Northern Canada

orthern Canada enjoyed a record warm spring, at least m the west, with seemingly endless warm blue sky days.This combined with last winterg heavy snow falls, especially in southeast Yukon, set the stage for an epic insect season.The Yukon's premier rarity hotspot, Marsh Lake, hosted numerous outstanding vagrants, including one new Yukon species.In Northwest Territories, high snowfall accumulation in late winter caused speculation about flooding this spring, but in fact a relatively uneventful ice breakup occurred on both the Liard and Mackenzie Rivers.Breakup was also early---one of the earliest in the past 40 years at Norman Wells.Early spring migrants appeared somewhat later than last year, but events sped up as spring advanced; much of May was warm and clear, resulting in few if any significant fallouts of migrant birds in the southern Northwest Territories.WATERFOWL THROU6H SHOREBIRDS Canada Geese, typically at the vanguard of waterfowl migration in the Mackenzie Valley, NWT were reported during the first week of Apr at Trout L. (DD) and Nahanni Butte (EB), with singles reaching Ft. Simpson 10 Apr (SC) and Norman Wells 21 Apr (JA).Relatively few migrant waterfowl were seen staging along the Mackenzie R. this spring at Ft. Simpson, NWT (DT), presumably due to the early ice breakup.At Norman Wells, NWT an estimated 2000 Canada Geese were present 25 Apr, but few geese staged there during May; larger numbers were present downstream near Little Chicago (RP).A single Ross's Goose that stopped in to graze on a ball field in Yellowknife, NWT 29 May was an odd sight OB).In s.Yukon, swan migration peaked at M'Clintock Bay 18 Apr with a count of 1378 Trumpeter and 944 Tundra (JJ).Diligent checking of tens of thousands of swan heads during s.Yukon migration counts turned up 2 ad.Whooper Swans, the Yukon's 2nd, at Johnson's Crossing 14 Apr, and the Yukon's first Bewickg Swan, an ad., at Johnson's Crossing 19 Apr 0J)-Early Gadwall reports included a female at M'Clintock Bay, s.Yukon 15 Apr (JJ) and a pair at Norman Wells, NWT 16 May (LA).Cinnamon Teal were well reported in s.Yukon, with single males at Johnson's Crossmg 26-29 Apr 0J) and Tagish 3-4 & 9 May 0J; CE), a pair at Hames Junction 6-7 May (CD, LD), a pair at s. Lake Laberge 11 May (ph.CE), 2 males at Judas Cr., Marsh L. 18 May (CE, PL), and 3 males at Swan L., Whitehorse 26 May (ph.CE).Northern Protail migration peaked m s_ Yukon on 21 Apr with impressive counts of 2040 at Tagish and 2355 at M'Clintock Bay 0J, CE).Single male Common (Eurasian Green-winged) Teal, now considered annual in spring in s.Yukon, were seen at Tagish 4-5 May 0J), and s.Lake Laberge 16 May (CE); a male Common Teal x Green-winged Teal hybrid was at the later location 11-16 May (CE).A Redhead, locally rare, was at Norman Wells, NWT 20 May (DW).An ad.male King Eider at Tagish, s.Yukon 12 Apr 0J, BD, HG) provided a very rare interior spring record for w.North America.Scorer migration peaked in s.Yukon on 17 May with counts of 500 Surf and 100 White-winged at Marsh L. (CE) and 80 Surf at Teslin L. (BS).Pairs of Hooded Mergansers, a species suspected but not yet confirmed breeding in s.Yukon, were at km 7 on the Tagish Rd. 1 May (HG et al.), at Judas Cr., Marsh L. 4 May 0J), and at Annie L. 10 May (ph.JH).A remarkable s.Yukon raptor migration recorded at Johnson's Crossing and Tagish on 14 Apr yielded a one-day total count of 560 raptors (464 at Johnson's Crossing) including 292 Red-tailed Hawks, 73 Roughlegged Hawks, 98 Northern Harriers, 66 Bald Eagles, 24 Golden Eagles, 4 Sharpshinned Hawks, one Merlin, one Peregrine Falcon, and a dark/rufous-morph Swainson's Hawk 0J).In Northwest Territories, the first Sahtu report of Golden Eagles was a pair seen at Gayna R. 12 Apr (RP).Among the first Northwest Territories reports of Bald Eagles were 2 at Norman Wells 4 Apr (DW), one at MeNally Cr. 5 Apr (DA), and one on

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