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Okanagan Lake

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Lake name:
Okanagan Lake
Location:
British Columbia
HydroLAKE ID:
695
Latitude:
49.502946
Longitude:
-119.609375
Surface area (km2):
348.6
Basin type:
non-reservoir
Primary vegetation for nesting:
cattail
Management agency:
Okanagan Indian Band
Comments:
A deep lake surrounded by several communities and industries such as agriculture, forestry, and tourism.

Summary of Surveys (5)

Survey Citation:
Forbes, L. S. 1988. Western grebe nesting in British Columbia. The Murrelet. 28-33.

  • Time period
    1978
  • Source
    Notes
  • Both Western and Clarks?
    N
Count Type Range Max Year
Max Adults 1 to 100 presence 1978
Most Recent Adults 1 to 100 presence 1978
Max Nests 1 to 100 22 1978
Most Recent Nests 1 to 100 22 1978
Max Chicks N/A N/A N/A
Most Recent Chicks N/A N/A N/A

Comments:

Forbes sourced historical data for 1978 from R. J. Cannings (pers. comm.) for Table 1.

Survey Citation:
First one cites the second one. British Columbia Ministry of Environment, Lands, and Parks. 1998. Inventory methods for colonial-nesting freshwater birds : eared grebe, red-necked grebe, western grebe, American white pelican, and great blue heron. Version 2.0, no. 8. Terrestrial Ecosystems Task Force, Resources Inventory Committee. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.; Campbell, R.W., N.K. Dawe, I. McTaggart-Cowan, J.M. Cooper, G.W. Kaiser, and M.C.E. McNall. 1990. The birds of British Columbia - Loons through waterfowl. Royal British Columbia Museum, Victoria and Canadian Wildlife Service, Delta. 514 pp.

  • Time period
    1977, 1986
  • Source
    Book
  • Both Western and Clarks?
    N
Count Type Range Max Year
Max Adults 1 to 100 36 1977
Most Recent Adults 1 to 100 36 1977
Max Nests 1 to 100 83 1986
Most Recent Nests 1 to 100 83 1986
Max Chicks N/A N/A N/A
Most Recent Chicks N/A N/A N/A

Comments:

Campbell et al. (1990) is the source data for Table 1 (location and maximum counts of nesting colonies in British Columbia, Canada) of the B.C. Ministry of Environment manual. Campbell et al. (1990) sources are from British Columbia Nest Records Scheme.

Survey Citation:
Blood, D. A., and F. Backhouse. 1999. Western grebe, low breeding numbers and threats to their nesting colonies put these birds at risk. Wildlife at risk in British Columbia. Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks. Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

  • Time period
    N/A
  • Source
    Brochure
  • Both Western and Clarks?
    N
Count Type Range Max Year
Max Adults 1 to 100 80 1990s
Most Recent Adults 1 to 100 80 1990s
Max Nests N/A N/A N/A
Most Recent Nests N/A N/A N/A
Max Chicks N/A N/A N/A
Most Recent Chicks N/A N/A N/A

Comments:

One of 3 existing colonies as of publication year. At Okanagan Lake, 40 pairs breeding there in "recent years" (assuming the 1990s based on publication year).

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.

  • Time period
    1971, 1995
  • Source
    Report
  • Both Western and Clarks?
    N
Count Type Range Max Year
Max Adults 1 to 100 37 1995
Most Recent Adults 1 to 100 5 1979
Max Nests 1 to 100 83 1986
Most Recent Nests 1 to 100 83 1986
Max Chicks 1 to 100 37 1993
Most Recent Chicks 1 to 100 5 1995

Comments:

Regular breeding in the 1990s. Difficult to view colony for surveying so these might be minimum estimates. In 1990, this was most productive grebe colony in BC. Not enough data to assess population trends nor nest success here and is also the most neglected grebe colony in BC and needs more study and protection. Combined Table 2 and Table 7 (June through August numbers only, not including increases in August due to possible migration stopover) data with some incomplete survey data. Survey years from 1971 to 1995 with some skipped years. Sources are BCNRS (B. C. Nest Record Scheme of the Royal B. C. Museum), SRC (Sight Record Cards of the Royal B. C. Museum, and unpublished data from A.E. Burger and C. Siddle.

Survey Citation:
COSEWIC. 2014. COSEWIC assessment and status report on the western grebe (Aechmophorus occidentalis) in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. 55 pp. www.registrelep-sararegistry.gc.ca/default_e.cfm

  • Time period
    1970, 2011
  • Source
    Report
  • Both Western and Clarks?
    N
Count Type Range Max Year
Max Adults 1 to 100 95 1991-2011
Most Recent Adults 1 to 100 ? 2011
Max Nests 1 to 100 83 1970-1990
Most Recent Nests N/A ? 1990
Max Chicks N/A N/A N/A
Most Recent Chicks N/A N/A N/A

Comments:

From Table A.1, maximum counts of Western grebes (which may include non-breeding adults) at breeding lakes in B.C. from June to August (Burger 1997, Anderson et al. 2011). Stated as 20 year chunks: 1970 - 1990 and 1991 - 2011 without breaking those down into years or other details.

Sources of Information

  • Messager, M. L., B. Lehner, G. Grill, I. Nedeva, and O. Schmitt. 2016. Estimating the volume and age of water stored in global lakes using a geo-statistical approach. Nature Communications 7:13603. Data is available at www.hydrosheds.org.; 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., British Columbia. Ministry of Environment, Lands, and Parks. Resources Inventory Branch, & Resources Inventory Committee (Canada). Terrestrial Ecosystems Task Force. (1998). Inventory methods for colonial-nesting freshwater birds : eared grebe, red-necked grebe, western grebe, american white pelican, and great blue heron (Version 2.0, Ser. Standards for components of british columbia's biodiversity, no. 8). Ministry of Environment, Lands, and Parks, Resources Inventory Branch for the Terrestrial Ecosystems Task Force, Resources Inventory Committee.; Campbell, R. W., Dawe, N. K., McTaggart-Cowan, I., Cooper, J., Kaiser, G. W., McNall, M., & Campbell, R. W. C. W. S. (1992). Nonpasserines : Introduction, loons through waterfowl. UBC Press.
  • 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., British Columbia. Ministry of Environment, Lands, and Parks. Resources Inventory Branch, &
  • Resources Inventory Committee (Canada). Terrestrial Ecosystems Task Force. (1998). Inventory methods for colonial-nesting freshwater birds : eared grebe, red-necked grebe, western grebe, american white pelican, and great blue heron (Version 2.0, Ser. Standards for components of british columbia's biodiversity, no. 8). Ministry of Environment, Lands, and Parks, Resources Inventory Branch for the Terrestrial Ecosystems Task Force, Resources Inventory Committee.
  • Campbell, R. W., Dawe, N. K., McTaggart-Cowan, I., Cooper, J., Kaiser, G. W., McNall, M., & Campbell, R. W. C. W. S. (1992). Nonpasserines : Introduction, loons through waterfowl. UBC Press.
  • World Lake Database
  • Okanagan Indian Band
  • Okanagan Lake Food Web
  • Canadian Geographical Names Database (CGNDB)
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