Scientific permit: permit report form instructions

General information

Reporting your scientific permit activities and banding data to the Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) is a condition of your Migratory Bird Regulations Scientific Permits for Banding, Non-Banding Scientific, Rehabilitation and Educational purposes and is required to renew your permit. The Bird Banding Office (BBO) is responsible for evaluating the Scientific Banding permit reports, application and renewal requests while Regional Canadian Wildlife permitting offices is responsible for all other Scientific permit reports and applications. Since they are both part of the CWS, we will refer to them as Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) in this document. Please read this entire document to ensure you provide all required information in your Scientific Permit Report Form (Permit_report_form). This form must be returned, duly completed and signed, to the issuing CWS office on the report due date indicated on your permit.

The permit expiry date is indicated on your permit. The CWS processes applications and renewals on a “first-come, first-served” basis and you should submit your  report and renewal in a timely manner as not to delay your  activities (see our Service Standard below).

You may obtain a copy of the renewal form through our website.

For more scientific banding program standards, policies and processes, please visit the BBO website.

Scientific Permit Reporting Checklist

• Permit Report Form completed and signed

Scientific Banding Permit Holders:

Complete the following sections

• 1.1
• 1.2
• 2.1
• 2.2
• 2.3
• 3
• 4
• 5

Non-Banding Scientific Permit Holders:

Complete the following sections

• 1.1
• 1.3
• 2.4
• 3
• 4
• 5

Scientific Rehabilitation Permit Holders:

Complete the following sections

• 1.1
• 1.3
• 2.5
• 3
• 4
• 5

Scientific Educational Permit Holders:
Complete the following sections

• 1.1
• 1.3
• 2.6
• 3
• 4
• 5

Additional documents or data for Scientific Banding permits

• Bird Band Order Form completed (if applicable)
• Banding data submitted
• Band inventory verified
• Sub-permittee contact information verified

Additional information

If you wish to submit a new project or an application for a new sub-permittee, please submit a permit renewal request by completing the Scientific Permit Application and Renewal Form. You may submit new projects and new sub-permit applications at any time.

You may obtain a copy of the application form through our website.

The following outlines which forms are relevant to process the Scientific Permit Report and/or the Renewal Application

• Scientific Permit Report Form: Complete fully and submit
• Scientific Permit Report Form Instruction Sheet: Please read attentively
• Scientific Permit Application Form: Complete fully and submit
• Scientific Permit Application Form Instruction Sheet: Please read attentively

Part 1 - Permit and permit holder

The permit holder must provide all the necessary information about their permits such as the name of the permit holder, the permit number, permit status and the purpose of their scientific permits. The permit holder is responsible for all activities that are taken under their issued permits.

1.1 Name and permit number

Provide the name of the permit holder and permit number. For Scientific Banding permits, include the name of the master permit holder or the responsible individual for the station permit as well as that permit number if applicable.

1.2 Permit status for Scientific banding permits

Select the appropriate choice for renewing your permit (Select applicable options):
If required, you must provide a justification.

1.3 Permit status for Scientific permits other than banding

Select the appropriate choice for renewing your permit (Select applicable options):

For all renewals, the permit holder must submit a Scientific Permit Application Form with the relevant parts filled out for the respective purpose(s) and activities requested.

Part 2 - Reporting on activities

Please report all your previous scientific activities and banding data to the relevant CWS office. You must complete the applicable report based on the purpose of your permit. Missing information may result in the delay or refusal of your permit renewal.

When reporting on activities, please refer to the following list to fill out the chart:

• Capture a migratory bird
• Kill a migratory bird
• Injure a migratory bird
• Destroy an egg
• Take an egg
• Disturb an egg
• Damage a nest
• Destroy a nest
• Remove a nest
• Disturb a nest
• Deposit bait in any place during the period beginning 14 days before the first day of the first open season after July 1 of a calendar year and ending on the last day of the last open season before July 1 of the following year
• Exchange, give or have possession of a migratory bird, egg or nest
• If authorized to capture and band a migratory bird, take birds that are killed as a result of normal banding operations or that are found dead.

2.1 Data reporting for Scientific Banding Permits

Please submit any unreported banding data of the current year, any outstanding data from previous years, and any requested data due to a band encounter. The banding data submission guidelines can be found on the BBO website.

Please indicate whether you have submitted any additional data collected under your banding permit. When submitting banding data through Bandit 4.0, there are eight required fields (Band Number, Disposition, Species, Age, Sex, Banding Date, Bird Status, and Banding Location). All other information collected during banding operations is considered additional data and can be submitted to the BBO database as additional pre-defined fields (e.g. Weight, Tarsus length, Wing chord, etc.) or user-defined fields. Additional data can also be sent to other data repositories, such as the Canadian Migration Monitoring Network, MAPS, Avian Knowledge Network, etc. We strongly encourage all banders to submit their additional data collected under their scientific permit to a public data repository, whether BBO’s or another, in order to ensure that these valuable data are not lost over time. 

The BBO now requires that all tracking data collected under your permit using an electronic device attached to a bird be submitted to a suitable long-term data repository where it can be safely archived for future analysis. We strongly recommend that you also make the data publicly available to maximize the value of the data for conservation and science. Examples of repositories for tracking data include Movebank, Motus Wildlife Tracking System and the Seabird Tracking Database. 

When depositing information in a data repository, include the bird band number to allow data from various databases to be linked in the future. Scientific data collected under your scientific permit are important for bird conservation now and into the future.

