Long-term monitoring of breeding activity of avian predators on Bylot Island, Nunavut

We are monitoring the nesting activity of Long-tailed Jaegers, Parasitic Jaegers, Glaucous Gulls, Snowy Owls and Rough-legged Hawks. We find nests through either systematic searches or opportunistically. All nests found are positioned with a GPS and revisited during the breeding period to determine laying date, clutch size, hatching date and fledging success. We also study their diet by collecting regurgitation pellets and prey remains at nests (2004-2008) and blood samples from adults and young for isotopic analysis (2007-2010, 2014). Abundance of these birds is also determine using visual counts from a vantage point (since 2004) and line transects (since 2007). For a sample of nests, young are banded at the nest, and occasionally adults as well. We also marked Snowy owls with satellite transmitters (2007, 2014) to track their migratory movements over a 2-year period. Automatic cameras are installed at some nests to monitor the activities and behaviour of these bird species.