Wildlife biologist Janet Ng works for the Canadian Wildlife Service. And for her waterbird surveys, one of the most important tools of her trade is a kayak. Many species that breed in the Arctic pass through lakes in southern Saskatchewan on their way north, making it a great place to survey the birds’ populations and track how they’re doing year to year. But some birds are hard to see, hidden in cattails. So counting them by kayak gives biologists a chance to observe more birds.

More info and transcript at BirdNote.org. 

Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for BirdNote+ to get ad-free listening and other perks. 

BirdNote is a nonprofit. Your tax-deductible gift makes these shows possible.