Aerial Population Survey of Common Eiders and Other Waterbirds in Near Shore Waters and Along Barrier Islands of the Arctic Coastal Plain of Alaska, 24-27 June 2005

摘要

The seventh consecutive aerial survey of common eiders and other waterbirds along the coastline of the Arctic Coastal Plain (ACP) of Alaska, including barrier islands, was conducted from 24 to 27 June 2005. Observations were made from an amphibious Cessna 206 (N61599) by pilot/observer and right seat observer. The study area, established when the survey was initiated in 1999, encompasses approximately 1,050 km of the Chukchi and Beaufort sea coastlines from Omalik Lagoon north and east to the Canadian border and an additional 190 and 325 linear kilometers, respectively, of barrier island habitats off Kasegaluk Lagoon and from Point Barrow to Demarcation Bay. Shorefast ice cover in 2005 was more extensive than 2004 in both the Chukchi and Beaufort seas. Ice free areas in the Beaufort Sea were especially limited and most barrier islands were accessible to terrestrial predators.