Birds Canada

What Birds Canada does

Birds Canada is a Canadian non-profit charitable organization founded in 1960 and headquartered in Port Rowan, Ontario, that operates as the country's only national organization dedicated to bird conservation. The organization delivers its mission through a portfolio of citizen science programs, research observatories, and conservation initiatives, engaging 60,000-74,000+ volunteers annually across Canada. Its core technical infrastructure includes the Motus Wildlife Tracking System (800+ receiving stations across nearly 30 countries), the Long Point Bird Observatory (longest-running migration monitoring program in the Americas since 1960), the Canadian Migration Monitoring Network (24 stations covering 200+ species), and the NatureCounts data platform. Education and outreach products include The Warblers Podcast, the Birds Canada Learn platform, Schoolyard Bird Blitz, Bird-Friendly Schools, and youth training programs that have produced 175+ Young Ornithologists since 1994.

The organization's business model is multi-stream non-profit funding: individual donations (one-time, monthly, memorial, legacy, securities), membership programs, Project FeederWatch participation fees (joint with Cornell Lab), the Great Canadian Birdathon (which has raised $6M+ cumulatively), grants from Environment and Climate Change Canada and foundations such as the Weston Family Foundation, corporate sponsorships (Armstrong, Wild Birds Unlimited, Vortex), and LPBO Shop merchandise sales. Revenue is not publicly disclosed. Customer segments span individual birders, schools and youth educators, conservation steward groups, field biologists, farmers and ranchers (62 landowners managing 16,000+ hectares of native grassland), Indigenous communities (NunatuKavut Community Council, Timiskaming First Nation), and international conservation partners. Geographic operations extend nationally across Canada with regional offices in Sackville (Atlantic) and Delta (BC), into the United States via partnerships, and into 12 Latin American and Caribbean countries through the 2022 Conserva Aves Initiative targeting 100+ protected areas and 2+ million hectares by 2028. Core strategic partnerships include BirdLife International (co-leading the IBA/KBA program), National Audubon Society (Christmas Bird Count, Bird-Friendliness Index, Conserva Aves), Cornell Lab of Ornithology (Project FeederWatch), American Bird Conservancy (Conserva Aves), RedLAC, the KBA Canada Coalition, and IUCN.

Name

Birds Canada

Legal name

Birds Canada

Website

https://birdscanada.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1960

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Birds Canada is a national non-profit founded in 1960 that drives bird conservation through citizen science, research observatories, and the Motus Wildlife Tracking System, engaging 60,000-74,000+ volunteers and partnering with government, Indigenous communities, and international organizations across Canada and 12 Latin American countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Port Rowan

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: Individual donations from caring donors supporting bird conservation work. Multiple giving options including one-time donations, monthly giving, memorial gifts, legacy giving, and securities donations.
2. Membership Program: Gift of membership program allowing supporters to give the gift of bird conservation to others.
3. Adopt a Wild Bird: Adoption program allowing supporters to symbolically adopt a wild bird.
4. Project FeederWatch Participation: Donation of any amount required to participate in Project FeederWatch, which provides materials to help identify and record birds seen in participants' areas.
5. Birdathon Fundraising: Annual fundraising campaign where participants collect pledges for birding events, with funds supporting conservation projects. Over $6 million raised through this initiative to date.
6. Grants and Government Funding: Funding from government agencies including Environment and Climate Change Canada, and foundations such as the Weston Family Foundation for specific conservation programs.
7. LPBO Shop Sales: Friends of LPBO operate a shop at the Long Point Bird Observatory Visitor Centre selling birding guides and merchandise.
8. Birdathon Corporate Sponsorship: Corporate sponsorship opportunities for the annual Great Canadian Birdathon fundraising event.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion6 records

Distribution channels10 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Birds Canada is a national non-profit charitable organization that delivers bird conservation through citizen science programs, research, and education. It operates the Long Point Bird Observatory (since 1960), the Motus Wildlife Tracking System with 800+ receiving stations in nearly 30 countries, the Canadian Migration Monitoring Network, and educational programs like Project FeederWatch, Christmas Bird Count, and Bird-Friendly Schools. Data and observations collected through these programs flow into the NatureCounts data platform and inform species-at-risk assessments and conservation policy.

