The Common Gallinule is a secretive marsh bird that is primarily found in southern Ontario and southwestern Quebec, and in smaller numbers in eastern New Brunswick and western Nova Scotia. Population estimates are not available for all of Canada, but data from Ontario suggest a significant population decline. Consequently, in 2012, the Canadian Wildlife Service – Ontario Region, in partnership with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, initiated a pilot banding project of Common Gallinules in Ontario. The species has been listed as a priority species in Ontario, with the objective of reversing its decline. There are no annual harvest estimates for Common Gallinules available in Canada, but the harvest is likely small. This species has been identified as a priority for conservation and/or stewardship in one or more Bird Conservation Region Strategies in Canada.
In recent years, efforts have been made to improve the collection of harvest information and the monitoring of secretive marsh bird populations across North America, especially in Canada, where few data are available (Case and Sanders 2010; Seamans et al. 2013). Given the significant population decline of the Common Gallinule in Ontario over the last 20 years, the species is listed as a priority species in Ontario, with the associated objective of reversing its decline (Zeran et al. 2009). Consequently, in 2012, the Canadian Wildlife Service - Ontario Region, in partnership with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, initiated a pilot banding project of gallinules in Ontario. Between 2012 and 2017, 415 Common Gallinules were banded in Ontario during pre-hunting season duck banding. To date, 4 gallinules have been recaptured during banding operations, 1 has been reported by a hunter in Ontario, and 1 was found dead in Texas. Results from this pilot project show that annual productivity can be very high on local wetlands (S. Meyer, ECCC, pers. comm.). In 2014, feathers were collected to link up harvest (through hunter-returned wings) to natal origin through stable isotopes or elemental concentrations. These reference feathers have been analyzed; the collection of feathers from Canadian and American hunter-returned wings is ongoing.
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.
