Overview
Project Name
Canadian Migration Monitoring Network
Access Level
By Request
Year started
2004
Year Ended
Ongoing
Dataset
Daily Migration Counts: McGill Bird Observatory
About
Dataset summary
Counts from McGill Bird Observatory (MGBO) of birds banded and observed during daily operations; plus a composite Daily Estimated Total (DET): the best estimate for each species of unduplicated number of individuals detected within the official count area during the daily monitoring period
Season(s) and frequency
Spring monitoring runs from March 28 to June 5 and fall monitoring runs from August 1 to October 30
Geographic area covered
Located in Montreal, southern QC (45.43, -73.93). Migrants at the site originate primarily from breeding range from eastern Ontario and all of Quebec, but isotopic studies indicate that a portion of individuals of some species come from farther east
Primary species covered
Captures are primarily small passerines, but all species observed are recorded
Goals
To conduct standardized daily migration season counts and collect ancillary data on migration ecology for use in long-term biological and population monitoring of Canada’s bird species
Methods
Sampling Design
Daily capture and observation during migration seasons to generate species-specific daily totals of birds detected within each study site
Field methods
Daily operations (standardized since 2005) include banding (5 hrs from dawn, using 16 nets),a fixed-route census of about an hour, and incidental observation during standard operations
Analysis methods
See Quick Links. Population trends for ‘Regular Migrants’ at this site are based on counts from standardized methods only (numbers banded and recorded on census), while trends for all other species are based on Daily Estimated Totals that include incidental observations.
Advice
Any disruption to standardized operations relevant to appropriate interpretation of analytical results is noted in a regularly-updated section of the station (https://www.birdscanada.org/bird-science/cmmn-protocols). As of 2025, the only alert to users of this dataset is that the station was closed in 2020 due to Covid 19 restrictions
Partners
Citation
Birds Canada and McGill Bird Observatory. 2026. "Daily Migration Counts: McGill Bird Observatory". Data accessed from NatureCounts, Birds Canada. 10.71842/b8mm-xb87
