Discovery of Important Postbreeding Sites for Barrow's Goldeneye in the Boreal Transition Zone of Alberta

Abstract

Sites where Barrow's Goldeneye (Bucephala islandica) undergo remigial molt and fall staging are poorly known, with only two major sites documented in Alaska and the Yukon Territory. Satellite telemetry, aerial surveys and ground surveys were used to identify previously unknown molting and fall staging areas in the Boreal Transition Zone (BTZ) of northern Alberta. Of 816 wetlands surveyed between 2004 and 2006 in the BTZ, 40–45% (105–127 lakes annually) had molting goldeneyes. Of these, 1.3–3.3% were used by large aggregations of goldeneyes (>100 birds). Two wetlands, Cardinal and Leddy Lakes, were particularly important, with an estimated 5,000–7,000 Barrow's Goldeneyes, primarily adult males, using these sites during remigial molt and fall staging. Birds used these sites up to five months or over one-third of their annual cycle. Half of adult males marked with satellite transmitters at a breeding area in interior British Columbia used Cardinal Lake for postbreeding activities. Discovery of these sites represents some of the largest concentrations of molting Barrow's Goldeneyes in North America, and the only major molting sites currently known for the intermountain breeding portion of the western population. Protection of Cardinal and Leddy Lakes, and other significant molting and staging sites within the BTZ, should be a priority conservation effort for this species.