Birds of Mansel Island, northern Hudson Bay

A recent review of bird distributions in Nunavut demonstrated that Mansel Island, in northeastern Hudson Bay, is one of the least known areas in the territory. Here, current information on the birds of Mansel Island is summarized. A list published in 1932 included 24 species. Subsequent visits by ornithologists since 1980 have added a further 17 species to the island’s avifauna. The list includes 17 species for which breeding has been confirmed and 10 for which breeding is considered probable. The island seems to support particularly large populations of King Eiders (Somateria spectabilis) and Tundra Swans (Cygnus columbianus) and the most southerly breeding population of Sabine’s Gull (Xema sabini) and Red Knot (Calidiris canuta; probably).

Expanded Range Limits of Boreal Birds in the Torngat Mountains of Northern Labrador

The Torngat Mountains lie at the southeastern limit of the Canadian Arctic in northern Labrador, and bird distributions in the region are poorly understood. I visited the Torngat Mountains every summer from 2008 to 2016 and recorded all birds observed. Several boreal bird species were widespread and breeding in the region, representing expansion of known ranges by 100–350 km north along the Labrador coast and 40–90 km east from Ungava Bay. Shrub thickets have expanded dramatically in the Torngat Mountains since the 1980s; thus, these observations may reflect range expansion by boreal birds in response to increased habitat availability.

The Global Avian Invasions Atlas - A database of alien bird distributions worldwide

The introduction of species to locations where they do not naturally occur (termed aliens) can have far-reaching and unpredictable environmental and economic consequences. Therefore there is a strong incentive to stem the tide of alien species introduction and spread. In order to identify broad patterns and processes of alien invasions, a spatially referenced, global dataset on the historical introductions and alien distributions of a complete taxonomic group is required.Here we present the Global Avian Invasions Atlas (GAVIA) – a new spatial and temporal dataset comprising 27,723 distribution records for 971 alien bird species introduced to 230 countries and administrative areas spanning the period 6000BCE – AD2014. GAVIA was initiated to provide a unified database of records on alien bird introductions, incorporating records from all stages of invasion, including introductions that have failed as well as those that have succeeded. GAVIA represents the most comprehensive resource on the global distribution of alien species in any major taxon, allowing the spatial and temporal dynamics of alien bird distributions to be examined.