BC Conservation Data Centre: Conservation Status Report
Recurvirostra americana
American Avocet
| Scientific Name: | Recurvirostra americana |
|---|---|
| English Name: | American Avocet |
| Provincial Status Summary | |
| Status: | S2S3B |
| Date Status Assigned: | January 02, 2013 |
| Date Last Reviewed: | April 27, 2023 |
| Reasons: | Small, but expanding population, with immediate threats to the most consistently used breeding site. Many of the breeding sites are transitory. |
| Range | |
| Range Extent: | F = 20,000-200,000 square km |
| Range Extent Estimate (km2): | 180,988 square km |
| Range Extent Comments: |
Breeding: The range extent is approximately 181,000 square km based on confirmed breeding sites 2002 to 2022 (Burger 2015; eBird records to Dec 2022; M. Phinney pers.comm.). Breeding is locally distributed in the Thompson - Okanagan, the Cariboo ,the West Kootenays (Burger 2015) and the Peace River Lowlands (Phinney pers. comm). Two historical breeding records from Serpentine Fen in the Lower Fraser Valley are outside the current range extent as there are no recent breeding records from that area. Breeding sites are inconsistent from one year to the next. Alki Lake near Kelowna is the most consistently used breeding site in the Province, but it is under threat from development as a landfill site and rising water levels (Gyug and Weir 2017a,b). Nonbreeding: There are numerous records of migrating birds at low elevation wetlands throughout the southern third of the province and, less frequently in the Peace lowlands and the geographic extent and number of migrating birds appears to be increasing. |
| Area of Occupancy (km2): | U = Unknown |
| Linear Distance of Occupancy: | U = Unknown |
| Occurrences & Population | |
| Number of Occurrences: | BC = 6 - 80 |
| Comments: | There were ten confirmed or probable breeding sites and one possible found during the five year (2008-2012) Breeding Bird Atlas effort (Burger 2015). Apparently suitable habitat is scattered throughout in the south-central interior and recent confirmed breeding in the Peace River lowlands (Burger 2015; M. Phinney pers comm) suggesting other breeding sites remain to be discovered. The BC Conservation Data Centre has 18 occurrences mapped but additional nest sites have been found and as the species continues to spread north into less well covered areas of the province there are likely additional overlooked occurrences. |
| Number of Occurrences with Good Viability / Ecological Integrity: | Rank Factor not assessed |
| Number of Occurrences Appropriately Protected & Managed: | A = None |
| Population Size: | BC = 50 - 1,000 individuals |
| Comments: |
Most of the breeding population is concentrated at Alki Lake where an estimated 19 pairs nested in 1997 (Weir 1997) (though only up to 10 nests were found here during the BC Breeding Bird Atlas [Burger 2015]). In addition, a few other pairs breed sporadically at various scattered sites in the dry interior each year. There is a peak in abundance of from mid April to mid May in the province (eBird data), indicating many more birds passing into B.C. at the beginning of the breeding season than currently have been documented nesting. If these passage birds are moving north and breeding in the province then the current estimates of the number of avocets nesting in BC may be too low, but they may also represent nonbreeding individuals or birds that return to breeding locations outside of the province. |
| Threats (to population, occurrences, or area affected) | |
| Degree of Threat: | BC = High - medium |
| Comments: | The major breeding site at Alki Lake is part of an active land-fill owned and operated by the City of Kelowna. This wetland risks is buried in a landfill operation and influenced by fluctuating water levels (Gyug and Weir 2017b). The sewage lagoon at Fort St. John has had successful breeding in at least two years (Phinney pers. comm.) but there are obvious water quality issues associated with that site. Opportunities to mitigate impact on breeding avocets may be minimal and rely on ex situ mitigations. Other ephemeral breeding sites are generally less threatened, but loss of breeding habitats to alteration or destruction of wetlands is of concern. Many nests are susceptible to trampling by cattle. |
| Trend (in population, range, area occupied, and/or condition of occurrences) | |
| Short-Term Trend: | H = Increase of 10-25% |
| Comments: | Generation time is estimated at 4.55 years (Bird et al. 2020) and three generation time equals 13.65 years. There is one area where breeding occurs nearly annually and others where the breeding is intermittent. The range has continued to increase (Burger 2015; eBird records accessed Dec. 2022) and the number of avocets being seen in British Columbia continues to increase. There has been a decline at the Alki Lake site with peak breeding occurring there in the 1990s. |
| Long-Term Trend: | I = Increase of >25% |
