Leach Lake, Creston Valley WMA (CVWMA)

Survey Citation:
Creston Valley Wildlife Management Area. 2023. Unpublished datta.

• Type
  shore
• Time period
  1990, 27 August 2020
• Source
  Database
• Both Western and Clarks?
  N

Count Type	Range	Max	Year
Max Adults	1 to 100	37	2011
Most Recent Adults	0	0	2020
Max Nests	1 to 100	3	2010
Most Recent Nests	0	0	2020
Max Chicks	1 to 100	16	2010
Most Recent Chicks	0	0	1991

Comments:

Database forwarded from Marc-Andre Beaucher, Head of Conservation Programs, Creston Valley Wildlife Management Area (CVWMA) includes Western grebe survey data from 1968 to 2022 of Duck Lake, Kootenay Lake, Leach Lake and CVWMA in general. Surveys from 1968 through 2003 are limited in survey data and are once or twice during the breeding season. Surveys from 2004 through 2022 have more details and are more frequent throughout the breeding season, ranging from once to weekly or almost regularly depending on the year. Some surveys extended beyond the breeding range so data culled for this inventory is restricted to approximately mid-May through August. Survey comments often stated that nests and chicks were not mentioned unless there were count numbers for those. If surveys were conducted mid to late breeding season, I assumed nests and chicks were surveyed for but not found if those columns were zero. Conversely, zero for an adult count number at a lake did not necessarily signify zero adults were found. Refer to time surveyed per lake in a given year to see if that lake was surveyed at all, or in the survey dates of that year. Maximum count numbers for that breeding season for that lake was used for this summary.

Survey Citation:
Burger, A. E. 1997. Status of the Western Grebe in British Columbia. Wildlife Working Report WR-87, Wildlife Branch, Ministry of the Environment, Lands and Parks, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

• Type
  air
• Time period
  1990
• Source
  Report
• Both Western and Clarks?
  N

Count Type	Range	Max	Year
Max Adults	1 to 100	2	1990
Most Recent Adults	1 to 100	2	1990
Max Nests	0	0	1990
Most Recent Nests	0	0	1990
Max Chicks	1 to 100	2	1990
Most Recent Chicks	1 to 100	2	1990

Comments:

There was rare breeding on this lake with records from only 1 or 2 years. Only one pair with a brood in 1990 (A.E. Burger and R. Dooley, unpubl. data) and Table 1 reports two records of single broods (no size numbers) in 1990 and 1991. Zero nests noted in Table 2 though there was a brood of 2 chicks. Leach Lake has 2% of the grebes of the CVWMA complex. Considered the most protected nesting sites in B.C. due to the Creston Valley Wildlife Act. Western grebe research was high priority for the CVWMA but the federal government withdrew funding and no work continued on the grebes since 1990. Infestation of milfoil weed limits open water for foraging. The cause(s) of low breeding success of grebes remains unknown.