52 



L. W. SOWL 



when discussing the existing data rather than 

 to an actual population estimate. The size 

 classes used are defined as follows: 



Class I less than 100 birds 



Class 11-100-1,000 



Class 111-1,000-10,000 



Class IV- 10,000-100,000 



Class V-100,000-1,000,000 



Class VI more than 1,000,000 



The Dictionary of Alaska Place Names 

 (Orth 1967) is the reference for those who wish 

 to locate some of the less obvious sites. The 

 Coast Pilot, No. 9 (U. S. Department of Com- 

 merce 1964) is another useful reference. 



Species Accounts 



Northern Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis) 



Petrels of a number of species can be found 

 in the Gulf of Alaska, some of them in great 

 numbers. Only the northern fulmar breeds 

 there. 



The fulmar is common in the offshore 

 waters of the northern Gulf of Alaska 

 throughout most of the year (Isleib and 

 Kessel 1973). Most authors, including Clark 

 (1911), one of the earlier ones, who commented 

 on the distribution of fulmars farther out in 

 the Gulf, have considered them to be abun- 

 dant. Nichols (1927) raised one of the few 

 voices of apparent dissent; he noted that in 

 1926 he encountered the largest number of 

 fulmars (about 800) on 11 July in Shelikof 

 Strait after he had left the Gulf. During the 

 summer, fulmars are very common seaward of 

 Montague Island, particularly to the north- 

 east of Patton Bay and in the approaches to 

 Montague Strait. Data derived from FWS 

 surveys in July and August 1972 showed an 

 estimated 10,000 fulmars in a stretch of 

 waters 19 km wide along the east side of Mon- 

 tague Island (Isleib and Kessel 1973). 



Over the Portlock Banks and in Stevenson 

 Entrance, fulmars sometimes concentrate in 

 very large numbers, either by themselves or in 

 company with sooty shearwaters (Puffinus 

 griseus). In August 1973, FWS observers 

 crossing Perenosa Bay saw large numbers of 

 tube-nosed birds moving northeastward 

 across the Bay. Although these appeared to 

 be predominantly shearwaters, there were 

 also many fulmars. There was a general move- 



ment of birds through Shuyak Strait from 

 Shelikof Strait into the Gulf of Alaska. It was 

 not determined whether the fulmars were 

 moving with the shearwaters or on a regular 

 feeding flight. Fulmars are often found close 

 to Afognak Island in the area between Sea 

 Lion Rocks and Sea Otter Island. Gabrielson 

 and Lincoln (1959) reported seeing swarms of 

 fulmars in Marmot Strait and around the 

 small islands on the north side of Afognak in 

 early August. Murie (1959) noted fulmars in 

 Shelikof Strait and again around the Shu- 

 magin Islands. There is nothing in this record 

 to indicate any change in their distribution at 

 sea recently. 



The Semidi Islands support the Gulf of 

 Alaska's largest fulmar breeding population, 

 a Class V colony (U. S. Bureau of Sport 

 Fisheries and Wildlife 1973). Gabrielson and 

 Lincoln (1959) considered it to be one of the 

 four largest colonies in Alaska. 



Gabrielson (1940) was told by Captain Selle- 

 vold of the marine vessel Brown Bear that he 

 thought the birds nested on Sea Otter Island 

 in Perenosa Bay. Gabrielson also learned that 

 they probably nested on Sea Lion Rock at the 

 head of Marmot Strait. In August 1973 I ob- 

 served fulmars in close proximity to Sea Lion 

 Rock. More recently, small numbers of ap- 

 parently breeding fulmars have been found in 

 the Barren Islands (L. W. Sowl, personal ob- 

 servation and Edgar Bailey, unpublished 

 FWS report, Anchorage, Alaska). Although 

 no other colonies are known or suspected, the 

 evidence suggests the possible existence of 

 some. 



Peterson and Fisher (1955), on noting dark 

 fulmars between St. Paul and St. George 

 when only the light morph was present on any 

 of the colonies in the Pribilofs, expressed no 

 surprise. They offered the opinion that a 

 round trip of 960 km to one of the dark morph 

 colonies in the Aleutians just might be within 

 the operating range of a fulmar on a 4-day 

 vacation from nest-tending duties. Using this 

 as a general yardstick, it appears that the rich 

 foraging grounds over the Portlock Banks 

 might also be within the range of breeding ful- 

 mars from the Semidis. The trip up Shelikof 

 Strait and on to Portlock Bank by way of 

 Shuyak Strait is only slightly longer than the 

 one from Chagulak to St. Paul. The feeding 

 grounds off Montague Island would require a 



