Part 8

At Barrier Lake, on July 4, 1951, two adults were feeding together in a bare lane which had been made and maintained by caribou. At Topagaruk on July 7, 1951, these plovers made up less than one per cent of the avian population. They were frequently on polygons having raised centers. Non-nesting or non-breeding birds were on bare wind-blown knolls adjacent to the river. On these knolls they fed with semipalmated sandpipers, pectoral sandpipers, and ruddy turnstones. On July 9, we visited polygons having raised centers and young called continually but we could not locate them. The call resembles that of the long-billed curlew but is more plaintive. Ordinarily these plovers kept beyond the range of our collecting gun but when one of the pair was killed the other, especially the male, remained near the dead bird until the collector approached to within 20 feet. Of a pair shot on this date the male weighed 207 grams and had testes 7 mm long; the female weighed 232 grams and the largest ovum was 3 mm in diameter. The species was recorded at Topagaruk from July 4 to 10, 1951, inclusive.

At the west edge of Smith Bay on July 29, 1951, while flying from Point Barrow to Teshekpuk Lake, we observed one group of approximately 40 black-bellied plovers flying along the edge of the lake. At Gavia Lake on August 21, 1952, two young were just able to fly but preferred to run on the ground.

+Arenaria interpres interpres+ (Linnaeus): Ruddy turnstone.--Specimens, 5: Topagaruk River, 155 deg.48', 70 deg.34', 10 ft., No. 30599-30603 including 4 ad. males and 1 ad. female, July 6, 8, 9, 1951.

Four males shot at Topagaruk July 6-9, 1951, weighed 105 (96-116) grams. The testes were 2.8 (2.5-3.0) mm long. A female from the above locality, shot on July 6, weighed 125 grams. These birds constituted less than one per cent of the avian population at Topagaruk and were more frequently on polygons with high centers and on high windswept knolls than elsewhere and were in company with black-bellied plovers, pectoral sandpipers and semipalmated sandpipers. One bird was observed on July 3, 1951, at 1/4 mile southeast of the Arctic Research Laboratory at Point Barrow.

+Capella gallinago delicata+ (Ord): Common snipe.--At Umiat (June 25, 1952) at 11:00 P.M. a female was sitting and calling from the top of a leafless alder tree some 210 feet from any favorable nesting grounds. A male was performing a nuptial flight overhead. Three other birds in the air were heard.

On July 13, 1952, at Porcupine Lake, we flushed a female from a damp meadow of grasses and sedges at the west end of the lake. She pretended to have a crippled wing. Seventy-five feet from this bird an abandoned nest and fragments of egg shells rested on top of a mound six inches from water and 10 feet from the west end of the lake. Two dwarf willows on top of the mound partly concealed the nest. Two days later (July 15), juveniles were caught in a line of traps set in this marsh. Four tree sparrows, one savannah sparrow and three species of small mammals also were taken from this marsh. At this time of year (July 15) all the terrain was free of snow and ice except that two patches of snow, one 8 x 12 feet and another 6 x 6 feet remained on the protected south shore of the lake and a few ice slivers remained in the deep crevasses on some mounds in the marsh. One bird was seen on August 13, 1952, in wet low polygons between Lake Schrader and Lake Peters.

+Actitis macularia+ (Linnaeus): Spotted sandpiper.--At the south end of Lake Peters on August 15, 1952, after snow covered the valley, a juvenal spotted sandpiper remained along the shore line nearer camp than it had been for four previous days.

+Heteroscelus incanum+ (Gmelin): Wandering tattler.--On each of the days July 3-11, 1952, a wandering tattler was flushed from dense high willows along an 8-foot-deep creek channel that carried water from the west end of Wahoo Lake into the East Fork of the Ivashak River. The bird was at home in the willows and had considerable dexterity in perching on limbs. Although the bird favored one section of the creek, an exhaustive search for young, eggs or nest was fruitless. A loud call was given by this bird when disturbed.

+Erolia melanotos+ (Vieillot): Pectoral sandpiper.--Specimens, 52: Barrier Lake, NE Teshekpuk Lake, 153 deg.05'40", 70 deg.39'40", 8 ft., 33, Nos. 30616-30636, 30638-30648, 30754 including 5 ad. males, 12 juv. males, 1 ad. female and 15 juv. females, July 30, Aug. 1-3, 1951; Topagaruk, 155 deg.48', 70 deg.34', 7, Nos. 30649-30655, including 3 ad. males and 4 ad. females, July 6, 8, 9, 1951; Kaolak River, 159 deg.47'40", 70 deg.11'15", 30 ft., 6, Nos. 30610-30615 of ad. females, July 12, 14, 15, 18, 1951; Kaolak, 160 deg.14'51", 69 deg.56'00", 178 ft., 6, Nos. 30604-30609 including 1 juv. male and 5 ad. females, July 20-23, 1951.

