GAP Analysis Predicted Distribution Map

Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)

Species Code: POPO

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 in freshwater wetlands with marshy developing vegetation at lower elevations throughout the state with the exception of the suitable habitat in the lower slopes of the eastern Cascades. In western Washington the Pied-billed Grebe can be found on the Olympic Peninsula where suitable habitat (described below) occurs, and in eastern Washington they are most common in lakes and ponds dominated by Artemisia vegetation zones and in channeled scablands. Breeding evidence was also found in wetlands along the major northern river valleys.

Core areas of use in eastern Washington were steppe, Ponderosa Pine, and Interior Douglas-fir zones. On the west side, lower elevations in the Puget Sound Douglas-fir vegetation zone plus parts of the Western Hemlock zone were core areas of use.

Good habitats in the core areas of use in western Washington were freshwater/wetlands but low-density development and agricultural fields were suitable only if appropriate small wetlands were present within the larger mapped habitat. On the east side, where Pie-billed Grebes tend to be more confined to the mapped wetlands, only water bodies and wetlands were modeled and they were good habitats.

Lack of records from the southeast counties east of Walla Walla indicates no breeding activity there. Lack of records on most of the northern Olympic Peninsula suggests no breeding activity there, but more fieldwork is needed. In riparian areas this species is limited to still bays, sloughs, or other non-moving water bodies. Developing vegetation is a crucial habitat component for nesting construction. These birds have been seen in small ponds near the Yakima River, but not in the river itself.

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