Pelican Lake (Alberta) (11033)
Canada, North America
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: D1a
Year of last assessment: 2008
National site name: Pelican Lake (Alberta)
Central coordinates: Latitude: 55.8015, Longitude: -113.2520
System: freshwater, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 564 to 564
Area of KBA (km2): 78.90456
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: Pelican Lake is located at the eastern end of the Wabasca Lakes chain, 21 km east of the town of Sandy Lake, in northern Alberta. Pelican Lake is a permanent boreal lake that is surrounded by boggy wetlands. Two islands within the lake host breeding birds. The lake is situated in a relatively remote location.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance that meets the thresholds for at least one criterion described in the Global Standard for the Identification of KBAs.
Additional biodiversity: A globally significant number of American White Pelicans breed on two islands within Pelican Lake. In 1998, 2,108 young and in 2000, 1,660 young were recorded in the colony. Since pelicans lay a two-egg clutch, these numbers translate to a minimum of 1,054 and 830 pairs. These are minimum estimates because it assumes that all birds successfully hatched two young. This number of pairs is probably about 1% of the global population of the species, and the colony is the second largest in the province. The pelicans use nearby lakes, such as Sandy Lake, north and south Wabasca lakes and others to the west for feeding. Several other colonial waterbird species breed on the islands. In both 1998 and 2000 there were just over 1,000 Double-crested Cormorant nests on the islands. This is one of largest cormorant colonies in the province. In 1967, the California Gull population at Pelican Lake was estimated at 100-500 pairs, and in 2000, 297 nests were counted. In recent years between about 80 and 200 Ring-billed Gull and 35 Common Tern nests were recorded. In 1978, 57 Great Blue Heron nests were built in the trees, but since then many of the trees have died and fallen down from accumulations of droppings and bird trampling. Herons have been absent since at least 1998 because of this.
Habitats
Land use: not utilised
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Wetlands(Inland) | 100 |