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.
Annually during the breeding season.
Mid-continent Population: Nebraska. Eastern Population: Karrak Lake in the Queen Maud Gulf (Ahiak) Bird Sanctuary, Nunavut.
Ross’s Goose and Lesser Snow Goose
Monitors the status and trends of a Ross’s Goose colony
Systematically spaced (1 km grid) of 30 meter radius sample plot for nest counts visited annually within a sampling frame determined annually.
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.
