Horned Grebe breeding habitat in Saskatchewan parklands

Abstract

Distribution of horned grebes Podiceps auritus, on a 31.1 km2 area with 25 ponds/km2 was measured in 1974 and 1975. Before, and particularly during, the nesting season the grebes tended to select permanent ponds over 0.2 ha that had areas without emergent vegetation. Distribution was not affected by tree growth around ponds, but prior to nesting the birds showed some preference for ponds surrounded by pasture rather than cultivated fields. There were 47 nests on 47 ponds (1.5 nests per km2) in 1974 and 103 nests on 102 ponds (3.3 nests per km2) in 1975