 Breeding evidence |
 Relative abundance |
 Probability of observation |
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Click on plot to view table of mean abundance
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Number of squares
Long-term BBS trends
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Mean abundance (number of birds detected per 5 min. point count) and percentage of squares occupied by region Bird Conservation Regions [abund. plot]
[%squares plot]
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Atlas Results
Atlas results coming soon
Note: During all years of the Saskatchewan Breeding Bird Atlas drought conditions persisted and the Atlas range maps for all waterfowl, waterbirds, and wetland-associated species should be viewed as characteristic of distribution and abundance during dry conditions. Read the full drought statement here.
Excerpts Adapted from the Birds of Saskatchewan:
One of the most striking shorebirds in Saskatchewan, the American Avocet is a common sight at mudflats and saline habitats throughout the southern portion of the province. Its long, slender, upturned bill is used to sift small invertebrates out of the water, and is the source of its genus name, Recurvirostra. Avocets nest locally only in North America: from the Pacific Coast of California, the Great Basin, and the Prairie Provinces south to Baja California and northern Texas, the Gulf coast of Texas, and central Mexico. They winter from California and Delaware to Panama (AOU 1998).
Avocets prefer the barren shores of lakes, ponds, and, more rarely, sewage lagoons. In years of high runoff, the species may also nest on the receding shorelines of ephemeral sloughs in stubble or summerfallow fields, while in low-water years, the species may forsake the drying beds of saline wetlands to move farther north, seeking the drawn-down waters of lakes in the parklands and forest fringe.
Avocets are common summer residents on large saline lakes across the grasslands and parklands such as Old Wives, Chaplin, Reed, or the Quills, although nests have occasionally been found as far north as Turtle Lake (Smith 1996), Edam (Mitchell 1917), Paddockwood (Dinius 1996), and Perigord (Hooper 1992).
Original text by Jared B. Clarke. Text adapted by Daniel J. Sawatzky
Read more about the American Avocet in the Birds of Saskatchewan here.
Recommended citation: Latremouille, L. M. 2025. American Avocet in Latremouille, L. M., S. L. Van Wilgenburg, C. B. Jardine, D. Lepage, A. R. Couturier, D. Evans, D. Iles, and K. L. Drake (eds.). 2025. The Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Saskatchewan, 2017-2021. Birds Canada. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan https://sk.birdatlas.ca/accounts/speciesaccount.jsp?sp=AMAV&lang=en [09 Nov 2025]
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