The earliest record of young (135 mm in length and 26 grams in weight) was at Kaolak River on July 14, 1951. On July 9, 1952, at Topagaruk the oviduct of an adult female, 86 grams in weight, contained an egg in a shell 200 mm in diameter. Her second largest ovum was 10 mm. Breeding males on this date had testes averaging 11 mm in length. The average length of testis of 15 juveniles shot on August 3, 1951, at Teshekpuk Lake was 1.9 (1.5-2.0) mm. The average weight of these juveniles was 60 (50-81) grams. A comparison of male and female juveniles shows no significant differences. Nevertheless, adult males in both the breeding and post-breeding seasons are longer bodied and heavier than adult females.

In the period June 14-25, 1952, in the Point Barrow area, pectoral sandpipers were puffing their throats and cooing. On June 23, several birds were defending territories, and one half mile northeast of Barrow Village (June 23, 1952) we noted a male pectoral sandpiper that crouched low when a pomarine jaeger flew directly overhead. After the jaeger passed, the sandpiper assumed normal posture and continued feeding.

At Topagaruk (July 7, 1951) these birds represented less than one per cent of the avian population, were common on polygons having low centers, and frequently joined black-bellied plovers, ruddy turnstones, and semipalmated sandpipers to form discrete flocks.

On a four hour field trip at Kaolak River (July 15, 1951), the pectoral sandpipers (45 by actual count) were the most common of the sandpipers and were always calling overhead. The young on this date were not yet capable of flight and were being fed by adult females. One of the immatures bathed in water at the edge of the beach. On July 18, females were still attempting to decoy intruders by pretending to have broken wings. Eight adults with young were observed at Kaolak (June 21-27, 1951) but the species was not so aggressive as at Kaolak River, nor so numerous. The fewer birds may have been correlated with lack of sand dunes, river beaches and open areas.

A group of five pectoral sandpipers frequented the shore of Barrier Lake (July 29, 1951) but the group was not seen the following day. On August 3, there was a sudden increase of pectoral sandpipers in the area; most of them were in flocks of six to 50. From one point along edge of the uplands, we shot 20 birds from several different flocks consisting mostly of juveniles. They seemed curious about our presence. When a bird was shot from the flock, the entire group circled back and forth over the dead or injured bird, sometimes only three or four feet above our heads. In the late evening of this same day, the number of pectoral sandpipers increased and although some were moving westward, most of them were moving eastward. On the following day they were still present in great numbers. The day before the arrival of these migrating birds, two adults (Aug. 2) acted as if they were still attending young. On July 30, we shot at a lone bird as it flew by and thereupon it climbed upward until nearly out of sight as they frequently did when chased by falcons.

At Lake Schrader (July 23, 1952) pectoral sandpipers were active 24 hours of the day.

On August 4, 1952, at the south end of Lake Peters, a group of eight pectoral sandpipers fed near camp. On August 5, one was shot and on the following day only seven were seen, suggesting that they were established in the area and were not migrants. They left on August 12.

At James Robert Lake (3600 feet elev., August 8, 1952), which is the most southern body of water in the canyon south of Lake Peters, several pectoral sandpipers were feeding along the edge of the lake and on the alluvium outwash below James Robert Glacier.

At Gavia Lake there was a decided trend in movement of groups of pectoral sandpipers. On August 22, 1952, groups of 2, 4, 6, 8, 8, 8, 16, 17, 18 flew by to the east. The day before there were only a few sandpipers and these were not especially on the move. Comparison between dates of active movements of sandpipers in 1951 and 1952 indicate that migration was considerably earlier in 1951 than in 1952.

+Erolia bairdii+ (Coues): Baird's sandpiper.--Specimens, 5: Topagaruk, 155 deg.48', 70 deg.34', 10 ft., 4, Nos. 30657-30660 including 2 ad. males and 2 ad. females, July 7, 9, 10, 1951; Kaolak River, 159 deg.47'40", 70 deg.11'15", 30 ft., 1, No. 30656, ad. male, July 12, 1951.

On June 14, 1952, at Birnirk mounds, when snow still covered most of the ground, Baird's sandpipers were already established on territories. A nest of four eggs was examined 1/4 mile southeast of the Arctic Research Laboratory on July 4. The female left the nest when the observer approached to within 20 feet and flew directly toward him and then dropped to the ground and pretended to have a broken wing. We pursued this bird for 50 feet before she took flight. The male, which flew at a much greater speed than the female, was nearby and soon joined her in flight. The female repelled her mate by chasing him, but the male persisted in accompanying her. If one or more males of this species (on one occasion as many as five) approached the territory of these nesting birds, the male would leave the female and chase the trespassers. On one occasion, after we left the nesting area, the female returned to the nest after approximately four minutes. Her approach to it was direct and without hesitation. After 1/2 hour we returned to the nest and the male was standing one foot away from the brooding female with his head resting on his wing. The male, followed by the female, left the nest and feigned injury. Shore-birds and water birds were more numerous on this date on the tundra and lakes nearer the Arctic Ocean (in the Point Barrow area) than in the direction of the Brooks Range.