Product overview

Birds Canada operates as a national nonprofit conservation organization offering a portfolio of citizen science programs, research observatories, educational platforms, and conservation initiatives rather than a single software product. The core offerings include: Project FeederWatch and Christmas Bird Count (large-scale volunteer monitoring programs with data submitted via web portals); Long Point Bird Observatory (the founding research station conducting migration monitoring since 1960); the Canadian Migration Monitoring Network (a national network of 24+ observatories); and the Motus Wildlife Tracking System (a collaborative telemetry network spanning nearly 30 countries). Educational products include The Warblers Podcast, Birds Canada Learn platform, Schoolyard Bird Blitz, and Bird-Friendly Schools programs. Conservation initiatives encompass the Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas program, the Conserva Aves international partnership, Science in the North, and the Bird-Friendliness Index for agricultural land. Data from all programs flows through the NatureCounts portal. Birds Canada does not offer a public API, SDK, or documented integrations with third-party tools in the available source material.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Project FeederWatch A joint winter bird survey program with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology where volunteers count birds at feeders from November through April to monitor winter ranges and abundances. More than 30,000 people across North America participate.
• Christmas Bird Count (CBC) North America's longest-running citizen science project, running annually between December 14 and January 5, where volunteers count birds across 481 designated circles in Canada to assess population trends.
• Christmas Bird Count for Kids (CBC4Kids) A youth-focused version of the Christmas Bird Count designed to engage children in bird monitoring and conservation education.
• Schoolyard Bird Blitz A program where students and teachers across Canada explore schoolyards, identify and count local birds, and submit observations to NatureCounts for science.
• Bird-Friendly Schools A comprehensive educational program aligning seasonal bird changes with school curricula through activities, citizen science, and stewardship projects.
• Long Point Bird Observatory (LPBO) The founding program of Birds Canada operating research, education, and training programs focused on ornithology and natural history at Long Point, Ontario, with three research stations conducting migration monitoring since 1960.
• Doug Tarry Young Ornithologists' Workshop (YOW) Annual hands-on workshop for promising young ornithologists aged 13-17 at Long Point Bird Observatory, focusing on bird banding and migration monitoring. Cost of $500/person, heavily subsidized.
• Canadian Migration Monitoring Network (CMMN) A collaborative initiative of independent bird observatories across Canada providing long-term demographic and population trend data for over 200 bird species. Network of 24 stations from BC to Nova Scotia.
• Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA) Program A global conservation initiative co-led in Canada by Birds Canada to identify, monitor, and steward critical bird habitats, with caretaker groups working in at least 265 of Canada's IBAs, transitioning to Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs).
• Motus Wildlife Tracking System A collaborative research network using automated radio telemetry to track migratory birds and other wildlife across nearly 30 countries through over 800 receiving stations.
• NatureCounts A data portal providing access to bird observation data, species checklists, and research tools for Canadian bird monitoring programs. Hosts the State of Canada's Birds report.
• Great Canadian Birdathon An annual fundraising event where participants bird to raise funds for bird conservation in Canada. Over $6 million raised since inception.
• Conserva Aves Initiative An international collaboration supporting the creation and sustainable management of protected areas across Latin America and the Caribbean to protect migratory birds and their habitats. Aims to create over 100 protected areas encompassing 2+ million hectares across 12 countries between 2022 and 2028.
• Science in the North A program supporting Indigenous-led monitoring and conservation in Canada's Boreal Forest and Arctic regions, expanding bird monitoring and habitat conservation capacity.
• Bird-Friendliness Index (BFI) A biodiversity indicator adapted for Canadian Prairies that measures the conservation contribution of farms to bird habitat and Species at Risk. Originally developed by National Audubon Society.
• Latin American Training Program A training program enabling Latin American biologists to refine field and teaching skills at Long Point Bird Observatory, with over 150 individuals trained from 15 countries since 1995.
• Birds Canada Learn An online learning platform offering educational resources, virtual field trips, lesson plans, and educator materials for bird education.
• The Warblers Podcast A Canadian podcast about all things birds and bird conservation, hosted by Andrea Gress, providing information, insights, and inspiration on birds. Won the 2022 Nature Inspiration Awards.

Quantifiable outcome

• 60,000 Canadians volunteer as Citizen Scientists annually
• +9 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles7 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

