IBA Kotcho Lake

148, Research, Species List

From: http://www.ibacanada.com/site.jsp?siteID=BC246&seedet=Y

IBA Kotcho lake
Fort Nelson, British Columbia
Site Summary
BC246 Latitude
Longitude		 59.084° N
121.127° W		 Elevation
Size		 0 m
256.17 km²
Habitats:
freshwater lake, freshwater marsh		 Land Use:
Fisheries/aquaculture		 Potential or ongoing Threats:
Extraction industry
IBA Criteria: Nationally Significant: Waterfowl Concentrations
Conservation status:

Site Description

Kotcho Lake is situated in the northeastern corner of British Columbia, about 90 kilometres northeast of Fort Nelson. It is a very shallow, but fairly large lake, almost 20 kilometres across at the longest point. On the edge of the boreal forest, it is surrounded by Black Spruce forest.
Birds

Large numbers of ducks are found on Kotcho Lake in early fall. On September 17, 1998 14, 722 ducks were counted in an aerial survey. Of these 1,550 were Canvasbacks, while the others were a mix of diving ducks and puddle ducks. In 1999, an early season survey on September 1, revealed 5,000 to 7,000 ducks, but this is before numbers of waterfowl peak, so numbers would not be expected to as high as later in the season. No other known surveys have been conducted, but there is no reason to suppose that the mid-September survey numbers are not typical. Both Tundra and Trumpeter swans occur in fall as well.Ducks, Canada Geese and swans are all present in the breeding season.
Complete Bird records for Kotcho lake
Click here to view Summary
Species Season Number Unit Date Reference
Canvasback FM 1,550 I 1998
Waterfowl FM 5,000 I 1999
Waterfowl FM 14,722 N I 1998
Note: species shown in bold indicate that their population level (as estimated by the maximum number) exceeds at least one of the IBA threshold (national, continental or global). The site may still not qualify for that level of IBA if the maximum number reflects an exceptional or historical occurence. * : date is only an approximation.
Conservation Issues

Kotcho Lake is for the most part isolated and undisturbed, although locals use the lake for fishing. A potential source of change in the area is ongoing oil and gas exploration and its attendant drill sites and roads.
The IBA Program is an international conservation initiative coordinated by BirdLife International. The Canadian co-partners for the IBA Program are Bird Studies Canada and Nature Canada.

Printable map
Seasonal abundance
Annual frequency