KA'A'GEE TU/KAKISA - Birds that were singing near Kakisa last month had electronic ears listening in on their calls.

From June 9 to 21 the Canadian Wildlife Service conducted a forest bird survey around Kakisa. A four person crew used electronic devices to record bird calls heard at 52 different sites ranging from Tathlina Lake in the south-west to the Mackenzie River in the north.

Paul Latour, a biologist with Canadian Wildlife Service, uses specialized equipment to record bird calls near Kakisa as part of a forest bird survey. - photo courtesy of Jason Charlwood

"It's sort of like an inventory of the species that are there," said Paul Latour, a biologist with Canadian Wildlife Service.

The survey will identify the number and abundance of species in the area as well as the forest and vegetation type that they live in, said Latour.

This was the first study of its kind that's been done in the Kakisa area. Similar studies were conducted around Trout Lake in 2007 and 2008 and have also been done in Fort Liard and other locations in the NWT.

The study is part of the fifth step of the Protected Areas Strategy, Latour said. The Ka'a'gee Tu First Nation is in the process of using the strategy to acquire protection for an area around the community.

Step five involves conducting a detailed evaluation of the candidate area's ecological, cultural and economic values.

"The more information the better," said Jason Charlwood, a conservation specialist with Ducks Unlimited.

Charlwood joined the team that conducted the study. In 2005 Ka'a'gee Tu invited Ducks Unlimited to help them decide on conservation solutions for their traditional land. The organization has been collecting waterfowl and habitat information in the area since then and assisting the band with moving through the Protected Areas Strategy.

"That area has some pretty significant waterfowl habitat," said Charlwood.

Beaver Lake is a key migratory bird terrestrial habitat site and there are also wetlands around Tathlina Lake and to the west, said Latour. The boreal forest is also an important habitat and many bird species are found there, he said.

To record the birds the survey team began recording at 4 a.m. They remained in the field until 11 a.m. when the birdcalls started to dwindle. A helicopter was used to move between the sites so the sampling areas were spread out, said Latour.

The recordings haven't been transcribed yet but no one reported anything unusual, he said. Approximately 65 species live in the area around Kakisa. The usual species including the yellow-rumped, magnolia and Tennessee warbler were all heard along with robins and chipping sparrows, said Latour