21 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• NunatuKavut Community CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Science in the North project with newly installed Motus station in St. Lewis, Labrador. Birds Canada provides training on mist netting, nano tag deployments, and bird monitoring to community members.
• American Bird ConservancycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Partner in Conserva Aves Initiative led by American Bird Conservancy, National Audubon Society, Birds Canada, BirdLife International, and RedLAC to promote climate resilience and sustainable development. Aims to create over 100 protected areas encompassing 2+ million hectares in Latin America and Caribbean by 2028.
• National Audubon SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Co-leader of Conserva Aves Initiative to support creation and sustainable management of subnational protected areas in Latin America and Caribbean for migratory and endemic birds.
• RedLAC (Latin American and Caribbean Network of Environmental Funds)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Partner in Conserva Aves Initiative, bringing together environmental funds from Latin America and Caribbean to promote climate resilience and sustainable development.
• Environment and Climate Change CanadacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partner in the Canadian Migration Monitoring Network (CMMN), providing vital long-term information on bird demographics and population trends for more than 200 species.
• Cornell Lab of OrnithologycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint program partner for Project FeederWatch, a winter survey engaging over 30,000 people across North America to measure changes in bird populations.
• National Audubon SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Christmas Bird Count program, North America's longest-running Citizen Science project with people in more than 2000 locations throughout the Western Hemisphere.
• BirdLife InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-leading the Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA) program in Canada as part of BirdLife International's global conservation initiative. IBAs are a key component of the Key Biodiversity Areas (KBA) program.
• National Audubon SocietyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdapted the Bird-Friendliness Index (BFI) from National Audubon Society to Canadian Prairies - a scalable biodiversity indicator for measuring bird conservation contributions at farm level.
• Environment and Climate Change Canada's Canadian Wildlife ServicecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociation with Environment and Climate Change Canada's Canadian Wildlife Service in launching Long Point Bird Observatory's Latin American Training Program in 1995, training over 150 Latin American biologists from 15 countries.
• Timiskaming First NationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRelationship for Indigenous-led conservation and bird monitoring projects in northern Canada through the Science in the North program.
• KBA Canada CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBirds Canada works as part of the KBA Canada Coalition to identify Key Biodiversity Areas in Canada, transitioning IBAs to KBAs with up-to-date information.
• Armstrong Premium Bird FoodminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate supporter of Project FeederWatch program.
• Wild Birds UnlimitedminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate supporter of Project FeederWatch program.
• Vortex (Official Optics Partner)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerOfficial Optics partner of Long Point Bird Observatory.
• Friends of LPBOminorGTM or Marketing PartnerVolunteer organization that operates the LPBO Shoppe and supports Long Point Bird Observatory programs.
• NatureServe CanadaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in KBA Canada Coalition working to identify Key Biodiversity Areas in Canada.
• Nature Conservancy of CanadaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in KBA Canada Coalition for identifying and protecting Key Biodiversity Areas.
• World Wildlife Fund CanadaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in KBA Canada Coalition for biodiversity conservation.
• Nature CanadaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in KBA Canada Coalition for identifying Key Biodiversity Areas.
• IUCNcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBirds Canada participates in IUCN initiatives through BirdLife International, with KBAs built on the success of IBAs under IUCN's program for all biodiversity.

Scale indicators29 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• World Wildlife Fund Canada: Larger conservation NGO and KBA Canada Coalition partner; overlaps with Birds Canada in habitat protection advocacy and corporate-engagement fundraising, but focuses broadly on wildlife rather than birds specifically.
• BirdLife International: Global umbrella network of which Birds Canada is the Canadian partner; co-leads the Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas program with Birds Canada and orchestrates international policy work across 100+ country partners.
• The Nature Conservancy: One of the largest environmental nonprofits globally; overlaps with Birds Canada on private-lands conservation, biodiversity data, and partnership science, though its portfolio extends well beyond birds.

Others

• Wildlife Conservation Society: Global conservation organization with field programs and policy influence comparable in scale to Birds Canada's international work; tangentially related through shared partners (BirdLife, Conserva Aves) but not a direct bird-conservation competitor.
• NatureServe: Provider of authoritative biodiversity data and a Birds Canada partner in the KBA Canada Coalition; complementary in that NatureServe supplies species-range data while Birds Canada drives the bird-specific surveys.

Regional players

• Royal Society for the Protection of Birds: UK national bird conservation charity; functions as the geographic counterpart to Birds Canada with a comparable member-supported, science-driven, advocacy-oriented operating model.

Direct peers

• Ducks Unlimited: Large North American waterfowl and wetland conservation nonprofit with a similar science-plus-habitat model; engages volunteers, runs long-term monitoring, and partners with government agencies on landscape conservation.
• Cornell Lab of Ornithology: Joint operator of Project FeederWatch and a leading ornithology research/education institution; operates eBird — the dominant global bird-observation data platform — placing it as the closest functional peer in research infrastructure and citizen science.
• National Audubon Society: US national bird conservation nonprofit and direct Birds Canada partner on Christmas Bird Count; comparable mission, citizen science programs, advocacy footprint, and revenue model (memberships, donations).
• American Bird Conservancy: Co-leads the Conserva Aves Initiative with Birds Canada; a similarly scoped US-hemispheric bird conservation nonprofit with overlapping priorities in habitat protection and migratory species.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/BirdsCanada
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/BirdStudiesCanada
• Facebookfacebook.com/birdscanada
• Instagraminstagram.com/birds.canada
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/birdscanada

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Birds Canada