BC Conservation Data Centre: Conservation Status Report
Podiceps nigricollis
Eared Grebe
| Scientific Name: | Podiceps nigricollis |
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| English Name: | Eared Grebe |
| Provincial Status Summary | |
| Status: | S3B |
| Date Status Assigned: | April 23, 2015 |
| Date Last Reviewed: | March 05, 2015 |
| Reasons: | Breeding pairs are concentrated in a very few colonies. There are concerns regarding trampling of nesting areas in shallow water, and leaching of agricultural contaminants on prey base, especially in the northeast. |
| Range | |
| Range Extent: | G = 200,000-2,500,000 square km |
| Range Extent Estimate (km2): | 328,488 |
| Range Extent Comments: | Fairly widespread in southern interior and Peace Lowlands. Provincial breeding range: 328,488 km2 (NatureServe 3.0 Digital Range Maps). An outlier located near Fort Nelson Region as indicated in the possible occurence in the British Columbia Breeding Bird Atlas. |
| Occurrences & Population | |
| Number of Occurrences: | B = 6 - 20 |
| Comments: |
<20 known breeding colonies in the province (Breault pers comm 2015). Fifteen colonies with more than 50 pairs each are known (Breault et al. 1988), but there are many additional, smaller colonies. |
| Number of Occurrences with Good Viability / Ecological Integrity: | Rank Factor not assessed |
| Number of Occurrences Appropriately Protected & Managed: | BC = 1 - 12 |
| Population Size: | EF = 2,500 - 100,000 individuals |
| Comments: | Fifteen largest colonies support about 10,000 birds (Campbell et al. 1990a). Total population size unknown, however there is an estimate of 10,000-20,000 breeding pairs in the province (Cullen et al. 1999 - The Birds of North American Online).. Small numbers winter in province. |
| Threats (to population, occurrences, or area affected) | |
| Degree of Threat: | Rank Factor not assessed |
| Comments: | Draining of wetlands and human disturbance at colonies are major potential threats. Subject to disturbance on breeding grounds and colonies primarly are boom or fail at the same time (Breault pers comm 2015). |
| Trend (in population, range, area occupied, and/or condition of occurrences) | |
| Short-Term Trend: | G = Relatively Stable (<=10% change) |
| Comments: |
Data are lacking because of incomplete surveys, but thought to be stable. "72% decline since 1970 Reason(s) for decline uncertain." - Trevor Jones "State of British Columbia's Birds, 2012, West Coast and Mountains Section". This was calculated by converting the average per annum decline (3.1%) to the cumulative decline since 1970 (72%) (T. Jones pers. comm. 2016). |
| Long-Term Trend: | Rank Factor not assessed |
| Other Factors | |
| Intrinsic Vulnerability: | Rank Factor not assessed |
| Environmental Specificity: | Rank Factor not assessed |
| Other Rank Considerations: | Species will readily colonize newly-created habitat (J.M. Cooper, unpubl. data). |
| Information Gaps | |
| Research Needs: | |
| Inventory Needs: | Inventory major colonies periodically. |
| Stewardship | |
| Protection: | Protect major colony sites. |
| Management: | Document sucess of habitat enhancement and the creation of new breeding habitat. Develop wetland management plan. Study breeding biology and fidelity to colonies and movements between colonies. |
| Version | |
| Author: | Ramsay, L.R. and B. Niedzielski |
| Date: | February 04, 2015 |
| References | |
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Audubon Society. 2024b. Historical Christmas Bird Count Results.
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Badzinski, S.S. 2003. Evaluation of the British Columbia Coastal Waterbird Survey. Bird Studies Canada. Port Rowan. 62 pp.
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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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Boyd, W.S., N. Clyde, A. Breault, et al. 2021. Abundance, distribution and migration patterns of North American Eared Grebes (Podiceps nigricollis). Waterbirds 44(1): 76-85.
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Breault, A.M., K.M. Cheng, and J.-P.L. Savard. 1988. Distribution and abundance of Eared Grebes (PODICEPS NIGRICOLLIS) in British Columbia. Can. Wildl. Ser. Tech. Rep. Series No. 51 Delta, BC. 87pp.
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Campbell, R.W., N.K. Dawe, I.McT. Cowan, J.M. Cooper, G. Kaiser, and M.C.E. McNall. 1990. The Birds of British Columbia, Vol. 1. Nonpasserines: Introduction, Loons through Waterfowl. Royal B.C. Mus. in association with Environ. Can., Can. Wildl. Serv. 514pp.
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Cullen, S. A., J. R. Jehl Jr., and G. L. Nuechterlein. 2020. Eared Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (S. M. Billerman, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA.
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Ethier, D. et al. 2020. Twenty years of coastal waterbird trends suggest regional patterns of environmental pressure in British Columbia, Canada. Avian Conservation and Ecology 15:20. https://doi.org/10.5751/ACE-01711-150220
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Howie, R. 2015c. Eared Grebe 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.
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Jehl, Jr., J. R. 1997. Cyclical changes in body composition in the annual cycle and migration of the Eared Grebe Podiceps nigricollis. Journal of Avian Biology 28:132-142
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Meehan, T.D., G.S. LeBaron, K. Dale, et al. 2022. Trends in relative abundance for birds wintering in the continental USA and Canada: Audubon Christmas Bird Counts, 1966-2021, version 4.0. National Audubon Society, New York, New York, USA.
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Smith, A.C., Hudson, M-A.R. Aponte, V.I.,, et al. 2023. North American Breeding Bird Survey - Canadian Trends Website, Data-version 2021. Environment and Climate Change Canada, Gatineau, Quebec, K1A 0H3
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Wurtsbaugh, W.A. and S. Sima. 2022. Contrasting Management and Fates of Two Sister Lakes: Great Salt Lake (USA) and Lake Urmia (Iran). Water 14: 3005.
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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. 2015. Conservation Status Report: Podiceps nigricollis. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Jun 10, 2026).