Syncrude Canada Ltd. requested that a study of ornithological research be conducted on and near Crown Lease 17, northeastern Alberta, where its bitumen mining, extraction and upgrading plant is in operation. The overall objectives of this study were to (1) determine the abundance and diversity of terrestrial breeding birds present in the principal natural vegetation types previously identified in the western part of Crown Lease 17 and in previously cleared areas that have since been revegetated, and (2) conduct waterbird inventories on the major waterbodies on and near Lease 17, similar to those conducted prior to and during construction of the plant, and to determine what changes, if any, have occurred in the distribution and numbers of waterbirds in the region since the inception of the development.