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ACHO DENE KOE/FORT LIARD - A study by the Canadian Wildlife Service is creating a clearer picture of the songbird population around Fort Liard.

Staff with the Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) just finished the 10th year of a long-term songbird monitoring project.

As part of the Canadian Wildlife Services' songbird monitoring project field technician Kristin Andruckow searches for a bird in the treetops north of Fort Liard. - Roxanna Thompson/NNSL photo

Craig Machtans, a forest bird biologist with CWS, started the project in 1998 in response to resource development.

At the time new oil and gas exploration was starting in the area and Beaver Enterprises Ltd. was interested in increasing their forestry operations, said Machtans.

The monitoring project gave CWS information to use when commenting on environmental assessments.

The project was originally designed to look at what bird species were using which types of habitats in the area. Fort Liard is an important study site because it marks the northern range limit for a number of species, said Lindsay Armer, a landbird technician with CWS.

The climate and habitat around Fort Liard allows small birds like warblers to live surprisingly far north, Armer said. The area is also the farthest north the broad-winged hawk can be found.

The study was conducted each spring between the ends of May and June when songbirds sing while they establish their territory. Twice a year, staff with CWS visited 195 different locations in the approximately 700 square kilometre study area that stretches from the Bovie Lake trail in the south to 60 km north of Fort Liard.

At each location staff stood for 10 minutes and listened for birds.

"Each different species of bird has a distinctive song," said Armer.

By song alone, the researchers can identify all of the 75 different species heard most often in the Fort Liard area.

"It takes a lot of practice," she said.

While they're in the community, the staff also talk to local residents about trends they've noticed. A lot of people around Fort Liard hear different numbers of birds singing each year, said Armer. The numbers fluctuate yearly usually as a result of the weather.

"It's interesting to get people paying attention to birds singing all through June," Armer said.

Now that the 10th and final year of the study has been completed, staff with CWS are sorting through the complied data to decide whether further monitoring is needed.

The data is undergoing statistical analysts to determine if it can be used to show population trends, said Machtans. Because the study was initially designed to only show which birds were in the area, the data might not give an accurate representation of the population trends, he said.

Based on the analysis staff with CWS could return to Fort Liard for further study. If the project successfully shows population trends the area around Fort Liard could be compared to other regions of the boreal forest, said Machtans.