KILBUCK AND AHKLUN MOUNTAIN BIRDS 



3 



transition or barrier between the very different ecoregions of the Yukon- 

 Kuskokwim River Delta and Bristol Bay. 



The avifauna of this area has received little attention. Early studies in 

 southwestern Alaska did not extend much beyond the Alaska Peninsula 

 (Chapman 1904; Osgood 1904) and the eastern end of Bristol Bay (Hurley 

 1931-32), or they were restricted to the Yukon-Kuskokwim River Delta 

 (Dice 1920a, 1920b; Conover 1926; Brandt 1943; Walkinshaw 1948a, 

 1948b, 1949; Walkinshaw and Stophlet 1949; Cady et al. 1955; William- 

 son 1957). D. Bernard BuU (in Friedmann 1933, 1934, 1936; Bent 1938) 

 collected and observed birds near Goodnews Bay in the 1930's. Sub- 

 sequent studies and surveys conducted by personnel of the U.S. Fish and 

 Wildlife Service and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game extended 

 into this area, but these were concentrated on coastal locations. Informa- 

 tion was generally restricted to estimates of numbers of migrants using 

 estuaries and of breeding seabirds (Ameson 1977; Sowls et al. 1978). 

 Recently, personnel of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Bureau of 

 Land Management, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and others have 

 made aerial surveys and float trips down some of the rivers during which 

 they listed birds seen. Here, we present a detailed assessment of the 

 relative abundance, seasonal occurrence, distribution, and habitat use of 

 birds in the Kilbuck and Ahklun mountain region. 