2.2 Band inventory for Scientific Banding Permits

Your band inventory was sent to you by email on November 1st from BBO@ec.gc.ca. Please contact that address if you did not receive your inventory. Please review your inventory and indicate if this list differs from the bands you and your sub-permittees have in your possession. Provide BBO with a list of any discrepancies. Please note that your most recent band use or recently returned bands may not yet be reflected in this band inventory. It takes time for us to verify your bird band returns. Your band inventory should be sufficient for the length of your project or 12 months, whichever comes first. Please return any bands that are in surplus to your needs to the BBO with your permit number and a list of the bands being returned. If bands have been lost and cannot be found, report them as lost in Bandit 4.0. Please use the Bird Band Order Form or Bander Portal to request bands.

If your permit includes coded auxiliary markers, please list all unused colours and codes in your possession in a separate Excel spreadsheet. This will allow us to better coordinate new requests.

Return unused bands to:

Bird Banding Office
CWS-NWRC
1125 Colonel By Drive (Raven Road)
Ottawa, ON K1A 0H3

2.3 Injuries and mortalities for Scientific Banding Permits

Please indicate the cause(s) of any injuries or mortalities incurred during your banding operations.

Injuries or mortalities may be caused by ‘predation’ when an animal is responsible (e.g., fox, squirrel, hawk), by ‘equipment’ when some failure in the equipment is responsible (e.g.,  malfunction) and by ‘human error’ when an individual participating in the banding operations is the cause (e.g., insufficient training, improperly set trap). Indicate the number of birds that were injured, killed or euthanized as a result and describe what actions you are taking to prevent future injuries and mortalities.

Reminder: When submitting banding data, use status code 500 for any bird that has a new or old injury, is sick, exhausted, physically deformed (e.g., bill deformity, leg deformity), emaciated and cold, or stressed and held less than 24 hrs. Include an explanation in Remarks.

A condition of your banding permit allows you to salvage birds found dead, or killed as a result of normal banding operations for the purpose of donating them to a permitted public, scientific or educational institution authorized by permit to acquire and possess migratory bird specimens for scientific or educational purposes. Please select what you did with any birds found dead or that died as part of banding activities.

2.4 Report for Scientific permit for Non-Banding Scientific purposes

Provide the date, the location and the research activity conducted. Specify the number, common and scientific names of the species, as well as the specimen type involved in this project. Explain what happened to the birds, eggs and/or nests upon concluding your activity.

Fill in every cell for each row of the chart with accurate information. Provide any other relevant information or feedback that may not fit within the chart, including any encounters with non-target migratory bird species or species at risk.

If possible, provide preliminary results for projects to further contribute to CWS’ understanding of migratory birds.

2.5 Report for Scientific Permit for Rehabilitation purposes

Please indicate the date and the location of when and where the rehabilitation activity happened. Specify the number, as well as the common and scientific names of the species rehabilitated. Once the activity has been completed, describe the outcome including the specific number of birds euthanized.

Fill in every cell for each row of the chart with accurate information. Provide any other relevant information or feedback that may not fit within the chart, including any encounters species at risk.

Important: If you take any migratory birds that are listed on Schedule 1 of the federal Species at Risk Act as extirpated, endangered or threatened, you must inform your regional CWS office immediately.

2.6 Report for Scientific permit for Education purposes

Specify if the education operations included live migratory birds, non-living migratory bird specimens, eggs or nests. Select all options that are applicable.

Tell us the species’ name, specimen type, and when the specimens were received. If the specimen was received from another permit holder, indicate the name of the permit holder and their permit number. Provide a brief description of the educational activities conducted. Once the activity was completed, describe the outcome of the specimens.

Fill out the chart with accurate information. It is advisable to fill in every cell for each row. Provide any other relevant information or feedback that may not fit within the chart.

Part 3: Exchange, give or have possession of birds, eggs or nests – S.75(2)(e)

Please indicate the person to whom the permit holder is giving or receiving a bird, egg, or nest. Indicate the organization they belong to, if they do not belong to an organization, indicate N/A. Provide a valid MBRs permit number under which person is giving or receiving the bird, egg or nest. If there is no permit number, provide a method by which this person can be contacted. Provide common and scientific names of the species and write “SAR” if it is a species at risk. Indicate if the person is giving a bird to you or receiving a bird from you.

Part 4: Project report

Please complete this section if you are the principal investigator (PI) or permit holder and responsible for developing and/or submitting project descriptions, project proposals and detailed methodologies used for the activities on your permit. We will use this information to update collaborators’ permits with the appropriate authorizations.

We endeavor to maintain current Animal Care Committee (ACC) approvals on file for projects that involve auxiliary markers (other than standard metal bands and colour leg bands), collection of biological samples or other veterinary procedures. Please indicate if you have a valid Animal Care Approval for your project and the expiry date. Please attach a copy of your most recent Animal Use Protocol (AUP) and ACC approval or draft AUP for your project. See the CCAC website or consult with your institutional ACC for projects that require an AUP and ACC approval.

The project summary should include project objectives, the duration of the study, the study species, an estimate of the number of each species and each life stage that were marked or sampled. Include capture and biological sampling methods, any auxiliary markers used and any other activities. Provide a brief summary of the results from this project so far.

If you used auxiliary markers, collected biological samples or performed veterinary activities, please include any comments you may have on the effectiveness of the technique for the species and age class, recommendations for this technique for a species, the level of training required, etc.

List any recent or notable publications resulting from this project.

Please indicate whether you met your project objectives and whether or not the project will continue into the next year. Provide any additional comments you would like to share with us regarding this project.

Part 5: Signature of permit holder

Please sign, date and certify that all the information provided in the Scientific Permit Report and Renewal Form is correct and accurate. Failure to comply with the conditions set out in the scientific permit will result in suspension or cancellation of your scientific permit.