteers then upload that information into a national database. 

Heavyside said the birds are handled delicately and never injured.  

"The idea is that the slight inconvenience that we put these individuals through is worth the broader information that we can glean about the population."

WATCH | Volunteers put a band on a tiny bird in Richmond, B.C.: 

Here's how scientists track birds using bird banding

2 years ago

Duration 3:19

Volunteers at Iona Island Bird Observatory in Richmond, B.C., demonstrate how to correctly place a band on a small bird.

Changes coming to Iona

Wild Research has been banding birds at Iona Beach since 2010. Now some members of the organization are concerned about the future of their work and their ability to maintain the long-term integrity of their data because of changes coming to the park. 

Metro Vancouver is planning a $9.9 billion redevelopment of the regional park and its aging wastewater treatment plant — the second largest in Metro Vancouver.

"We're just dealing with a little bit of uncertainty right now about how this very large, long-term project's going to be impacting not only our operation but the wild birds' stop-over site in general," Heavyside said. 

Officials at Metro Vancouver haven't been as communicative as the group would like, Heavyside said, and the project's full scope isn't entirely clear. 

Metro Vancouver said regional officials have met several times with the birding community, including Wild Research. It maintains the upgrade will enhance wildlife habitat and increase bird watching possibilities.

"We are certainly aware of all of the research that is going on out there," said Jeffrey Fitzpatrick, division manager of regional park design and development with Metro Vancouver.

"We've taken care to take note of all the different locations and also plan in a forward-looking way how we can actually grow that research."

Both Metro Vancouver and conservationists agree that Iona Beach Regional Park is a unique area and home to dozens of migratory birds that both parties want to see thrive. 

Fitzpatrick said upgrades to the park and the wastewater facility will enhance the experience for the 400,000 people who visit the area each year as well as for all the migratory species that depend on it to survive. 

"We're looking at the broader ecological connectivity of the island and trying to restore natural processes and trying to create bird habitat that is really sustainable over the long term," he said.