Runningfool
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- SW Ontario
Are grackles protected?
Killdeer in Ontario?
- Thread starter Onagoth
- Start date
Are grackles protected?
badgreenbird
Regular
- Location
- Dawson Creek, BC
Correct to a degree.. The federal Migratory Birds Convention Act protects most species of birds in Canada, including (ironically) many species that don't actually migrate. Then there are the regulations that say which species can be hunted (ducks, geese, rails, coots, snipe, woodcock, doves, etc..) but the provinces have some say in whether they will allow hunting of those species (e.g. doves and cranes only allowed in certain provinces) BUT - there are a whole lot of species not protected under the federal act. All jays, crows, cormorants, grouse, hawks, owls, blackbirds, possibly even kingfishers from what I remember. The provinces have management jurisdiction over these birds (resident game birds, and species thought to be potentially injurious to human interests back in 1918). The provinces have generally done their part and protected all these species under Provincial acts, but allow hunting of some, in season (or no closed season in the case of some such as feral / rock pigeon, starling, house sparrow, cowbird, etc.) The details vary by province.
Anyhow, it's best to assume that all birds are protected all the time, except as regulation allows (hunting seasons for game birds, and open season for some pests). There hasn't been an open season on Killdeer or other plovers for about a hundred years.... As others have said, snipe and woodcock are the only members of the sandpiper family that can still be legally hunted.
The actual list of species/families protected by the federal Migratory Bird Convention Act is provided as an appendix to the Act and is easily found.
