Part 7

Wherever ptarmigan were found, there was evidence that they were resident in the area throughout the year. At Topagaruk, informants said the ptarmigan were not so numerous in the summer (1949-1950) as in the winter. The apparent relative abundance of these birds in these two seasons could conceivably result from the birds being less conspicuous and more seclusive in the summer because of nesting activities. In summer these birds are protectively colored; at times a female only a few feet away is hardly distinguishable from the tundra. We observed only two adults and three juveniles in the area (July 5-10, 1952) although we saw considerable sign associated with the winter season. Sand dunes derived from material along the edge of the river formed a conspicuous feature of the landscape. These dunes, 20 to 30 feet high, were deeply cut by winds from the west-northwest. Ptarmigan tracks and sign were on all sides of the dunes, but the lee side was more commonly used than any other because of the protection from winds and the presence there of large willows and other plants. At Barrier Lake (July 29-Aug. 4, 1952) we noted numerous droppings of ptarmigan on the uplands between Barrier Lake and Teshekpuk Lake but we did not see any birds there. The sign could have been deposited either in the winter or in a previous season.

There are perhaps local migrations of ptarmigan. Harmon Helmericks, for instance, told us that in either April or May of 1946 he saw a ptarmigan on the ice of the Arctic Ocean 10 miles north of Pingok Island. At Gavia Lake (August 22) we observed a local shift of a group of ptarmigan. One day there were 19 birds in an area; the following day only seven birds were counted. On the third day the full complement of 19 birds were again in the area.

Ptarmigan are generally distributed on the Arctic Slope. On an airflight (July 3, 1952) from the mouth of the Canning River Canyon to Umiat the number of ptarmigan increased as we approached the drainage system of the Colville River. On this date, when these birds are nesting, the willows were just starting to grow new leaves and other vegetation of the tundra still was undeveloped. On August 16, along this same route, when young ptarmigan were nearly as large as adults, willows and alders were in full leaf and dominated the vegetation along water courses; the tundra was mature in appearance with considerably more green and yellow color in the landscape. The water in rivers and especially ponds was clear but brownish.

In the river valley at Umiat (June 28, 1952) a nest of seven eggs (1/2 incubated) was on an elevated mound supporting dwarf willow and birch averaging 1-1/2 feet high. The nest was merely a concavity in sphagnum moss depressed by the weight of the bird. The female refused to leave the nest until bodily removed.

Dusting pits are actively used in the period of nesting. At Umiat (June 25, 1952), ptarmigan were using seven dusting pits on the shoulder of the airstrip. On the upland at Kaolak River (July 12, 1951), ptarmigan developed dusting pits on abandoned diggings made by Arctic ground squirrels. Most of the mounds were covered with mosses and lichens and other vegetation.

Individuals and family groups were noted at various localities on the Arctic Slope. At Kaolak River (July 15, 1951) on a four hour field trip, we saw three pairs of birds and their families of four to six young. One flock of eight adults was seen from the air at the mouth of the Canning River Canyon on July 22, 1952. At Kaolak (July 21-27, 1951) they were common; ten pairs of adults (males and female) were within a one mile radius of our camp. The families of young were in groups of 1-3-4-6-8-9-10-11-14. One group consisted of one male, two females and four young. While on a flight from Kaolak to Point Barrow (July 27, 1951) we observed several ptarmigan on the tundra. At Gavia Lake (Aug. 21, 1951) ptarmigan were in groups or singles as follows: two adult singles, group of seven young and one adult, group of four young and one adult and one group of five young and two adults. According to Harmon Helmericks, ptarmigan were high in population numbers on the Arctic Slope in 1952.

