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The Impact of Wildfires on Birds in Canada
This was the worst year for Canadian wildfires on record and though fire season is not yet over, we can already start to see and look at some of the impact of fires on our ecosystems across the country. One population particularly affected by the fires this summer is birds.
Dr. David Bird, Emeritus Professor in McGill's Department of Natural Resource Sciences, spoke with CBC Let's Go host Sabrina Marandola about the effects of wildfires on our feathered friends, including the impacts on bird migration and how populations might look a little different this year.
"There are a number of ways that fires can affect birds and the first thing is, of course, if you're not ready, that you may very likely perish in the flames," Dr. Bird said. "But there's another more indirect way the birds can be affected by fire—and that's smoke."
"So those are all different ways that fires can hurt birds, but the biggest way of course is the loss of habitat," he continues.