CA540
Tobin Lake


Country/territory: Canada

IBA criteria met: A4i (2008)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here

Area: 71,000 ha

Birds Canada / Nature Canada

Site description (2001 baseline)
Tobin Lake is an artificial lake created in the 1960s, as a result of the construction of the E.B. Campbell Dam across the North Saskatchewan River. The lake is approximately 50 km long and 1 to 15 km wide. The resort community of Tobin Lake is located on the southern shore, and extensive marshes occur along the western shore. The Saskatchewan River enters the western end of Tobin Lake and flows out of the eastern end below the E.B. Campbell Dam.

Key biodiversity
During the fall migration, about 2,000 Tundra Swans have been recorded at this site along with about 2,500 during the spring migration. These respective totals represent about 2.3 and 2.9% of the estimated eastern Tundra Swan population and about 1% of the total North American population. In addition to Tundra Swans, concentrations of non-breeding American White Pelicans (> 1,000 birds) have also been recorded at Tobin Lake. Other birds recorded at this site during the summer months include Bonaparte's Gull (200 500) and Ring-billed Gull (over 2,000).


Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Tobin Lake (Canada). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/tobin-lake-iba-canada on 23/11/2024.