Des Lacs National Wildlife Refuge
- Lake name:
- Des Lacs National Wildlife Refuge
- Location:
- North Dakota
- Latitude:
- 48.670425
- Longitude:
- -102.092076
- Basin type:
- both
- Management agency:
- U.S Fish and Wildlife Service
- Region associations:
- Des Lacs River; Souris River Basin
- Comments:
- Actual breeding lake location unknown. This NWR is a complex of managed and natural wetlands and marshes that stretch along the Souris River basin. Coordinates are for Middle Des Lacs Lake which is the closest biggest lake/reservoir.
Summary of Surveys (3)
Survey Citation:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/birding-escapes-des-lacs-national-wildlife-refuge-north-dakota/
-
Time period
N/A -
Source
Website -
Both Western and Clarks?
N
| Count Type | Range | Max | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Max Adults | 1 to 100 | possible | ? |
| Most Recent Adults | 1 to 100 | possible | ? |
| Max Nests | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Most Recent Nests | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Max Chicks | 1 to 100 | possible | ? |
| Most Recent Chicks | 1 to 100 | possible | ? |
Comments:
Anecdotal, no literature documentation that I can find, just mentioned on the Cornell Lab's All About Birds website profile on Des Lacs NWR that this is where one can see five grebe species nesting, including Western. This fun fact is then repeated on other websites.
Survey Citation:
Stewart, R. E. (1975). Breeding birds of North Dakota. Tri-College Center for Environmental Studies.
-
Time period
1960, 1965 -
Source
Book -
Both Western and Clarks?
N
| Count Type | Range | Max | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Max Adults | 1 to 100 | ~43-130 | 1965 |
| Most Recent Adults | 101 to 500 | 86-260 | 1965 |
| Max Nests | 1 to 100 | 60 | 1964 |
| Most Recent Nests | 1 to 100 | 60 | 1964 |
| Max Chicks | 101 to 500 | 130 | 1965 |
| Most Recent Chicks | 101 to 500 | 130 | 1965 |
Comments:
These are the only numbers reported as one of the larger colonies on record in the state. A range of 1 to 3 chicks is estimated for the 50 broods in 1960 (H. L. Bradley). For 1965, 130 chicks observed (H. L. Bradley) but no adult numbers. Adults estimated here as 43 to 130 pairs (assuming 1 to 3 chicks per pair) and multiplying by 2 for 86 to 260 adults.
Survey Citation:
Martin, R. 2022. Pers. comm., Martin, R. 2023. Pers. comm.
-
Time period
2018, 2022 -
Source
Personal communication -
Both Western and Clarks?
N
| Count Type | Range | Max | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Max Adults | 1 to 100 | presence | 2018-2022 |
| Most Recent Adults | 1 to 100 | presence | 2022 |
| Max Nests | 1 to 100 | presence | 2018-2022 |
| Most Recent Nests | 1 to 100 | presence | 2022 |
| Max Chicks | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Most Recent Chicks | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Comments:
Western grebes are and have been nesting at this lake in recent years, according to Ron Martin (2023). No specific years provided so estimated the range of 2018 to 2022 as active breeding lake though it could have supported nesting prior to this range. Martin (2023) states that water levels rose in the last 20 years and many lakes had a lack of grebes in the 80s and early 90s.