KILBUCK AND AHKLUN MOUNTAIN BIRDS 



39 



birds were found in Chagvan Bay by 18 April 1973 (D. I. Eisenhauer, 

 personal communication). Oldsquaws migrated past Nanvak Bay and Cape 

 Peirce and courted in the bay during spring migration (28 April- 12 June 

 1973 peak, 2 May; and 28 April-26 May 1976 peak, 3 May). Aerial survey 

 estimates of oldsquaws along the coast in spring included 18 in 1985 

 (25 April; C. P. Dau, unpublished), 10 in 1987 (1 May; R. J. King and C. P. 

 Dau, unpublished), 100 in 1988 (3 May; R. J. King and C. P. Dau, unpub- 

 lished), and 591 in 1989 (4 May; R. J. King and C. P. Dau, unpubUshed). 



Oldsquaws were found along the coast at Cape Peirce between 

 30 May and 18 July (1970, 1973, and 1976); D. R. Herter et al. (personal 

 communication) and D. R. Herter and D. Lloyd (personal communica- 

 tion) also found oldsquaws at Cape Peirce in summer 1981 and 1984. 

 Oldsquaws were at Crooked and Hagemeister islands in June-July 1977 

 (P. D. Ameson and D. B. McDonald, personal communication). Old- 

 squaws nested at Kagati Lake (M. J. Fry, unpublished) and were found 

 along the Kanektok River (White and Boyce 1978; J. L. Hout, personal 

 communication), at the Kisaralik River (16-27 June 1987; B.J. McCaffery, 

 personal communication), and at the Eek River (22 and 25 June 1985; M. 

 Brown et al., unpublished). They nested at Chagvan Bay and may have 

 nested near Nanvak Bay at the Slug River. We also found 18 flightless birds 

 in a large lake near Nanvak Bay on 27 August 1976. A few fall migrants 

 passed through Nanvak Bay as late as 25 September 1973; 34 oldsquaws 

 were seen during an aerial survey along the coastal study area on 7 

 October 1989 (R. J. King and L. Denlinger, unpublished). 



Black scoter (Melanitta nigra), Aspm, Usr (23 April-8 October). 



This scoter nested near the coast and possibly inland, molted in 

 inshore and nearshore waters, and migrated near the coast. Estimates of 

 black scoters along the coast in spring included 9 in 1981 (23 April; C. P. 

 Dau, unpublished), 0 in 1982 (3 May; C. P. Dau, unpublished), 269 in 1983 

 (25 April; C. P. Dau, unpublished), 30 in 1984 (28 April; C. P. Dau, 

 unpubUshed), 125 in 1985 (12 May; C. P. Dau and R.J. King, unpublished), 

 52 in 1986 (4 May; C. P. Dau and R. J. King, unpublished), 212 in 1987 (1 

 May; R.J. King and C. P. Dau, unpublished), 642 in 1988 (3 May; R.J. King 

 and C. P. Dau, unpublished), and 2,470 in 1989 (4 May; R. J. King and C. 

 P. Dau, unpublished). Mixed-sex flocks of up to 31 birds were seen daily 

 at Cape Peirce from 5 May to 18 June 1973; the sex ratio of those 324 birds 

 was 1.6 males to 1.0 female. Flocks of up to 850 paired black scoters 

 migrated past Cape Peirce between 30 April and 20 June 1976 (peak, 1 

 May, 820 birds per hour during 2 h). Five male scoters flew northward 

 over Chagvan Bay on 27 May 1987 (D. F. Parmelee and J. M. Parmelee, 

 unpublished). Molt migration of males past Cape Peirce occurred from 

 mid-June to the end of July 1984 and 1985 and peaked both years on 11 

 July (Herter et al. 1989). We found them throughout summer Oune-Sep- 



