The breeding distribution of Pomarine Jaegers in Canada comes from a handful of nest records distributed widely across the Arctic; this species remains the most poorly understood of Canada's jaeger species. Off Canada’s west coast, Pomarine Jaegers have been observed in low numbers between April and December, with peak numbers between August and October (Campbell et al. 1990, Kenyon et al. 2009). The birds shift breeding locations from year to year in response to changing densities of lemmings, and few repeated observations from breeding sites are available. The current status of their population in Canada, as well as how it relates to that of about 1970, remains unknown.
Among the three North American jaeger species, Pomarine Jaegers are the most dependent on lemmings; their breeding distribution and reproductive success appear to track the abundance of lemmings (Wiley and Lee 2000 and references therein). Disruptions in the cycles of lemmings, a predicted effect of global climate change (Post et al. 2009), could therefore adversely affect Pomarine Jaegers.
Environment and Climate Change Canada and partners have developed Bird Conservation Region Strategies in each of Canada’s Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs). In these strategies, selected species are identified as priorities for one or more of the following reasons:
Select any of the sub-regions below to view the BCR strategy for additional details.