At Topagaruk (July 5-10, 1952) adults of this species were the fourth most common bird, representing four per cent of the avian population. They were near lakes among polygons some of which had low centers whereas others had high centers. One bird had a nest and four eggs approximately 150 feet from an oil derrick, surrounded on all sides by the tracks of vehicles. This bird feigned injury at the nest notably more than did Baird's sandpipers that inhabited undisturbed tundra beyond. Three adult males, shot at Topagaruk (July 7-10, 1951), averaged 44(42-47) grams in weight and had testes averaging 3.5(3.0-4.5) mm long. Two females, collected in the same period and at the same place averaged 44 grams in weight. The largest ovum was one mm in diameter and the largest ovary three mm long.

Other occurrences were: Kaolak River, July 12-18, 1951 (four juveniles observed in one four hour field trip July 15); Lake Schrader, July 24-28, 1952; Point Barrow, July 27, 1951 (most common shore-bird at fresh-water ponds adjacent to the Arctic Ocean); 2 mi. S Wahoo Lake, on a high divide between the Ivashak and Sadlerochit rivers, July 8, 1952; Lake Schrader, July 23-31, 1952 (active at all hours); S end Lake Peters, August 1 and 2 but not seen there later.

+Erolia alpina pacifica+ (Coues): Dunlin.--Specimens, 21: Barrier Lake, NE Teshekpuk Lake, 153 deg.05'40", 70 deg.39'40", 8 ft., 1, No. 30661, ad. male, Aug. 1, 1951; Topagaruk River, 155 deg.48', 70 deg.34', 10 ft., 20, Nos. 30662-30681, 12 ad. males and 8 ad. females, July 6-9, 1951.

Specimens shot at Topagaruk River (July 6-9, 1951) yielded weights of 57(53-64) grams for eleven adult males and 59(55-65) grams for six females. Testes were 3.5(2.0-5.0) mm long, the largest ova were 1.2(.5-2.0) mm, and ovaries were 3.5(3.0-4.0) mm long. An adult female from Teshekpuk Lake (August 1, 1951) weighed 48 grams. Her largest ovum was one mm in diameter and the ovary was 3.5 mm long.

At Topagaruk we observed the species every day (July 5-10, 1951) and on July 7, located a nest and four eggs. Each of the seven times that the brooding female was approached she left the nest when we were approximately 80 feet away and she flew approximately 150 feet before alighting at which time she called. The call resembled that of the western grebe. The wary nature of this sandpiper was in contrast to that of the other smaller shore-birds; they left the nest only when almost stepped on. On July 9, the nest still held four eggs. Adults were the fifth most common bird and made up three per cent of the avian population. They frequented polygons having low centers adjacent to stabilized lakes. At Kaolak River (July 17, 1951) a dunlin was feeding and flying with a group of four semipalmated sandpipers. At Point Barrow (July 27, 1951) dunlins were congregating in small groups at ponds and small lakes adjacent to the Arctic Ocean. At Barrier Lake (July 29-Aug. 4, 1951) three dunlins fed in the area but did not show territorial behavior.

+Limnodromus scolopaceus+ (Say): Long-billed dowitcher.--Specimens, 5: Topagaruk River, 155 deg.48', 70 deg.34', 10 ft., 2, Nos. 30687, ad. male, July 7, 1951 and 30688, ad. female, July 8, 1951; Kaolak River, 159 deg.47'40", 70 deg.11'15", 30 ft., 3, Nos. 30684-30686, 3 ad. males, July 12, 14, 1951.

Four males shot at Topagaruk and Kaolak River (July 7-14, 1951) averaged 104(100-110) grams in weight and had testes 4.7(4-6) mm long. An adult female (July 8) from Topagaruk, weighed 130 grams and her ovary was 7.8 mm long. Her largest ovum was 3.5 mm in diameter. A juvenile from Kaolak River on July 14, 1951, was 150 mm in length and weighed 28 grams; thirteen days later, at Kaolak, a juvenile was shot that measured 265 mm in length and weighed 70 grams.

At Kaolak on July 15, 1951, we saw eight pairs of adults in a four hour field trip. Their young were approximately 1/2 grown. One pair of adults and four young, the size of parents, were seen daily in the same general area at Kaolak (July 21-27). One bird was observed on August 4, 1951, at Teshekpuk Lake.