HomeAtlantic Canada Migration Offers Navigation Challenges 
Amherst NS, Sept. 26 – Fall migration is peaking in Atlantic Canada according to Ducks Unlimited. Geese and ducks are funneling through prime habitats that offer hungry and tired migrating birds a rest stop.
Across Canada and the northern United States, ninety million ducks are expected to migrate south this year according to estimates released by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the coordinating body of waterfowl surveys. This migration is tied with that of 1997 for the second highest migration on record following last year's high of 105 million birds.
Mark Gloutney, Ducks Unlimited's manager of conservation programs for Atlantic Canada, said people can expect a migration similar to last year's good fall flight. Goose production in Newfoundland and Labrador was slightly reduced by poor weather conditions in early summer. However, an early spring across the Maritimes has ensured the skies will be filled with birds.
"We had an early hatch in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island and the broods were large. This means we'll see large flocks of good sized birds," Gloutney said.
The birds will follow migration paths passed on from one generation to the next. Biologists believe the birds use a number of factors to navigate their way to southern wintering areas. These include the stars, sun, the Earth's magnetic field and geographic landmarks. Navigation tools remain constant from one migration to the next, except for geography. According to Gloutney, habitat loss is one of migrating birds' greatest challenges.
"All you need to do is look down the coastline to see the extent of development that has occurred in the past five years," Gloutney said.
Migrating birds rely on the same habitats year after year. Located along flight paths of most birds are key wetland rest stops called staging areas. This is where they touch down to eat and rest for the next part of the journey. Key habitats lost to development force migrants to find alternatives that may not exist. Habitat loss is also a concern on wintering ground habitats. Recent harlequin duck research on British Columbia's coastal wintering grounds has shown that bonds between males and females are retained for many years because the birds meet and repair at the same point every winter. The eastern population of harlequin ducks was listed by the Committee On the Status of Endangered Wildlife In Canada as endangered in 1990.
Spring migrants are also looking for habitats they frequented the year before.
"We know that many species of ducks, including black ducks, pair with their mates on wintering grounds. When they migrate north in the spring, the hens lead their mates back to the pond where the females were raised," Gloutney said. "This benefits the hen because she's familiar with her surroundings. She makes optimal use of the resources." If the habitat is no longer there, the hen expends energy searching for new habitats or it's forced to nest in suboptimal conditions. Wetlands used by migratory birds range from seasonally flooded areas to larger wetlands but they all have an important place when it comes to waterfowl migrations and life cycle needs.
Wetlands are also important to people. They help to filter impurities from water and they moderate the impacts of floods and droughts. Ducks Unlimited Canada is a private non-profit charitable organization dedicated to the conservation of wetlands and associated habitats for waterfowl, other wildlife and people. For more information on how birds navigate during migration and migration fast facts, visit www.ducks.ca/aboutduc/news/archives/2000/000920a.html and www.ducks.ca/aboutduc/news/archives/2000/000920b.html.
