Overview
Project Name
The State of Canada's Birds
Access Level
Private
Year started
1955
Year Ended
Ongoing
Dataset
Waterfowl Breeding Population and Habitat Survey in Western Canada and the Northwestern United-States
About
Dataset summary
The Waterfowl Breeding Population and Habitat Survey (WBPHS) is the longest-running and most spatially extensive waterfowl survey in the world. It covers much of the primary waterfowl nesting areas in mid-continent (i.e., the prairies of western Canada and north-central USA and much of the Canadian western boreal). It is run jointly by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and Environment and Climate Change Canada's Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS).
Season(s) and frequency
Annually during the breeding season (between May and June).
Geographic area covered
Canada, north-central United States (Montana, Minnesota North Dakota, South Dakota), and Alaska.
Primary species covered
Waterfowl
Goals
Estimate waterfowl population size and trends.
Methods
Sampling Design
WBPHS covers the prairies of western Canada and north-central USA, much of the Canadian western boreal, part of Ontario, and some tundra areas in Alaska. The Traditional Survey is comprised of an extensive fixed-wing aerial survey (USFWS) accompanied by ground surveys (CWS).
Field methods
In the Traditional Survey Area, the USFWS fly aerial transects in fixed-wing aircraft and observers identify and record the number of waterfowl and ponds seen. To correct for birds missed by the air crews, counts are combined with intensive ground surveys, conducted by Canadian Wildlife Service, on a subset of segments in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. These are used to estimate the proportion of waterfowl and ponds that are detected from the air and calculate annual visibility correction factors. In some of the more remote boreal areas, fixed-wing counts are corrected for visibility using historical correction factors derived from helicopter counts.
Partners
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Citation
Canadian Wildlife Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Environment and Climate Change Canada. 2025. "Waterfowl Breeding Population and Habitat Survey in Western Canada and the Northwestern United-States". Data accessed from NatureCounts, Birds Canada.