Endangerment and recovery trends in Ontario's birds at risk

This study analyzes factors associated with the endangerment and recovery of Ontario's birds at risk. Birds that have been considered to be at risk by government-appointed authorities were compared to those that have not, to determine if their distributions across habitats and ranges in Ontario are different. Among at risk species, several Chi-square analyses were undertaken to determine if there were any significant associations among variables such as cause of endangerment, risk status, recovery status, habitat, range, and Breeding Bird Atlas trends from 1981-1985 to 2001-2005. The results show that species at risk and species that are not recovering are concentrated in southern Ontario. As well, species that have been threatened by overexploitation and pollution have been more likely to recover than those suffering from habitat loss. As a result, significant attention should be paid to habitat protection and restoration if future Ontario bird conservation initiatives are to be successful.