Northern Canada

ortherners face the twin challenges of monitoring long-term trends while also responding to imminent threats to birdlife posed by development.This year.shorebird surveys across northern Yukon and Northwest Territories collected baseline population data for the Bird Conservation Region known as the Arctic Plains & Mountains.In the southwestern Northwest Territories, an intensive field study of the effects of a pipeline corridor in the northern boreal forest found surprisingly high diversity and productivity of songbirds in the Fort Simpson area.These are two very different studies, but hopefully both will help understand and relieve the spiraling pressures on northern bird populations.Birdwatchers also play an essential role in bird conservation in this vast Region: reports from a few new observers can provide much-needed information.Despite the great distances between Re'gional outposts•for example, nearly 3500 km separate Herschel Island, Yukon from Akimiski Island, Nunavut--there is a shared passion that links people to the northern wilderness.If your summer travels take you to the North, please share your sightings and stories.In the Yukon, a brief spell of warm weather in June gave way to a relatively cool summer.In Northwest Territories, June was slightly warmer and wetter than the norm for much of the Mackenzie Valley, while July was close to seasonal norms.WATERFOWL THROUGH SHOREBIRDS The increasing overlap in the breeding range of Trumpeter and Tundra Swans in the nw.corner of the Region means that careful field identification is essential.A pair of Trumpeter Swans on a nest at Tombstone Park, cen.Yukon established the first confirmed breeding record for the Dempster Hwy.(CE).A pair of ad.Tundra Swans was at Tweed L., NWT 1 Jun (OB, SDe, CS); another was at Belot L., NWT 27 Jun (OB, ph.SDe, CS).An imm.Whooper Swan, the first to be photographed in the Yukon, was at Herschel I. 26 Jun-6 Jul (ph.LJM, DA, ph.MB, WB, KM).A late report of a male Eurasian Wigeon at Henderson Corner, cen.Yukon 4 May (CD) provided one of the few Dawson area records.The arrival of Long-tailed Ducks at Iqaluit, Nunavut seemed a bit late this year, but some were observed in melting ponds by 11 Jun (MM).A count of 13 Red-throated Loons was recorded at Herschel I., Yukon 13 Jun (PS).Red-throated Loon numbers appear to be stable at Nanisivik, Nunavut, with nesting pairs on most small lakes; a nest there had one egg 25 Jun and 2 chicks by 29 Jul (CK).Two Yellow-billed Loons were seen at Cambridge Bay, Nunavut 8 & 10Jul (RK, EET).A high breeding density of Red-necked Grebes, about 50 pairs nesting in Equisetum marshes, was recorded on a survey of Little Atlin L., s.Yukon 14Jun (CE, EN).A tally of 27 Doublecrested Cormorant nests 31 May provided the first breeding record for Akimiski Strait islands, Nunavut (KA).A Turkey Vulture seen 1 Jun provided the first record for Akimiski L, Nunavut (RB, SH).A Pacific Golden-Plover, a first for Northwest Territories, was at Tuktoyaktuk 11 Jun (ph.DM).Two ad.Common Ringed Plovers with a chick were noted at Nanisivik, Nunavut 21-29 Jul (TB; CK).Three pairs of Upland Sandpipers were at Duke Meadows, sw.Yukon 5 Jul (RF).A pair of copulating Hudsonian Godwits on Akimiski I., Nunavut 1 Jun suggested local breeding, but no subsequent nest was found (SB).A count of 24 Marbled Godwits, including numerous pairs on territories, was made on Akimiski 1.3 Jun (KW).A late but noteworthy report was of 2 Ruddy Tumstones at Surfbird Mi., near km 100 on the Dempster Hwy., cert.Yukon 31 May (SF, BL).Surfbird reports, all from the Yukon, included a singing male at Surfbird Mi., near the Dempster Hwy. 31 May (SF, BL), one at Blueberry Ridge along the Dempster Hwy. 7 Jun (BL), another singing in the Richardson Mts., 40 km n. of the Eagle R., 12 Jun (SF, BL), 4 at Incline Mi. along the Dempster Hwy.20 Jun (SF, BL), and 4 at 2000-m elevation in the Quill Cr. drainage, sw.Yukon 20Jul (ph.DD).The Yukon's first Red-necked Stint, a bird in stunning breeding plumage, was a great midnight find at Herschel I., n.Yukon 10-11 Jun (ph.PS, SDa, IM, WN).Other scarce shorebirds recorded during Canadian Wildlife Service surveys on the Yukon's North Slope were 2 Black-bellied Plovers seen w. of Komakuk 11 Jun (PS) and 3 White-rumped Sandpipers at Herschel I. 10-11 Jun (ph.PS).Baird's Sandpiper was reported to be commonly nesting in tundra above Arctic Bay, Nunavut 20 Jul (TB).A number of species normally seen in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut but absent this year during 6-10 Jul were White-rumped Sandpiper, Buff-breasted Sandpiper, and Red Phalarope; as well, there were lower-than-normal numbers of Pectoral Sandpipers and Ruddy Turnstones (RK, EET).GULLS THROUGH FINCHES An amazing 57 Long4ailed Jaegers•a species not previously detected in the area--were loafing on the ice of Colville L., NWT on the morning of 5 Jun (OB, SDe, CS); this event was definitely related to weather, as a bitterly cold system had rolled in from the Beaufort Sea the previous day.Two ad.Little Gulls, casual in s.Yukon, were spotted among a late flock of migrant Bonapartek Gulls at Twin Lakes 6 Jun (ph.DM).Two ad.Little Gulls were reported from Akimiski I., Nunavut 3 Jun 0I).A count of 23 Iceland and 38 Glaucous Gulls was made at Arctic Bay, Nunavut 1 Jun (CK).An ad.Slaty-backed Gull greeted an Eagle-Eye tour at Cambridge Bay, Nunavut 743 Jul (ph.RK, EET).Nesting of Glaucous and Thayer's Gulls in Nunavut's High Arctic was about a week late this season (MM).Single ad.Glaucous-winged Gulls were seen at Herschel 1., n.Yukon 12 Jun (ph.PS) and at Whitehorse, s.Yukon 5Jun (CE, DM) & 1Jul (ph.CE).A high count of 25 Sabine's Gulls was made at Cambridge Bay, Nunavut 9 Jul (RK, EET).Ivory Gull is exciting wherever it is encountered; 3 were seen on the ice of Admiralty Inlet, Nunavut 15 Jun-1 Jul (PN), and one was seen with a flock of Glaucous and Thayer• Gulls attracted by a Narwhal feeding on Arctic Cod at Victor Bay, Nunavut 31 Jul (CK); one must marvel at the beauty of such a scene.A Caspian Tern seen just along Kluane k., just s. of Congdon Cr., sw.Yukon 5 Jul, followed a sighting of 2 at Kelsall L., on the Haines Summit just s. of the Yukon border 3 Jul (RF).An impressive 300 Arctic Terns were at a colony at Colville L., NWT 29 Jun (OB, SDe, CS).A Eurasian Collared-Dove was seen briefly at Haines Junction, sw.Yukon 16 Jun (ph.WR); however, recent releases of this species in Petersburg, se.Alaska have muddied the waters around the provenance of 540 NORTH AMERICAN

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