CBird is an expert working group which reports to the Arctic Council’s working group on the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna. The members of CBird coordinate research and information exchange among Arctic countries as well as those, such as Japan, which conduct research in the Arctic.
During the 2018 meeting of CBird, Japan, the only country currently tracking birds in the Pacfic Arctic, reported preliminary results on the overwinter migration of five Arctic breeding seabirds. Presentations by Russia indicated that two species breeding in the Russian Arctic used similar overwintering habitats as those identified in Japan’s work. Besides these ongoing efforts to identify critical at-sea habitat for Arctic breeding marine birds, members also discussed and made plans to compile information on the occurrence impact of polar bear predation on Arctic marine birds, to coordinate modeling of the impact of winter murre harvests in the Atlantic on breeding population and what would be a suitable response for CBird to make to the increased occurrence of tourism at Arctic marine bird breeding colonies. The meeting wrapped up with a punt tour of the river Cam, a dinner at Trinity Hall, and a field trip to two nearby reclaimed wetlands. These excursions provided time for delegates to informally discuss future research plans and develop ideas for how their countries might coordinate survey and assessment efforts.
Alexis Will (NIPR)
For detail of the seabird study in St. Lawrence Island, see below.