The number of shorebirds seems to be dwindling in the Arctic, causing potential harm to the eco-system, say scientists who are keeping count.

Research teams with the Canadian Wildlife Service are currently working in both the Queen Maud Gulf Bird Sanctuary in Nunavut and the Mackenzie Delta in the N.W.T. to survey breeding shorebirds such as plovers and sandpipers that aren't hunted.

Scientists are counting shorebirds, which make up more than half the bird species breeding in the Arctic, to determine their population.

The Red Knot shorebird population alone has plummeted from 30,000 to 15,000 birds, said Vicky Johnston, a shorebird biologist with the wildlife service.

"If it dwindles down to extinction then I think we're all poorer because of that. They enrich our lives," she said.

"They're part of the food web: They feed a lot of the bird predators, they feed Arctic foxes and also they are part of the web of life in that they eat primarily insects. And if you don't like mosquitoes, you should like shorebirds because shorebird young eat mosquitoes and other flying insects."

Shorebird surveys conducted on migration routes suggest nearly 80 per cent of Canadian shorebird species are in decline, the wildlife service website says.

Since scientists know little about the birds or their habitat, a 10-year research project across the North aims to fill in the gaps in knowledge.

Researchers hope to:

  • Estimate the population of breeding shorebirds across the Arctic.
  • Map where the birds are.
  • Find the best habitat for each species.

This year's work will wrap up in July.