Expanded Range Limits of Boreal Birds in the Torngat Mountains of Northern Labrador

• Published in: The Canadian Field-Naturalist
• Main Author: Whitaker, Darroch
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: The Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club 2017
• Subjects: Boreal birds; climate change; Labrador; range shifts; shrubification; Torngat Mountains; treeline; Arctic; Ungava Bay; Climate change
• Online Access: https://www.canadianfieldnaturalist.ca/index.php/cfn/article/view/1957; https://doi.org/10.22621/cfn.v131i1.1957

The Torngat Mountains lie at the southeastern limit of the Canadian Arctic in northern Labrador, and bird distributions in the region are poorly understood. I visited the Torngat Mountains every summer from 2008 to 2016 and recorded all birds observed. Several boreal bird species were widespread and breeding in the region, representing expansion of known ranges by 100–350 km north along the Labrador coast and 40–90 km east from Ungava Bay. Shrub thickets have expanded dramatically in the Torngat Mountains since the 1980s; thus, these observations may reflect range expansion by boreal birds in response to increased habitat availability.