Population status of migratory waterbirds on the Yukon coastal plain and adjacent Mackenzie Delta / J. S. Hawkings.: CW69-5/28E-PDF

"The status of waterbird (loons, swans, geese, ducks, cranes, jaegers, gulls, shorebirds, and seabirds) populations is summarized for the coastal plain of northern Yukon, and the Yukon portion of the Mackenzie Delta. Estimates of bird density and total population size during spring, summer and fall are presented and discussed, based on research in the area during the period 1971-1985. The waterbird fauna of the area is well known as a result of these fifteen years of research. The most significant components of this avifauna from a national perspective are the fall concentrations of lesser snow geese (potentially the entire western Canadian arctic population) throughout the coastal plain, and a midsummer concentration of 10,000-15,000 molting seaducks at Herschel Island. Nesting shorebirds on the coastal plain may also be of national significance. Of lesser significance are a glaucous gull colony at Escape Reef, and tundra swans nesting and molting on the Babbage River Delta and the Yukon part of the Mackenzie Delta. A breeding colony of black guillemots at Pauline Cove, Herschel Island, is also a unique feature. As a breeding ground for ducks, geese, and swans, the area is of minor importance compared with the Old Crow Flats or entire Mackenzie Delta. Although the avifauna is well known, the sizes of breeding populations of many species on the coastal plain are still poorly known. This is largely due to a lack of effort in determining (1) densities of breeding birds in particular habitats, and (2) the amount and distribution of those habitats throughout the coastal plain"--Abstract, p. i.

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