McGill student investigating why Quebec's red cardinal population has exploded
The population of red cardinals has exploded in Quebec over the past 25 years. After eight months of tracking 41 cardinals as they flew from tree to tree in different environments, a McGill University biologist spoke to the Journal de Montreal about why cardinals may be thriving here.
"I expected cardinals to settle in large green spaces in urban environments, but I found that their territory could be limited to a very small area, often a simple courtyard or even a balcony where there is a feeder," explains Anne-Marie Cousineau, a master's student in Professor Kyle Elliott's Arctic Ecology Lab.
Almost invisible in our latitudes some fifty years ago, the red cardinal has adapted remarkably well to southern Quebec, where it has experienced the greatest demographic growth on the continent.
This trend is unusual—in North America, a quarter of all birds have disappeared since the 1970s. Yet, Cousineau points out that little research has investigated the reasons for this phenomenon, particularly outside nesting periods.
In the first year of her study, Cousineau captured 41 cardinals in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue and attached a radio antenna to each animals' back, enabling her to track the birds from a distance.
Three groups were released in two suburbs and downtown Montreal, then tracked to document their movements and feeding habits.
Although the results are not yet definitive, the researcher noted that the group released in a highly urbanized environment was quick to find food. Feeders stocked with sunflower seeds were quickly spotted. "The maintenance of a feeder becomes a survival factor for this species, which adapts well to a small ecosystem," she says.
The second year of data collection begins next autumn, which will make this the first research project on the red cardinal in Quebec to cover such a long period.
"People were surprised to see me walking around town with a satellite dish capable of picking up radio frequencies. It gave me a chance to educate the public," Cousineau comments.
