The Brandt’s Cormorant is currently a very rare breeder in Canada, though thousands overwinter in southern British Columbia (K. Morgan, ECCC, pers. comm.). The species may have colonized British Columbia as recently as the latter half of the 20th century (Drent and Guiguet 1961), but was first confirmed breeding in 1965 (Stirling and Buffam [1996] in Campbell et al. 1990a). The population has varied from an estimated 150 pairs in 1970, to 185 in 1975, to 60 in 1982, to 95 in 1989 (Campbell et al. 1990, Rodway et al. 1991). After a recent period of apparent non-breeding in Canada, nesting was re-confirmed in 2013 and 2014 at two sites (Carter et al. 2014; and see Hipfner 2015a). Results from the Christmas Bird Count (CBC) in Canada suggest that the population may have changed little relative to the 1970s, but the number of count circles included in the analysis is low (39 circles). CBC results for the continental population show a large increase relative to the 1970s, but this is likely reflective of the larger American population. Results from the British Columbia Coastal Waterbird Survey suggest that the wintering population has increased since the late 1990s, though the results are imprecise and relatively short-term. This species is interesting in that, in Canada, its wintering population is larger than its breeding population, and they both appear to be following different trajectories. The larger wintering population appears to have changed little relative to the 1970s or has even increased, while the breeding population has decreased. Overall, given that the wintering population is larger, the national status of the species is perhaps best assessed as having changed little relative to the 1970s, but the fact that the breeding population recently declined to the point of presumed extirpation cannot be ignored. The national population goal is therefore to maintain 150 breeding pairs (i.e. return to 1970s levels); the Brandt’s Cormorant population is currently below that goal. This assessment is considered to be of medium reliability given the quality of monitoring information currently available.
Additional information on: Christmas Bird Count (CBC)
Additional information on: British Columbia Coastal Waterbird Survey
