Population status

American Avocet
(Recurvirostra americana)

In the 1800s, the species bred as far north as Great Slave Lake, Northwest Territories, and east to the Atlantic coast of the United States (Ackerman et al. 2013). Its regular breeding range is now much restricted by comparison, and in Canada, is limited to wetlands and alkaline lakes in southern British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and southwestern Manitoba. Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) coverage of these areas is good and this conspicuous species is well monitored by the survey. Results from the BBS suggest that, though the population has fluctuated over the years, there has been little overall change since 1970.

Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) - Canadian analysis

Additional information on: Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) - Canadian analysis

References

• Ackerman, J.T., C.A. Hartman, M.P. Herzog, J.Y. Takekawa, J.A. Robinson, L.W. Oring, J.P. Skorupa, and R. Boettcher. 2013. American Avocet (Recurvirostra americana), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Ackerman, J.T., C.A. Hartman, M.P. Herzog, J.Y. Takekawa, J.A. Robinson, L.W. Oring, J.P. Skorupa, and R. Boettcher. 2013. American Avocet (Recurvirostra americana), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. (Link)
• Seiler, R.L. and J.P. Skorupa. 1995. Identification of areas at risk for selenium contamination in the western United States. pp. LL85-LL94 in: Water Resources at Risk. Hotchkiss, W.R., J.S. Downey, E.D. Gutentag and J.E. Moore, Eds. American Institute of Hydrology, Denver, Colorado.
• Williams, M.L., R.L. Hothem and H.M. Ohlendorf. 1989. Recruitment failure in American Avocets and Black-necked Stilts nesting at Kesterson Reservoir, California, 1984-1985. Condor 91:797-802.