Birds Found on the Arctic Slope of Northern AlaskaBee, James W.
Science
Birds Found on the Arctic Slope of Northern Alaska
Bee, James W.
Birds -- Alaska
At a place 9/10 mile east and 8/10 mile north of Barrow Village (June
23, 1952) a tenth nest, containing five fresh eggs, was noted in a
lemming runway that had been enlarged from a soil fracture. The top of
the nest was flush with the surface of the ground and there was no
overhead protection. This nest had the least nesting material of any
nest of this species examined to date; there was no nesting material
of any kind on the sides adjoining the walls of the fracture. At Umiat
(June 26, 1952) an eleventh nest, containing six eggs, was so placed
that its top was flush with the surface of a raised polygon, and
closely resembled those at Point Barrow except that the cup was lined
with brown and white feathers of the willow ptarmigan. Additional data
are as follows: weight of entire nest, 20 grams; weight of inner cup,
7 grams; diameter of cup, 65 mm; depth of cup, 30 mm; width of entire
nest, 100 mm. As was usual with other nests of this species, the outer
edge of one side was covered with moss.
In the period July 13-August 15, from several localities on the Arctic
Slope, Lapland longspurs were caught in traps (20 feet apart) set in
linear lines among sedges. The average distance between traps catching
longspurs was 1400 feet. Other Lapland longspurs observed in the same
period at these same localities averaged one per 400 feet of walking
on my part. The greatest number of longspurs trapped was at Kaolak on
July 24, 1951; 100 traps yielded 6 longspurs. The greatest number
observed--one per 100 feet--was at Topagaruk on July 5, 1951. Although
the longspur on the Arctic Slope is the most common bird, it is absent
from some areas there. On each of two trips (July 29-30) across one
mile of upland plateau between Barrier Lake and Teshekpuk Lake, we did
not see longspurs. This plateau is a travel lane maintained by
caribou.
Juveniles were first trapped on July 5, 1951, at Topagaruk; others
were observed on this date but they could not fly. The first juvenile
noted in flight was on July 9, also at Topagaruk. The increase of
juveniles there caused the longspur to be the most common bird in the
field (50 per cent in abundance). On July 15 at Kaolak River, most of
the longspurs noted were juveniles, but they were able to fly well.
The adult males and females, which were molting at this time, were
more secretive in their movements than longspurs at Topagaruk on July
5. Adult males were molting as early as July 2 at Kaolak. On July 25
at Kaolak longspurs were mainly in groups of five or six; others were
in groups of 18 or more. As late as August 21 (Gavia Lake) longspurs
were still in family groups or occurred as singles.
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