GAP Analysis Predicted Distribution Map

Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)

Species Code: PHAU

Legend:
= Core Habitat
= Marginal Habitat

Breeding Range Map
The green area shows the predicted habitats for breeding only. The habitats were identified using 1991 satellite imagery, Breeding Bird Atlas (BBA), other datasets and experts throughout the state, as part of the Washington Gap Analysis Project. Habitats used during non-breeding months and migratory rest-stops were not mapped.

Metadata (Data about data or how the map was made)

Click to enlarge distribution map

Other maps & Information:

Breeding Bird Atlas
NatureMapping observations
during breeding season
NatureMapping observations
throughout the year

This species is common on offshore cliffs and rocks, pilings, and other coastal structures in western Washington; also in eastern Washington along the Potholes Reservoir, Moses Lake, Winchester, Frenchman Hills Wasteways, Crab Creek, McNary National Wildlife Refuge, and locally on Pond Oreille and Cow Lake. Formerly this species nested along the Snake River, but possibly they are absent now due to dam construction.

Good habitats in core areas of use included coastal and estuarine habitats within the Sitka Spruce, Puget Sound Douglas-fir, and Western Hemlock zones west of the Cascades. East of the Cascades, habitats in core areas of use were freshwater lakes and rivers locally within the Central Arid Steppe, Big Sage/Fescue, and Ponderosa Pine zones.

The nesting habitat of this bird ranges from sandy islands in Gray's Harbor to rocky islets along the northern coast. Non-breeders may be found at lower elevations on fresh water throughout western Washington. In eastern Washington, Double-crested Cormorants have been present since at least 1932 in the south-central Columbia basin. Data are scarce from the BBA period for colonial nesting seabirds due to logistical problems of censusing offshore islands.

Translated from the Washington Gap Analysis Bird Volume by Uchenna Bright
Text edited by Gussie Litwer
Webpage designed by Dave Lester