KILBUCK AND AHKLUN MOUNTAIN BIRDS 5 1 



(unpublished) was in a poplar grove. Two nests were in the hollow in 

 the middle of the base of multistemmed birches about 4 m tall. 



At the Salmon River, the Kisaralik River, and Kagati Lake, nesting or 

 probably nesting merlins were found at one or two locations in each area. 

 Merlins were more common along the Tuluksak River than other adjacent 

 river valleys. This increased density of merlins along the Tuluksak River 

 could be attributed to higher densities of important prey items (passer- 

 ines) as a result of vegetation changes associated with 70 years of gold 

 mining activities. In 48 km of major streams at the Tuluksak River, pairs 

 occupied at least nine territories the centers of which were regularly 

 spaced at 2.2-3 3 km intervals (x = 2.6). Usually five to seven pairs were 

 present each year, and successful pairs fledged 3 2 young per pair (A'^ = 5; 

 range, 3-4). In each of 4 years with complete censuses, five pairs fledged 

 young each year at the Tuluksak River. Eggs hatched in one nest on 25 

 May 1974. Six pairs Hedged young from 5 to 25 July (1974, 1976-78, 

 1983, and 1986). At the Salmon River, an adult female scolded DNW on 

 27 July 1986. Usually, all birds were gone from the area by 20-25 August. 



Food items at nests at the Tuluksak River included one American 

 robin, one Swainson's thrush (Catharus ustulatus), and one savannah 

 sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis). 



Peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus), VRsr? 



We saw falcons each year at Cape Peirce: 21-25 August 1970 (four 

 observations of single adults, one pair, one immature), 8 May and 7 June 

 1973, and 20 May 1976 (one female). J. L. Hout (unpublished) saw one 

 bird at Cape Peirce in April 1971 and D. R. Herter et al. (personal 

 communication) saw one there on 20 June 1984. We found a calling adult 

 at a cliff at the Kisaralik River on 27 July 1979, but none were seen there 

 by us or others in 7 other years (B. J. McCaffery and R. D. Ernst, 

 unpublished). We saw an adult at an old nest site on a cliff at the Tuluksak 

 River on 26 June 1962 but in no other years. Peregrines nested on the 

 Salmon River in the 1950's to 1960's (J. Bloomquist, personal communi- 

 cation), but we saw none there. 



Gyrfalcon (Falco nisticolus). Cpr. 



Gyrfalcons maintained territories throughout the study area. We 

 found nests or pairs in the following areas: one to four pairs in 4 years 

 along 40 km of river at the Salmon River (DNW photo); one pair or single 

 adult in 8 of 10 years (fledged a total of 9 or 10 young) along 48 km of 

 streams at the Tuluksak River (DNW photo); four to five pairs each of 

 3 years along 80 km of river at the Kisaralik River (DNW photo); and one 

 pair in 1974 from Goodnews to Chagvan bays. Three nests and two birds 

 were seen along the Kisaralik River in 1977 (White and Boyce 1978), four 



