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CRD to conduct harbour bird survey 22 years after original

Survey will count birds in key areas every month over two years
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Canada geese, seen here at the Esquimalt Lagoon in Colwood, will be included in a two-year monthly bird survey of key areas across the region. (Black Press Media file photo)

Bird’s the word in Greater Victoria for the next two years.

The Capital Regional District (CRD) is launching a new survey of birds in key areas across the region, comparing the results to a similar study conducted 22 years ago.

The CRD’s Harbours Program will hire a contractor to conduct a two-year monthly bird survey of core harbour areas including Esquimalt, Victoria, Gorge Waterway, Portage Inlet and the Esquimalt Lagoon to determine the seasonal changes in the abundance and distribution of migratory birds and coastal waterfowl.

READ ALSO: Harbour Authority ramps up for duckling season

According to the CRD’s website, collected data will be compared to a similar survey conducted in 1997, where observers counted birds along Greater Victoria harbours and waterways every two months, compiling data presented on the Harbours Atlas.

The ‘97 study reported on double-crested cormorants, great blue herons, Canada geese, American wigeons, mallards, greater scaups, buffleheads, red-breasted mergansers, mew gulls and more – counting the number and density of the marine-associated birds every two months.

READ ALSO: Birds of Prey returning to Swan Lake

The new survey will be part of a larger Harbours Ecological Inventory project.



nina.grossman@blackpress.ca

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