Overview
Project Name
The State of Canada's Birds
Access Level
Private
Year started
1993
Year Ended
Suspended 2020-2022 (Covid19) and 2023 (logistic failure), but ongoing.
Dataset
Karrak Lake Survey
About
Dataset summary
Ross’s and Lesser Snow Goose nesting abundance has been estimated at Karrak Lake in the Queen Maud Gulf (Ahiak) Bird Sanctuary, Nunavut since 1993.
Season(s) and frequency
Annually during the breeding season.
Geographic area covered
Mid-continent Population: Nebraska. Eastern Population: Karrak Lake in the Queen Maud Gulf (Ahiak) Bird Sanctuary, Nunavut.
Primary species covered
Ross’s Goose and Lesser Snow Goose
Goals
Monitors the status and trends of a Ross’s Goose colony
Methods
Sampling Design
Systematically spaced (1 km grid) of 30 meter radius sample plot for nest counts visited annually within a sampling frame determined annually.
Field methods
Annual boundary of contiguous nesting by light geese was mapped from a helicopter to determine extent of sampling frame. Pairs of researchers circled each incubation or initiation plot using the end of the tape to define the sample plot boundary, at either 20 (1993-2006) or 30 m (2007-2019). All nests on sample plots were recorded with distance and direction from plot centers. Eggs were counted and labelled with nest number on sides of egg. Maximum length and width of each egg was measured from which species (Ross’s Goose or Lesser Snow Goose) could be determined.