The Atlantic Canada Coastal Waterbird Survey is a collaboration of the Canadian Wildlife Service, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and Birds Canada, working with local NGOs to implement monitoring in parts of Atlantic Canada.  Initiated in 2018, founding surveys were conducted by the Newfoundland and Labrador Environmental Association in the southern Avalon Peninsula, then in 2019 by Nature NB in the Port of Saint John area.  Through participation of volunteers, and supported by Environment and Climate Change Canada, the network of survey sites was expanded by regional groups (Nature NB,Nature NL, and Nature Nova Scotia) in and around some of the region’s major harbours, such as Saint John, Belledune, Sydney, Halifax, and St. John’s.  Adapted from the BC Coastal Waterbird Survey,the protocol involves conducting shore-based surveys of waterbirds at least four times annually at specific coastal locations, such as headlands.  

Monitoring and conservation of coastal waterbird populations in Atlantic Canada is the goal of this program.  The data collected by the Atlantic Canada Coastal Waterbird Survey will add to long-term data on the abundance and distribution of waterbird species along the coast. It also provides valuable baseline information in the event of a disaster such as an oil spill. This data allows us to:

• Assess the seasonal composition, annual changes and long-term trends in population size and distribution of coastal waterbirds in Atlantic Canada.
• Collect data that contribute to population estimates of coastal waterbird species in Atlantic Canada.
• Advance our understanding of the ecology and the effects of human activity on coastal waterbirds in Atlantic Canada.