Overview
Project Name
Canadian Migration Monitoring Network
Access Level
By Request
Year started
1990
Year Ended
Ongoing
Dataset
Daily Migration Counts: Last Mountain Bird Observatory
About
Dataset summary
Counts from Last Mountain Bird Observatory (LMBO) 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 May 9th to May 31st. Fall monitoring runs from August 3rd to October 7th
Geographic area covered
Located near Imperial, Saskatchewan (51.35084, -105.21725). Migrants at the site originate primarily from breeding range in Saskatchewan, northern portions of adjacent provinces, and eastern Northwest Territories.
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 1994) include banding using 13 nets (6 hr rom dawn onward), a fixed-route census, and incidental observation during standard operations
Analysis methods
See Quick Links. Population trends for all species at this site are based on counts from standardized methods only (numbers banded and recorded on census)
Advice
Any disruption to standardized operations relevant to appropriate interpretation of analytical results is noted in a regularly-updated section of the station protocol (https://www.birdscanada.org/bird-science/cmmn-protocols). As of 2025, the only alert to users of this dataset is that coverage in spring 2020 was less than standard due to Covid 19 restrictions
Partners
Last Mountain Bird Observatory
Citation
Birds Canada, Nature Saskatchewan, and Last Mountain Bird Observatory. 2026. "Daily Migration Counts: Last Mountain Bird Observatory". Data accessed from NatureCounts, Birds Canada. 10.71842/znbg-1a13
