Population status

American Avocet
(Recurvirostra americana)

In the 1800s, the species bred as far north as Great Slave Lake, in the Northwest Territories, and east to the Atlantic coast of the United States (Ackerman et al. 2013). Its regular breeding range is now quite 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 an overall increase of about 56% in Canada since 1970, with the greatest rate of increase between 2006 and 2016. The American Avocet is at an acceptable level relative to its national population goal (see Canada graph below).

Population goal and acceptable levels of variation

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)
• Navedo, J.G., G., Fernandez, J., Fonseca, and M.C. Drever. 2015. A potential role of shrimp farms for the conservation of Nearctic shorebird populations. Estuaries and Coasts 38(3):836-845. Navedo, J.G., G., Fernandez, J., Fonseca, and M.C. Drever. 2015. A potential role of shrimp farms for the conservation of Nearctic shorebird populations. Estuaries and Coasts 38(3):836-845. (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.