IBA |
Wavy Lake Daysland, Alberta |
Site Summary |
AB037 |
Latitude Longitude |
52.871° N 112.070° W |
Elevation Size |
685 - 700 m 40.02 km² |
Habitats:
freshwater lake
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Land Use:
Urban/industrial/transport
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Potential or ongoing Threats:
Oil slicks
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IBA Criteria: Globally Significant: Waterfowl Concentrations |
Conservation status: |
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Site Description
Wavy Lake is located 11 km east of Daysland, in central Alberta. The lake is about 10 kilometres long and two or three kilometres wide. Highway 13 is 3 kilometres to the south of the lake, providing well developed road access around the lake but poor access to the lakeshore itself.
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Birds
Wavy Lake is noted for large numbers of staging ducks; over 20,000 ducks of various species have been recorded in the fall. Snow Goose and Greater White-fronted Geese frequently pass through the area during spring and fall migration in globally significant numbers. In many years, at least 10,000 to 30,000 Snow Geese are found here in both seasons; one year, however, there was a peak of 70,000 birds. Typical numbers represent at least 4% of the Western Central Flyway population. Greater White-fronted Geese usually number 10,000 to 20,000 during spring and fall migration this is at least 1% of their world population. The site is also locally significant for moulting ducks with over 1,000 having been recorded. Like many prairie lakes this lake is dry in some years it was dry for several years in the late 1990s.During both spring and fall migrations, several thousand Sandhill Cranes are regularly seen at the north end of the lake. The area was surveyed for Piping Plover in 1986 but no birds were found.
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IBA Criteria |
Species↓ T | A | I |
Links |
Date |
Season |
Number |
G |
C |
N |
Greater White-fronted Goose |
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1995 |
FA |
10,000 |
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Greater White-fronted Goose |
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1995 |
SP |
10,000 |
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Snow Goose |
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1995 |
FA |
70,000 |
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Waterbirds |
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1985 |
FA |
20,000 |
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✔ |
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Note: species shown in bold indicate that the maximum number exceeds at least one of the IBA thresholds (sub-regional, regional or global). The site may still not qualify for that level of IBA if the maximum number reflects an exceptional or historical occurrence.
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Conservation Issues
Approximately 80% of the land around the lake is owned the Alberta Department of Lands and Forests. There is some oil and gas activity occurring in the vicinity of the lake. Ducks Unlimited, which considers the lake a critical moulting and staging wetland, has a restoration project taking place on the lake.
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