Ptarmigan were associated with most of the communities of the Arctic Slope but were noted more commonly in the following situations than elsewhere: At Kaolak (July 21-27) and at Kaolak River (July 21, 1951) in damp swales of grasses and sedges in poorly drained areas where soils were damp to supersaturated and among the dwarf willows bordering lakes and creeks; at Gavia Lake (Aug. 21, 1952) among willows and alders (4 feet high) along the edges of ox-bow lakes. On windy, cold days the ptarmigan were mainly on south exposures among grasses and sedges along lakes and on windless days were on flat tundra of polygons but near dwarf shrubs. On June 27, 1/5 mile northwest of Mount Umiat, two dead willow ptarmigan were noted along the edge of a willow and cotton-grass swale. The feathers had been plucked by a raptor (?) preparatory to his eating the ptarmigan.

Variations in parental display are indicated by the following observations. At Kaolak River (July 12) we flushed a family of adults and young. The male called as he left the ground and then he flew across the lake. The female, when flushed at a distance of 10 feet from the observer, feigned injury for 12 seconds before following the male. Seven young, averaging seven inches in length, left the ground and flew in the opposite direction from that taken by the male and female, to swales of cotton-grass and willow on the hillside. Another adult male and female were at the side of a young bird held in a trap. The female first left the young and fluttered over the vegetation for 40 feet and the male flew out of the area. Four other young were flushed 30 feet from the trap that held the captured ptarmigan. On July 17, while walking through a wet meadow of grasses and sedges, we flushed a male, female and four young (150 mm in length). The female crawled through vegetation for 30 feet and then rose into the air. At this same moment four young left the ground. The female, while in the air, reversed her course and joined the young, which had alighted some 300 feet away. On July 23, 1951, a family of two adults and 10 young were flushed. The male returned and chattered until the female arrived. The male then retreated 15 feet beyond the observer and remained close to the female while she tried to distract our attention from the young by pretending to have an injured wing. In a group of one male, two females and four young at Kaolak (July 21, 1951) the male and young left after the females fluttered along the ground for 30 feet.

Adults and young do not always escape by flying; on July 20, 1951, we were enroute from the landing lake to Kaolak when an adult male and female with eight young ran 200 feet down established tracks of a weasel vehicle. It was necessary to reduce the speed of the vehicle to spare the young. A male at Kaolak River (July 12, 1951) ran 150 feet under the protection of willows to an opening where it remained until flushed. It flew 50 feet, then alighted in another patch of willows.

At Gavia Lake at 11:30 P.M. a ptarmigan called because one of its young was caught in a trap at the edge of a lake. The juvenal bird, unharmed, was released and inadvertently was dropped into the water where it floated but finally, becoming confused, got its head and bill under water and drowned.

On July 15, 1951, at 11:00 P.M. at Kaolak River, we heard a ptarmigan joining an Arctic tern and several sandpipers in protest to a passing red fox.

For three consecutive days a family (male, female and young) at Topagaruk was within 50 feet of one place.

The following measurements of juveniles show increase in size as correlated with advance of season: Topagaruk (July 6, 1951) two juveniles averaging 110 mm in length weighed 21 grams; Kaolak River (July 17, 1951) young of one family averaged 178 mm in length and another individual was 162 mm in length and weighed 38 grams; Kaolak (July 21-27, 1951) individuals in a group of nine were approximately 3/4 the size of parents and other groups were 1/3 to 2/3 the size of adults.

In a brooding female 600 mm long from Topagaruk (July 8, 1951) the largest ovum was two mm in diameter. Females, averaging 650 mm long from Kaolak (July 23, 1951) had ovaries smaller than the normal size for breeding birds; the largest ovum was only 1/2 mm in diameter. Males of the same size had testes six mm in length.

+Lagopus mutus nelsoni+ Stejneger: Rock ptarmigan.--Specimen, 1: Wahoo Lake, 146 deg.58', 69 deg.08', 2350 ft., No. 31309, ad. male, July 11, 1952.

At Wahoo Lake (July 6, 1952), young of one brood for the first time since July 3, called continually throughout the day and part of the night. Members of three other broods, only a few days old, did not call in the same persistent way.

Along a deeply eroded western outlet of Wahoo Lake there was an unusual concentration of fecal droppings, spaced approximately every two or three feet. This sheltered place offered protection from cold and winds of winter. Adults were associated with willows along creeks and on adjoining sidehills where willows gave way to open tundra. One family left the willows and the female flew back and forth behind the young as she herded them. The largest adult male seen here was shot on July 11. It was 365 mm in total length, weighed 460 grams, and had testes 7 mm long.

