36 



NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA 76 



25 September. King eiders were also found at Cape Peirce on 26-27 June 

 1970 (H. P. Brokaw, unpublished), 13 June- 15 August 1981 (D. R. Herter 

 and D. Lloyd, personal communication), and 5 June- 12 July 1984 (D. R. 

 Herter et al., personal communication). P. D. Ameson and D. B. McDon- 

 ald (personal communication) found eiders at Round (1 bird). Summit 

 (8 birds). Crooked (about 50 birds). High (25 birds), and Hagemeister 

 (about 150 birds) islands in June-July 1977. 



A few king eiders have been found breeding in the area. A pair was 

 flushed from dwarf shrub mat at Cape Peirce on 13 June 1976— the fresh, 

 down -filled nest contained no eggs, suggesting mammalian predation. A 

 female with seven flightless young was at Round Island on 18 July 1974 

 (T. J. Eley, unpublished). These observations of nesting birds at Cape 

 Peirce and Round Island are far south of their normal breeding range. 

 General nesting distribution for king eiders is far north of our study area 

 with the closest known nesting at St. Matthew Island. 



Steller's eider {Polysticta stellert). Cspm, Afm, FCv, (18 April-8 Oc- 

 tober). Specimen: YDNWR(MHI>70-24). 



Steller's eiders were found only on the coast. We frequently saw 

 birds flying past Cape Peirce and in open leads in Nanvak Bay during 

 spring migration (27 April- 10 June 1973 peak, 5 May; 28 April- 14 June 

 1976 peak, 13 May). C. P. Dau (unpublished) reported 340 birds from 

 Platinum to Security Cove during an aerial survey on 23 April 1981. 

 Estimates during additional aerial surveys of the coast included 15,725 in 

 1983 (25 April; C. P. Dau, unpublished), 1,380 in 1984 (28 April; C. P. 

 Dau, unpublished), 2,749 in 1985 (12 May; C. P. Dau and R. J. King, 

 unpublished), 300 in 1986 (4 May; C. P. Dau and R.J. King, unpublished), 

 1,419 in 1988 (3 May; R. J. King and C. P. Dau, unpublished), 4,230 in 

 1987 (1 May; R.J. King and C. P. Dau, unpublished), and 1,384 in 1989 

 (1 May; R. J. King and C. P. Dau, unpublished). D. I. Eisenhauer (unpub- 

 lished) found birds in Chagvan Bay on 18 April 1973, and D. F. Parmelee 

 and J. M. Parmelee (unpublished) found 10 birds in the bay and about 

 100 flying over the bay on 22 May 1987. Fall migration of Steller's eiders 

 past Cape Peirce began on 4 August 1 970, l6 August 1973, and 1 6 August 

 1976 and continued at least through 25 September 1973 and 2 September 

 1976. On 5 August 1970, 146 birds per hour (2 h) flew past Cape Peirce; 

 peak numbers occurred on 1 9 August 1 976 when 1 69 birds per hour (2 h) 

 passed the cape. R. E. Gill and R. King (unpublished) found 505 birds on 

 the coast between Estus Point and Kulukak Bay during an aerial survey 

 on 6 October 1980. Estimates of numbers of Steller's eiders along the 

 coast in fall during aerial surveys included 359 in 1985 (6 October; R. J. 

 King and W. D. Eldridge, unpublished), 670 in 1 987 (2 October; R. J. King 

 and W. D. Eldridge, unpublished), 1,152 in 1988 and 798 in 1989 (8 and 

 7 October, respectively; R. J. King and L. Denlinger, unpublished). 



