64 



NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA 76 



Sanderling (Calidris alba). Uspm, Cftn (12 May-1 October). 



Sanderlings were common migrants along the coast. They were at 

 Nanvak Bay in spring (12-31 May) and fall (5 July-25 September) in most 

 years; J. G. King (unpublished) reported a flock there on 5 July 1964. A 

 single bird was at Chagvan Bay on 20 May 1987 (D. F. Parmelee and J. M. 

 Parmelee, unpublished). Fall migration was most intense after 8 Septem- 

 ber when birds were sighted almost daily-^>eak counts totaled 118 birds 

 on 11 September 1973. Flock sizes were generally small (1-8 birds) 

 during spring migration and larger (to 80 birds) during fall migration. Five 

 birds were seen from Carter Bay to Goodnews Bay and 1 1 at Chagvan Bay 

 during an aerial survey on 1 October 1979 (R. Gill, Jr., and B. Conant, 

 unpublished). 



Semipalmated sandpiper (Calidris pusittd). Rsr, Uftn (22 May-24 

 September). Specimens: UAM2633, UAM2634 and RMS 1974/ 119/20. 



Pairs of semipalmated sandpipers were observed beginning 22 May 

 1987 near Chagvan Bay "at the edge of marshy ponds near the camp site 

 and also on the banks over looking Emperor Creek where territorial 

 skirmishes were conspicuous" (D. F. Parmelee and J. M. Parmelee, 

 unpublished). We looked carefully for breeding birds but saw none, 

 although they nest near our area in Bethel where DNW took a breeding 

 pair on 18 June 1962. At the Eek River, one to five birds per day were 

 seen on 19 June and one bird was seen on 21 June 1985 (M. Brown et al., 

 unpublished). A few semipalmated sandpipers migrated through Nanvak 

 Bay in fall (1-24 September). Birds fed on the mudflats in the bay with 

 other small sandpipers and may often have been overlooked. Semipal- 

 mated sandpipers were positively identified in 1973 when individuals 

 were collected in September from flocks of small sandpipers; birds in 

 mixed species flocks were identified by field characteristics in other 

 years. 



Western sandpiper (Calidris mauri). Asr, Afm (1 May-1 6 Septem- 

 ber). Specimen: YDNWR(MHD-70-30). 



Western sandpipers (Fig. 14) nested inland in the Kilbuck Moun- 

 tains, and nested and migrated along the coast. We found nesting birds 

 at the Tuluksak and Kisaralik rivers and along the coast near Goodnews 

 Bay (DNW photo), Nanvak Bay, and Cape Peirce. P. D. Ameson and D. B. 

 McDonald (personal communication) found nesting birds at Crooked 

 Island in June-July 1977. In the Kilbuck Mountains, we found 3-4 pairs 

 of western sandpipers nesting each year at the Tuluksak River (90 m asl) 

 and 25-50 pairs nesting at Kisaralik Lake (450 m asl) in 1979. Along the 

 coast, several pairs nested each year to 50 m asl at Cape Peirce, and large 

 numbers of birds nested from Goodnews Bay to Chagvan Bay in 1974. 



