Hundreds of dead snow geese have washed up on the shores near Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, and it may be some time before officials figure out what caused them to die. David Bird, an emeritus professor of wildlife biology and ornithologist at McGill University, said that while it's impossible to do anything but speculate until tissue analysis is conducted on the dead geese, it's likely that the birds died of disease.
More than a thousand dead geese that washed up on the shore near Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, last August appear to have died of natural causes, including toxicity caused by drinking salt water.
A big emphasis in the last few years has been updating and adding to the list of species known to occur in the Yukon. This past year, a whopping 1,973 species of plants, insects and animals have been added.
Scientists are trying to determine why thousands of tiny seabirds called Cassin's auklets have washed up on the West Coast, all the way from B.C. to California.
Egrets are more usually spotted in the Everglades or on the Pacific coast so the presence of this egret immediately attracted local photographers, including Bernice Sandy, who took many photos of the unusual bird.
The loudest sign of spring in southern Yukon is the return of the trumpeter swans. Thousands take a rest and refuel in M'Clintock Bay. As the CBC's Cheryl Kawaja reports, this year, they're about a week ahead of schedule.
A very unusual visitor has been spotted in Burgeo, and the Black Vulture is causing a stir among birdwatchers, who believe it may have been blown to Newfoundland by strong winds.
It's not the first time snow geese have died in large numbers in western Nunavut. The cause of this event is under investigation, but overpopulation could have played a role, says the Canadian Wildlife Service.
Nunavut is not prepared to deal with the impacts of climate change and doesn't have a plan to deal with them, according to the latest report by Canada's auditor general.
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