DOI: 10.5443/11797
title: Key Areas for Birds in the coastal regions of the Canadian Beaufort Sea

description: The Beaufort Sea region provides marine and coastal habitat for hundreds of thousands of migrating, breeding, and molting birds. Alexander et al. (1988) published an atlas of the region that summarized avian distribution and abundance along the Canadian Beaufort coastline, and evaluated the regional importance of specific areas to birds. This project provides an update to that original atlas, and it expands the geographical scope to include Banks, Prince Patrick, and Eglinton islands, and the mainland coast east of Cape Bathurst. As in the original atlas, seasonal differences in bird distributions and abundances are considered through separate evaluations in each of the four time periods: spring migration (May to mid-June), nesting (June to mid-July), molting/brood-rearing (mid-July to mid-August), and fall migration (mid-August to late September). There is a description of the major aspects of avian use for each region in each time period, as well as colour-coded maps delineating areas of high, moderate, variable and low avian use. This information should assist developers, regulators, and regional planners in ensuring that negative impacts on birds from industrial activities are minimized. Additionally, this atlas can serve as a quick reference tool for ensuring that important bird areas receive priority protection in the event of an oil spill or other pollutant event.
description: Purpose: To identify key areas for birds along the Beaufort Sea coast. The database that was created was designed to enable quick responses to questions pertaining to bird distributions that may arise in the event of an oil spill in the Beaufort Sea region. This database will also be used as a reference for advising various agencies on such issues as regional planning and industrial development.
description: Summary: The entire western Canadian Arctic population of some species of birds migrates through the Beaufort Sea region. The offshore areas are vitally important to spring and fall migration of species such as eider ducks. Much of the Beaufort Sea coastline is also crucial to breeding and molting birds, including loons, gulls, ducks and geese. Birds using the Beaufort Sea include King and Common eiders, Surf and White-winged scoters, Long-tailed Ducks, Lesser Scaup, and Red-throated Loon, all species that have experienced population declines over the last several decades. Certain bird species are particularly important to Inuvialuit communities that depend on them for food, including King and Common eiders, Black Brant, Greater White-fronted Geese and Snow Geese. Oil and gas developers and regulators require current information on bird usage near developments to ensure that negative impacts on birds from development are minimized. This project compiles existing bird information for the Canadian Beaufort Sea Region. It identifies important nearshore and coastal nesting, feeding, molting and migration areas for birds. The information is entered into a Geographic Information System (GIS) that identifies bird sensitivity areas in the Beaufort Sea. The information on bird usage in the Canadian Beaufort Sea Region provides data that is important for the environmental assessment process.