Lake Abert is Oregon’s largest salt-water lake.  This unique ecosystem is a critical stop-over for hundreds of thousands of migratory waterbirds (estimated 3.25 million bird use days/year).  These are predominately Least & Western Sandpipers, Wilson’s & Red-necked Phalaropes, American Avocet, and the Northern Shoveler, though other species show up by the tens of thousands.  The largest threat to this salt lake IBA is lack of fresh water in-flow. 

Lake Abert is a saline because it is an endorheic or closed-basin system.  Water only leaves through evaporation, and over time this leaves the salts and minerals behind.  The saline nature of the lake is precisely why the birds are drawn here as a key stopping point on their migration.  The lake lacks aquatic predators and can therefore can produce huge volumes (millions to billions of pounds) of tiny brine shrimp (Artemia sp.) and alkali fly (Ephydra hians) through multiple cycles throughout the summer.  These invertebrates are limited only by lake level (salinity) and algal blooms (food). 

Lake Abert IBA is fed by a single river, one that is over allocated in water rights.  No water is guaranteed to enter the lake on any given year.  Because of low water years, upstream diversions are taking the majority of water.  The lake has been dropping steadily for the last three years and may very well go dry within two years.  Currently the lake is too saline for invertebrates; too saline for algae; and therefore too saline to feed the millions of migratory birds.  Collecting migratory bird data will help inform state and federal managers that the tens of thousands of shorebirds and waterfowl are already feeling the negative impact of this unique ecosystem going dry.

Weekly waterbird counts were conducted on Lake Abert by the BLM from 1992-1998 looking for trends.  This baseline data was used as part of the BLM’s protection of the surrounding land as an Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC).  No organized or weekly counts have been conducted since.  A group of interested parties decided to start these counts again in 2010.  An ad hoc group was able to collected data for bird use in the fall of 2010.  Most of our counts have birds at 80%-90% below normal count years.  We want to formalize the data collection and work with state and federal agencies to make sure management decisions are based on the needs and impacts of the estimated 3.25 million bird use days.
 

Lake Abert is Oregon’s largest salt-water lake.  This unique ecosystem is a critical stop-over for hundreds of thousands of migratory waterbirds (estimated 3.25 million bird use days/year).  These are predominately Least & Western Sandpipers, Wilson’s & Red-necked Phalaropes, American Avocet, and the Northern Shoveler, though other species show up by the tens of thousands.  The largest threat to this salt lake IBA is lack of fresh water in-flow. 

Lake Abert is a saline because it is an endorheic or closed-basin system.  Water only leaves through evaporation, and over time this leaves the salts and minerals behind.  The saline nature of the lake is precisely why the birds are drawn here as a key stopping point on their migration.  The lake lacks aquatic predators and can therefore can produce huge volumes (millions to billions of pounds) of tiny brine shrimp (Artemia sp.) and alkali fly (Ephydra hians) through multiple cycles throughout the summer.  These invertebrates are limited only by lake level (salinity) and algal blooms (food). 

Lake Abert IBA is fed by a single river, one that is over allocated in water rights.  No water is guaranteed to enter the lake on any given year.  Because of low water years, upstream diversions are taking the majority of water.  The lake has been dropping steadily for the last three years and may very well go dry within two years.  Currently the lake is too saline for invertebrates; too saline for algae; and therefore too saline to feed the millions of migratory birds.  Collecting migratory bird data will help inform state and federal managers that the tens of thousands of shorebirds and waterfowl are already feeling the negative impact of this unique ecosystem going dry.

Weekly waterbird counts were conducted on Lake Abert by the BLM from 1992-1998 looking for trends.  This baseline data was used as part of the BLM’s protection of the surrounding land as an Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC).  No organized or weekly counts have been conducted since.  A group of interested parties decided to start these counts again in 2010.  An ad hoc group was able to collected data for bird use in the fall of 2010.  Most of our counts have birds at 80%-90% below normal count years.  We want to formalize the data collection and work with state and federal agencies to make sure management decisions are based on the needs and impacts of the estimated 3.25 million bird use days.