Pigeon Guillemots breed along the Pacific coast from Alaska to California. Despite being a common sight in inshore waters, they are difficult to census accurately so few reliable monitoring data are available. Results from the Christmas Bird Count suggest that the overwintering population is increasing continentally. Recent counts in southern British Columbia also suggest large increases in that region. The population has likely increased in Canada, but the reliability of this assessment is considered low. Pigeon Guillemots face threats related to oil pollution, predation, and fisheries bycatch, but the effects are difficult to assess given the uncertainty in the species’ population status. This species has been identified as a priority for conservation and/or stewardship in one or more Bird Conservation Region Strategies in Canada.
Pigeon Guillemot populations are at risk from chronic and accidental oil pollution; the Exxon Valdez spill, for example, is believed to have contributed to population declines in Alaska (Ewins 1993, Bixler 2010). Like many Pacific seabirds, Pigeon Guillemots are susceptible to predation when mammalian predators are introduced to island nesting sites. The species is also regularly entangled in gillnets used by inshore fisheries.
Environment and Climate Change Canada and partners have developed Bird Conservation Region Strategies in each of Canada’s Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs). In these strategies, selected species are identified as priorities for one or more of the following reasons:
Select any of the sub-regions below to view the BCR strategy for additional details.
