Lake Walcott, Minidoka National Wildlife Refuge
- Lake name:
- Lake Walcott, Minidoka National Wildlife Refuge
- Location:
- Idaho
- HydroLAKE ID:
- 9105
- GRanD ID:
- 413
- Latitude:
- 42.667609
- Longitude:
- -113.484084
- Surface area (km2):
- 30.5
- Basin type:
- reservoir
- Dam completion date:
- 1905
- Management agency:
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Bureau of Reclamation; Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation
- Lake use:
- irrigation hydroelectricity recreation
- Region associations:
- Minidoka NWR; Minidoka Complex; Snake River Plain; Lake Walcott State Park
- Comments:
- Third major breeding lake of Idaho though Ty Matthews observed courting adult grebes in 2018 to 2020 but no nesting occurred those years. Grebes nested at the lake again in 2021 and chicks were observed that summer. Water levels during the summer are considered relatively stable though wind events can cause a bathtub effect and generate high waves in certain parts of the lake (Matthews, T. pers. comm.).
Summary of Surveys (7)
Survey Citation:
Ty Matthews personal communication, 2021, 2022. Also Lachman, D. 2020. Behavioral and environmental factors affecting nest site selection and nest survival in a colonial nesting waterbird. Thesis, University of Idaho, Moscow, USA.
-
Type
boat; drone -
Time period
2020, 2022 -
Source
Personal communication (thesis) -
Both Western and Clarks?
Y
| Count Type | Range | Max | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Max Adults | 101 to 500 | 342 | 2020 |
| Most Recent Adults | 101 to 500 | presumably >100 | 2022 |
| Max Nests | 101 to 500 | ~200 | 2022 |
| Most Recent Nests | 101 to 500 | ~200 | 2022 |
| Max Chicks | 1 to 100 | 39 | 2021 |
| Most Recent Chicks | 1 to 100 | 24 | 2022 |
Comments:
Ty Matthews observed adult grebes courting in 2018 to 2020 but no nesting occurred those years. In 2022, he was not able to do a nest count with the drone but estimates ~200 nests across two different colonies.
Survey Citation:
Trost, C. H. 1985. Status and distribution of colonial nesting waterbirds in Idaho, 1985. 110.
-
Type
shore -
Time period
26 June 1984 -
Source
Report -
Both Western and Clarks?
N
| Count Type | Range | Max | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Max Adults | 101 to 500 | 146 | 1984 |
| Most Recent Adults | 101 to 500 | 146 | 1984 |
| Max Nests | 101 to 500 | 200 | 1984 |
| Most Recent Nests | 101 to 500 | 200 | 1984 |
| Max Chicks | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Most Recent Chicks | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Comments:
Source is this study. This is one of 4 colonies observed by Peterson (1977) cited in this report.
Survey Citation:
August 20 survey as historical data in Cavitt, J. F., S. L. Jones, N. M. Wilson, J. S Dieni, T. S. Zimmerman, R. H. Doster, and W. H. Howe. 2014. Atlas of breeding colonial waterbirds in the interior western United States. Research Report, U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Ser
-
Type
shore -
Time period
22 June 1993, 20 August 1993 -
Source
Report -
Both Western and Clarks?
N
| Count Type | Range | Max | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Max Adults | 101 to 500 | 101 | 1993 |
| Most Recent Adults | 101 to 500 | 101 | 1993 |
| Max Nests | 1 to 100 | 100 | 1993 |
| Most Recent Nests | 1 to 100 | 100 | 1993 |
| Max Chicks | 1 to 100 | >=3 | 1993 |
| Most Recent Chicks | 1 to 100 | >=3 | 1993 |
Comments:
Source (Trost) is this study. Chicks were observed July 22 (1 adult with chick) and August 20 (2 with chicks) but no exact #s so I entered as at least 3 chicks. I noted the Clark's proportions given for June 22 and August 20 in the Clark's entry for Minidoka NWR (next line). For Cavitt, the 60 nests are doubled for an estimate of # breeding birds and actual bird count as 103. It is 101 in Trost so I used that. The August 20, 1993 survey is also included in G. Ivey's ID Waterbird Atlas spreadsheet for his work with Region 1 - Non Game. In Ivey's spreadsheet, the median number for range of nests is reported as 80 and estimated # of breeding birds at 160 (conversion factor of nests by 2).
Survey Citation:
August 20 survey is historical data in Cavitt, J. F., S. L. Jones, N. M. Wilson, J. S Dieni, T. S. Zimmerman, R. H. Doster, and W. H. Howe. 2014. Atlas of breeding colonial waterbirds in the interior western United States. Research Report, U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Ser
-
Type
shore -
Time period
22 June 1993, 20 August 1993 -
Source
Report -
Both Western and Clarks?
