Colonial bird population

Prince Albert National Park is home to the only fully protected nesting colony of pelicans in Canada. Pelicans feed in up to a 100-km-radius of their colony making them great indicators of both aquatic and land ecosystems. Aerial photographs of the pelican colony’s nesting sites on Lavallee Lake are analyzed to estimate the population.

The health of individual pelicans and the colony as a whole are assessed during the second week of August. If sick birds are found, a sample of sick birds are removed from the colony site and sent to the Canadian Wildlife Health Co-operative lab at the University of Saskatchewan for a necropsy to determine their sickness and to monitor for potential epidemics.