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Noteworthy observations of Western Grebe in North America

British Columbia

Status:  Breeding:  Local breeder east of the Coast/Cascade Mountains.  Non-breeding:  Winters locally in south coastal BC.  Sometimes abundant.  Boundary Bay is an important moult site.  Several thousand Western Grebes use the area each fall.  Population Numbers:  A rough guess at total BC breeding population is about 200-500 pairs.  Perhaps 3,000-10,000 individuals winter in BC.  During migration, as many as 50,000 may pass through the province.  Population Trends:  Breeding population fluctuates greatly.  Susceptible to water level changes and disturbance from watercraft.

Date

Sources

Location

Number

Notes

April 29, 2002

Charlesworth 2002

Kelowna

4000-5000

Okanagan Lake off Maude Roxby Sanctuary (Chris Charlesworth).

March 24, 1989

Campbell et al. 1990

Georgia Strait

11,000

Between Denman Island and French Creek (P.W. Martin).

September 14, 1988

Campbell et al. 1990

Delta

4

Pair of adults with 2 less than half grown young in a marsh near Reifel Island.  What is believed to have been the same family group was present there October 2.  Extralimital breeding record.

May 5, 1981

Campbell et al. 1990

Nakusp

5,000

-

October 13, 1976

Campbell et al. 1990

Oyster Bay

8,000+

-

March 5, 1976

Campbell et al. 1990

Broken Group

2,000

-

October 20, 1975

Campbell et al. 1990

Campbell River

9,045

-

December 21, 1969

Monroe 1973

Vancouver CBC

15,450

All-time North American high count.

Click HERE for the British Columbia database of Western Grebe records.  It includes many more noteworthy observations for the province.

North American Bird Information Web Site