After two years of COVID-19 border restrictions, the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s Waterfowl Breeding Population and Habitat Survey (WBPHS) is being flown over Canada once again.
The aerial breeding surveys that evolved into the WBPHS began in 1947. The purpose was to provide information on spring population size and trajectory for 19 North American duck species (or species groups), Canada geese, and American coot, and to evaluate habitat conditions in Prairie-Parkland Canada.
The data is used to establish hunting regulations in the US and Canada for researching bird-environment relationships critical to effective conservation planning. The survey is conducted by ground, airplane, and helicopter over a two-million-square-mile area that covers the principal breeding areas of North America, and includes parts of Alaska, Canada, and the north-central US.
This survey, also known as the Breeding Population Survey (B-POP) or the May Survey, is also used by Canadian wildlife agencies.
