IBA Tachick and Nulki Lakes
Vanderhoof, British Columbia
Site Summary
BC270 Latitude
Longitude
53.936° N
124.167° W
Elevation
Size
710 m
149.26 km²
Habitats:
coniferous forest (temperate), freshwater lake, freshwater marsh
Land Use:
Fisheries/aquaculture, Not Utilized (Natural Area), Tourism/recreation
Potential or ongoing Threats:
Disturbance
IBA Criteria: Continentally Significant: Waterfowl Concentrations
Conservation status: IBA Conservation Plan written/being written, Unknown
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Site Description
Tachick and Nulki lakes are located in northern British Columbia, in the Nechako River Valley. Tachick Lake, the larger of the two lakes (22 km²), is approximately 25 km southwest of the town of Vanderhoof and Nulki Lake (17 km²) lies just southeast of Tachick Lake. The lakes which are surrounded by spruce and pine forests are iced over between November and April. Emergent vegetation surrounds the whole shoreline of Tachick Lake, but the centre of the lake is deeper; the average depth is 4.4 m.
Birds
Tachick and Nulki lakes provide important habitat for migrating waterfowl in the fall between September and November. Numbers seem to peak in October; for instance, in mid October 1990, an aerial survey recorded 6,368 and 11,263 ducks at Tachick and Nulki lakes respectively. When the smaller numbers of geese and swans are added, 17,726 waterfowl were counted in total. Other October counts have recorded about 11,000 and 16,000 waterfowl. At Tachick Lake, diving ducks are often more abundant, whereas at Nulki Lake, dabblers tend to be more common. In both lakes, the most common diving ducks are scaup, followed by goldeneye, while the dabbling duck species are dominated by Mallards and American Wigeon.

At certain times during the fall, Canada Geese are also common on the lakes. In 1990, for example, a late fall census recorded 1,371 Canada Geese on Tachick Lake and 3,440 on Nulki Lake. Other bird species that use lake include gulls, Sandhill Cranes, swans, and coots.




IBA Criteria
SpeciesT | A | I Links Date Season Number G C N
Waterbirds 1990 FA 15,648 - 17,726
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.
 
Conservation Issues
The conservation issues associated with these lakes are unknown.

The IBA Program is an international conservation initiative coordinated by BirdLife International. The Canadian co-partners for the IBA Program are Birds Canada and Nature Canada.
   © Birds Canada