At the south end of Lake Peters (August 14, 1952), a female and her two young, along with other kinds of birds, were attracted to our tent during snowstorms. On July 18 at Wahoo Lake, a juvenile was 200 mm in total length and weighed 100 grams whereas on August 9 at Lake Peters a juvenal male was 261 mm in length and 226 grams in weight.

Rock ptarmigan were uncommon at Chandler Lake. We observed the first bird in the area on August 22, 1952, 13 days after our arrival. Droppings of the birds were only occasionally seen there.

+Grus canadensis canadensis+ (Linnaeus): Sandhill crane.--In 1952, two sandhill cranes called in the river valley north of Umiat on June 24. On June 26, 27 and 28, a single bird was seen there. It remained in the general area and called occasionally. Sandhill cranes are only occasionally seen along the Colville River. A pair of these cranes was seen near Meade River on August 16, 1952, by Marvin Mangus.

+Charadrius semipalmatus+ Bonaparte: Semipalmated plover.--A pair of semipalmated plovers in company with their young along the edge of Seabee Creek at Umiat were seen on four consecutive days, July 18-21, 1952. A male and female measured, respectively, total length, 180 and 175 mm; weight, 50 and 55 grams.

+Pluvialis dominica dominica+ (Mueller): American golden plover.--Specimens, 10: Kaolak River, 159 deg.47'40", 70 deg.11'15", 30 ft., Nos. 30592-30596 including 2 ad. males and 3 ad. females, July 12, 14, 18, 1951; Kaolak, 160 deg.14'51", 69 deg.56'00", 178 ft., Nos. 30588-30591 including 3 ad. males and 1 ad. female, July 21-23, 1951; Umiat, 152 deg.09'30", 69 deg.22'08", 352 ft., No. 31312 of an adult of unknown sex, July 21, 1952.

On July 29, 1952, we noted a pair of golden plover 3/10 mile northwest of Umiat. At Kaolak River (July 12, 1951) golden plovers could be approached to within 80 feet and were less wary than black-bellied plovers at Topagaruk. When one bird was shot the mate remained near the dead bird.

At Kaolak (July 21-27) four families of plovers were within a radius of 1/2 mile of camp. Each of these families remained apart from the others whereas at Kaolak River the physiography of the terrain permitted the pairs to form social groups of several families of adults and young. At Kaolak males flew to meet any intruder and attempted to decoy the intruder while the female remained with the young, but at Kaolak River an observer would approach to within 80 feet of a nest or young whereupon the female feigned injury by fluttering her wings and moving on her belly in an effort to decoy the intruder, the male meanwhile remaining within 40 feet of the observer. At Kaolak River, birds stayed in the nesting or feeding territory until approached to within a hundred or so feet. Young birds (July 21) were approximately 3/4 the size of adults. The largest bird collected at Umiat (July 21) weighed 155 grams and measured 26 mm in length. Five males, shot on July 12-23 at Kaolak and Kaolak River, averaged 144 (130-150) grams. The testes were 4.4 (4.0-5.0) mm long. Four females collected at the same time from this area, averaged 144 (140-150) grams. The ovaries were 7.7 (5.0-10.0) mm long and the largest ovum was 2.0 mm in diameter.

The call of the adult was two distinct curlewlike notes that differed from the slurred call of the black-bellied plover. Golden plovers can be decoyed by imitating their call.

At Barrier Lake, in a two hour field trip (July 29, 1951) we observed a flock of eight birds and one single; golden plovers were active there all day and night.

At Kaolak River (July 12, 1951) six pairs and their young were on open and exposed surfaces.

+Squatarola squatarola+ (Linnaeus): Black-bellied plover.--Specimens, 2: Topagaruk, 155 deg.48', 70 deg.34', 10 ft., No. 30597, ad. male and No. 30598, ad. female, July 9, 1951.