• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Map
• Reference and further resources

Site description (2001 baseline)
Miquelon Lake is located 11 km east-northeast of the town of Hay Lakes and 20 km north of the city of Camrose. There is well developed road access, especially at the southern and eastern sides where Miquelon Lake Provincial Park is located. Collectively known as Miquelon Lake, the lake consists of three separate lake basins that are not likely to form a single large basin again in the future. The lakes are shallow and saline, with maximum depths of 6 m, extensive emergent vegetation, and exposed mudflats. The surrounding lands include upland aspen habitats, a golf course in the northeastern corner of the lake, and a correctional institution and sewage ponds in the southeastern portions. The terrain is rolling and is underlain by the Horseshoe Canyon Formation, consisting mostly of sandstone, mudstone, shale and ironstone.

Key biodiversity
Two gull species breed at Miquelon Lake in significant numbers. Almost 2,000 California Gull nests were recently counted at the lake (1% of the global population). Ring-billed Gulls breed in even larger numbers, with 9,925 nests, which is just over 1% of the national population. In 1976, both species bred in similar numbers, with 1,848 nests of California and 10,087 nests of Ring-billed being recorded.

Another species of note is the Piping Plover, which is nationally endangered. Although one bird was recorded in 1996, none were recorded throughout most of the 1990s. In previous years between one and four adults were recorded. In spring and fall migration over 5,000 staging ducks congregate regularly on the lake. Shorebirds also utilize the lake during migration, with a record of over 3,000 Sanderlings and over 2,000 Red-necked Phalaropes seen in May, 1971. A pair of Great Gray Owls nested in 1972, and small numbers of Canada Geese breed here.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Miquelon Lake (Canada). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/miquelon-lake-iba-canada on 24/11/2024.