Migratory songbirds use the Oil Sands Region's boreal forest in the summer. A study recorded bird locations in combination with vegetation maps. The level of disturbance (roads, pipelines or cutblocks) adjacent to where birds were found was mapped to get data to relate different types of disturbance to the preferred habitat for the songbirds. Mixedwood aspen white spruce with moist soils is the songbirds' preferred habitat. Areas with tall trees are preferred over old growth jackpine forests. Local habitat preferrence is also influenced by the habitat 250 metres out. Increasing vegetated linear disturbances reduced the number of birds. Consideration of the cumulative effects of surrounding disturbance and natural types is required to predict impacts of energy sector development on boreal songbirds.
Amy Darling is a Terrestial Ecologist with Golder Associates. Her presentation was part of PTAC's Forum on Resource Access and Ecological Issues, Nov. 2012.