| Comments: | Prior to the 1960s, the American Avocet was considered an infrequent visitor. The American Avocet was first recorded in British Columbia, at Okanagan Landing, on 28 April 1908 (Brooks 1909) with only a small number of records in the province until the 1960s when there was an increase in the number of records being reported (Campbell et al. 1990). The first documented breeding in the province was from Duck Lake in the Creston Valley in 1968 (Campbell 1972). In 1987, the species was found breeding at Beresford Lake (Kamloops) and Alki Lake (Kelowna) (Gebauer 2000). Breeding was discovered at Serpentine Fen in Surrey in 1988 and 1989, though this occurrence has not persisted. Since that time the American Avocet has expanded its breeding range northward in the southern interior of British Columbia to include Rush Lake (4.5 km east of Chapperon Lake), White Lake (16.7 km west of Douglas Lake), Beaver Ranch Flats (Guichon Creek), Roundup Lake (Riske Creek) in 2005 (Ranson 2006). Beecher Prairie near Riske Creek continues to have sporadic sightings and there likely is breeding in that area. The breeding range has also increased with confirmed and probable breeding sites around Fort St. John in the Peace River lowlands (Burger 2015, M. Phinney pers. comm, and eBird records accessed in 2022). The overall North American trend for breeding seasons 2007-2021 is for the species to be increasing in the northern part of its range (including British Columbia) and decreasing in the southern part of the range in the United States and Mexico (Fink et al. 2022). Ackerman (2020) summarizes the longer term historical changes (both contractions and expansions) in the range of this species North America. |
| Other Factors | |
| Intrinsic Vulnerability: | Rank Factor not assessed |
| Environmental Specificity: | Rank Factor not assessed |
| Other Rank Considerations: | |
| Information Gaps | |
| Research Needs: | |
| Inventory Needs: | Using standardized methods (Resour.Inventory Comm. 1997, ser. #14), survey suitable alkaline wetlands in the dry interior to determine range, population size, and breeding status. Alki Lake may not be the only regular breeding site. Interview ranchers and local naturalists in the south-central interior for knowledge of occurrence during the breeding season. |
| Stewardship | |
| Protection: | |
| Management: | Regular breeding sites need to be protected as they become established. Mitigation for the draining and in-filling the major breeding site at Alki Lake should be explored. A wetland management and education program aimed at landowners should be developed and implemented. Trends in population and distribution should be monitored in adjacent range jurisdictions. Determine habitat attributes necessary for successful breeding and foraging within its range in British Columbia. |
| Version | |
| Author: | Fraser, D.F.(2022), Ramsay, L. and S. Cannings (2012) |
| Date: | December 16, 2022 |
| References | |
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Gyug, L.W. and J.T. Weir 2017. American Avocet and Black-necked Stilt breeding status and population trends at Kelowna, British Columbia, 1997-2015. British Columbia Birds 27:2-12 |
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Gyug, L.W. and J.T. Weir. 2017b. American Avocet breeding habitat, behaviour and use of nesting platforms at Kelowna, British Columbia. British Columbia Birds 27:13?29. |
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Ackerman, J. T., C. A. Hartman, M. P. Herzog, et al. 2020. American Avocet (Recurvirostra americana), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (A. F. Poole, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA.
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Bird, J., R. Martin, H.R. Akçakaya, et al. 2020. Generation lengths of the world?s birds and their implications for extinction risk. Conservation Biology 34:1252?1261.
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Brooks, A. 1909b. Some notes on the birds of Okanagan, British Columbia. Auk 26:60-63.
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Burger, A.E. 2015. American Avocet in Davidson, P.J.A., R.J. Cannings, A.R. Couturier, D. Lepage, and C.M. Di Corrado (eds.). The Atlas of the Breeding Birds of British Columbia, 2008-2012. Bird Studies Canada. Delta, B.C. Accessed December 2022 http://www.birdatlas.bc.ca/accounts/speciesaccount.jsp?sp=AMAV&lang=en
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Campbell, R.W. 1972. The American avocet (Recurvirostra americana) in British Columbia (1908-1970). Syesis 5: 173-178.
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Campbell, R.W., N.K. Dawe, I. McTaggart-Cowan, et al. 1990b. The Birds of British Columbia Vol. 2: Nonpasserines: Diurnal Birds of Prey through Woodpeckers. Royal British Columbia Museum, Victoria, BC.
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Fink, D., T. Auer, A. Johnston, et al. 2021. eBird Status and Trends, Data Version: 2020; Released: 2021. Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. https://doi.org/10.2173/ebirdst.2020
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Gebauer, M.B. 2000. Status of the American Avocet in British Columbia. B.C. Minist. Environ., Lands and Parks, Wildl. Branch. Working rep. WR-98. 34pp.
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Ranson, P. 2006. American Avocet Breeding at Bechers Prairie near Riske Creek, British Columbia in 2005 and 2006. Wildlife Afield. 4(1):3-5.
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Weir, J. 1997. Great birding at Avocet Marsh. BC Birding 7(3):16-18.
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Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for information on how the CDC determines conservation status ranks. For global conservation status reports and ranks, please visit the NatureServe website http://www.natureserve.org/.
Suggested Citation:
B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 2022. Conservation Status Report: Recurvirostra americana. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Mar 28, 2025).