While the rest of Jasper is sleeping, about twenty volunteers have been catching and banding birds before setting them free, under the guidance of Parks Canada ecologist Brenda Shepherd.

As the bird banding program has just completed its sixth year, the data is now being used to put towards larger studies by the Institute for Bird Populations (IBP).

The Jasper station catches about 200 birds a year, with around 25 per cent of those having already been banded.

Jasper’s contribution to the latest report from the IBP is important, said Shepherd, because it helps them to analyse bigger trends in survival rates.

Looking at data from the last 15 years, the latest report suggests that across the continent bird populations have declined by about 30 per cent.

Shepherd pointed out that the major cause of decline is due to the populations having a low survival rate in their first year.

“In the non-breeding season... they’re spending their summers in Jasper, they go south and they’re not returning,” she said.

Of particular note are the Yellow Warblow and Chipping Sparrow, which both frequent Jasper, and are listed as having a declining population across the continent.

During the birds’ breeding season, which runs June through August, the dedicated volunteers head out to Pyramid Island around 4 a.m. each morning.

The effort was started by Shepherd when she was on the board of Friends of Jasper National Park (FJNP), who continue to co-ordinate volunteers for the program.

The group heads out every ten days during the summer to figure out a variety of information about the birds.

“What we’re looking at is the survival rate and how many young are produced,” said Shepherd.

“We figure out how old it is, what sex it is, and figure out the species, and there is a couple of measures for health like how much fat it has.”

After erecting the nets, which are made of fine nylon, volunteers check them every 20 minutes to see if any birds have been caught.

“When a bird flies into the net, the bird becomes entangled in the thread and sits in a little pocket so that the bird’s wings aren’t strained,” she explained.

Volunteers are trained by Shepherd on how to handle the birds so that they’re not harmed during the research.

While there has been no individual analysis on the Jasper station, Shepherd said there will be a report for the next State of the Park report on survival and productivity.

However, the data from the station does continue to be used by the IBP for other studies, such as the effects of climate change on birds.