Bird Conservation

The Canadian Important Bird Areas Caretaker Network

The Canadian Important Bird Areas Caretaker Network is a nationwide initiative involving volunteer caretakers who watch over and protect Important Bird Areas (IBAs).

Community stewardship of local bird habitat is essential for the health of the Important Bird Area system - and for the birds. These natural spaces are vitally important for breeding, migrating, staging and wintering birds, and the conservation of these sites is a cornerstone of effective bird conservation.

Volunteer Caretakers are the eyes, ears, and hands on the ground at IBAs across Canada.

Caretakers are matched to specific IBAs to monitor birds, assess habitats, and conduct conservation activities. They work with local communities, scientists, governments and nature groups to promote Important Bird Areas and to ensure that local conservation ideas are put into action. Their hands-on volunteer work helps build healthier bird communities and more sustainable environments for future generations.

Where Are the Caretakers?

BC Nature, with financial assistance from Nature Canada's Communities in Action Fund, launched the first Caretaker Network in Canada. Today the network spans nine provinces and is managed by regional partners: BC Nature, Nature Alberta, Nature Saskatchewan, Nature Quebec, Nature Nova Scotia, Island Nature Trust, Nature Newfoundland and Labrador, Nature New Brunswick, Manitoba Naturalists' Society and by national partners, Nature Canada and Bird Studies Canada. TransCanada Corporation is a strong supporter of Nature Canada's bird conservation efforts and is the national sponsor of the Canadian Important Bird Areas Caretakers Network. In 2009, TransCanada Corporation committed $1 million over the next five years as a national sponsor of the Canadian IBA Caretakers Network.

Why Conserve IBAs?

Canada's roughly 600 IBAs are part of a global system of more than 10,000 sites worldwide. These IBAs provide habitat for threatened birds, large groups of birds, and birds found almost nowhere else on Earth. Birds face many pressures – pollution, habitat loss, climate change, and human disturbance – and conserving IBAs is an essential way of relieving pressures.

BirdLife International began the IBA program in Europe in the 1980s in order to identify, conserve and monitor a network of sites that provides essential habitat for bird populations. Since that time, BirdLife partners in more than 178 countries and territories have joined together to build the global IBA network. Nature Canada and Bird Studies Canada together deliver BirdLife's IBA Program in this country.

Get Involved!

Provincial IBA Programs are recruiting Caretakers right now. To volunteer yourself or your organization as a Caretaker, to support a regional IBA Program, or to learn more about how you can help protect birds and biodiversity, contact the IBA Caretaker coordinator in your region.