About - Overview
The Landbird Habitat Program is a partnership between the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC), the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment Canada. The Program was developed as an expansion of the Ontario Eastern Habitat Joint Venture and under the auspices of the North American Bird Conservation Initiative (NABCI), an international partnership focused on cooperating to conserve native North American birds throughout their ranges and habitats.
Landbirds are a diverse group of birds ranging from raptors to sparrows that inhabit grasslands, woodlands and other upland habitats. Protecting landbirds is an important element of conserving biodiversity in Ontario; ‘keeping common birds common’ is the vision of the landbird group of NABCI, the Partners in Flight. The activities of the Landbird Habitat program are focused on priority landbirds, including those that are species at risk such as Eastern Loggerhead Shrike and Kirtland's Warbler.
The Landbird Habitat Program provides financial and technical assistance for private landowners who are undertaking habitat stewardship projects on their properties and also supports landbird habitat conservation efforts by partners such as the Nature Conservancy of Canada. Through this program there are free expert site visits and funds available for landowners who are interested in protecting and enhancing significant bird habitat in southern Ontario.
The Landbird Habitat Program is designed to improve the quality and quantity of habitat for birds on private lands around existing important landbird natural areas that are part of southern Ontario’s Landbird Conservation Plan of NABCI. The geographic focus is on seven significant bird areas in central and southern Ontario. The identified areas for land stewardship are Pelee Island, Clear Creek Forest, South Walsingham, Skunk’s Misery, Point Abino, Rice Lake Plains and the Carden Alvar. Further habitat stewardship efforts are carried out on lands owned by conservation organizations such as NCC and its partners in those regions.
