 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:
The Canvasback is one of the most powerful ducks in flight, capable of reaching speeds up to 115 km/h. Skilled in the water as well as in the air, it can dive to depths of 9 m (Mowbray 2002). Canvasbacks breed from central Alaska, Yukon, and western Northwest Territories south through interior British Columbia and the Prairie Provinces, with the prairies the center of their breeding range. Almost unknown in eastern Canada except during migration, they winter mostly on both Atlantic and Pacific Coasts, and the Gulf of Mexico.
Deep-water marshes, permanent sloughs, and the sheltered bays of large lakes, especially in the parkland region, are the summer haunts of Canvasbacks (Smith 1996). During migration, they may be found on all types of water bodies, but the deeper wetlands are much preferred.
Common in the parklands, mixed-grass prairie, and Cumberland Delta, but uncommon in the rest of the southern boreal region. It is either an uncommon breeder or transient on the shortgrass prairie (Smith 1996). During the late 1950s, Canvasback populations dropped to worrisome low levels because hunting pressure was greater on Canvasbacks and Redheads than on other waterfowl (Houston 1958e). Population numbers have improved since.
Original text by Pauline Bloom. Text adapted by Daniel J. Sawatzky
Read more about the Canvasback in the Birds of Saskatchewan here.
Recommended citation: Latremouille, L. M. 2025. Canvasback 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=CANV&lang=en [09 Nov 2025]
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