Initial efforts of the Boreal Avian Modelling Project focused on gathering data from the western boreal forest, west of the Manitoba-Ontario border, because the project team had significant datasets in hand for this area. The preliminary dataset was used to refine our methods, to help select and test explanatory variables, and to produce some early results while we pursued additional data.

In our second phase, we expanded our focus, assembling data and building models encompassing the full geographic scope of the Canadian boreal forest.  Models based on this national avian dataset and corresponding biophysical data are useful for defining species' ranges, providing predictions at the national scale, and comparing habitat use by a species in different locations.

We are also conducting analyses at the regional scale, where we use digital forest resource inventories (FRI data). Developed by the crown (i.e. provincial government) or by a tenure holder such as a forest company, these inventories provide more detailed information on habitats, such as types and ages of trees, than what can be extracted from satellite imaging. This information can help build a clear picture of the habitat in an area, which in turn can tell us about the structure of bird communities.  This is especially valuable for improving the predictive capability of our bird population models.