Canada Warbler losing ground...

Photo by William H. Majoros

The one warbler that Canada could call its own is the Canada Warbler.   Alas, the Canada Warbler has just been added to a protection list by the recent Conference of the Parties to the Convention of Migratory Species of Wild Animals in Quito, Ecuador.   The Canadian government suggests habitat loss and degradation in the wintering grounds of the Canada Warbler, are among the most threatened in the world.   Approximately 90% of these forest have now been cleared for agriculture, fuel wood, or the cultivation of illegal drugs.   Non-selective herbicides have been sprayed to eliminate these drug crops.   Meanwhile back in eastern Canada, habitat loss due to the conversion of swamp forests to agricultural activities are believed to have contributed to the decline in Canada Warbler populations.   In western Canada, road development in the boreal forest may have played a major role.   Moreover, the decrease in spruce budworm outbreaks in eastern forest since 1970 may also have contributed to the decline of the species.   And finally, global warming is sending more and more bird species, including warblers, further into Canada each year where they must face an increasingly anomalous environment.   Five other birds and 25 other animal species were also added to the protection list at varying levels of threat.   The declines of the Canada Warbler are most evident in Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes, where the majority of the population exists.

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