N
| Count Type | Range | Max | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Max Adults | 1 to 100 | >=50 | 1993 |
| Most Recent Adults | 1 to 100 | >=50 | 1993 |
| Max Nests | 1 to 100 | 50 | 1993 |
| Most Recent Nests | 1 to 100 | 50 | 1993 |
| Max Chicks | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Most Recent Chicks | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Comments:
Source (Trost) is this study. The survey dates with Clark's observed (June 22, July 5, July 22, August 20) where they're proportioned (33%, 6%, 3%, 37% respectively) out of the total doesn't add up to what's in the Western's table for the first 3 dates so I used the count # for Clark's in its own entry. The August 20 total count # and proportion of Clark's (37%) matches up with Western's count #. Cavitt doubles nest # of 35 to estimate # of breeding birds and says actual bird count is 50. I used >=50 as stated in Trost. Also, the August 20, 1993 survey is also included in G. Ivey's ID Waterbird Atlas spreadsheet for his work with Region 1 - Non Game. In Ivey's spreadsheet, the median number for range of nests is reported as 43 and estimated # of breeding birds at 86 (conversion factor of nests by 2).
Survey Citation:
Cavitt, J. F., S. L. Jones, N. M. Wilson, J. S Dieni, T. S. Zimmerman, R. H. Doster, and W. H. Howe. 2014. Atlas of breeding colonial waterbirds in the interior western United States. Research Report, U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Ser
-
Type
shore -
Time period
1 July 2010 -
Source
Summary -
Both Western and Clarks?
N
| Count Type | Range | Max | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Max Adults | 1 to 100 | 8 | 2010 |
| Most Recent Adults | 1 to 100 | 8 | 2010 |
| 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:
Bonanza Bar. Direct count of nonbreeding birds. Conducted as part of Western Colonial Waterbird Survey (WCWS), a breeding survey of 18 species from May to July 2009 to 2011, resulting in this Atlas.
Survey Citation:
Ivey, G.L., and C.P. Herziger. 2006. Intermountain west waterbird conservation plan, version 1.2. A plan associated with the Waterbird Conservation for the Americas Initiative. Published by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Pacific Region, Portland, Oregon.
-
Time period
1990s, 2004 -
Source
Conservation Plan -
Both Western and Clarks?
N
| Count Type | Range | Max | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Max Adults | 501 to 1000 | 534 | 1990s-2004 |
| Most Recent Adults | 501 to 1000 | 534 | 1990s-2004 |
| Max Nests | 101 to 500 | 267 | 1990s-2004 |
| Most Recent Nests | 101 to 500 | 267 | 1990s-2004 |
| Max Chicks | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Most Recent Chicks | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Comments:
Appendix D, Table D-2, data is from 1990s to 2004 but no specific date nor year is given for this: 267 nests, 534 area population estimate (nests x 2), population data source is S. Bouffard personal communication.
Survey Citation:
Ivey, G.L., and C.P. Herziger. 2006. Intermountain west waterbird conservation plan, version 1.2. A plan associated with the Waterbird Conservation for the Americas Initiative. Published by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Pacific Region, Portland, Oregon.
-
Time period
1990s, 2004 -
Source
Conservation Plan -
Both Western and Clarks?
N
| Count Type | Range | Max | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Max Adults | 101 to 500 | 266 | 1990s-2004 |
| Most Recent Adults | 101 to 500 | 266 | 1990s-2004 |
| Max Nests | 101 to 500 | 133 | 1990s-2004 |
| Most Recent Nests | 101 to 500 | 133 | 1990s-2004 |
| Max Chicks | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Most Recent Chicks | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Comments:
Appendix D, Table D-2, data is from 1990s to 2004 but no specific date nor year is given for this: 133 nests, 266 area population estimate (nests x 2), population data source is S. Bouffard personal communication.
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.; Lehner, B., C. Reidy Liermann, C. Revenga, C. Vorosmarty, B. Fekete, P. Crouzet, P. Doll, M. Endejan, K. Frenken, J. Magome, C. Nilsson, J.C. Robertson, R. Rodel, N. Sindorf, and D. Wisser. 2011. Global Reservoir and Dam Database, Version 1 (GRanDv1): Dams, Revision 01. Palisades, New York: NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC).
- Lehner, B., C. Reidy Liermann, C. Revenga, C. Vorosmarty, B. Fekete, P. Crouzet, P. Doll, M. Endejan, K. Frenken, J. Magome, C. Nilsson, J.C. Robertson, R. Rodel, N. Sindorf, and D. Wisser. 2011. Global Reservoir and Dam Database, Version 1 (GRanDv1): Dams, Revision 01. Palisades, New York: NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC).
- Minidoka National Wildlife Refuge
- Minidoka National Wildlife Refuge Recreation
- Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) for Lake Earl
- Explore Important Bird Areas (IBA) Interactive Map
- Lake Walcott Water Data
- Minidoka Dam Spillway Replacement Draft EIS
- Upper Snake River Subbasin Draft Summary
- Lake Walcott State Park