90 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA 76 



addition, we saw about 10 birds entering holes at Little Beluga and about 

 50 birds at Big Beluga Peak in Goodnews Bay in June 1974; J. L. Hout 

 (personal communication) reported homed puffins on Bird Rock near 

 Cape Newenham. Within the Walrus Islands, homed puffins were most 

 plentiful on Round Island (Ameson 1977), and an adult was collected 

 there on 19 August I960 by C. J. Lensink (personal communication). 



At Cape Peirce, birds arrived on 18 May 1973 and 16 May 1976. Eggs 

 were found on 7 July 1976, a bird in incubation posture was seen on 

 12 June 1973, a chick was seen on 3 August 1970, and adults were present 

 until 8 September 1973 and 1976. Adults collected there in 1976 had 

 brood patches. 



Great homed owl (Bubo virginianus). Cpr. Specimen: RMS 1962/- 

 36/24. 



Great homed owls nested in the Kilbuck Mountains each year and 

 were reported by C. Awe and J. Bloomquist (personal communication) 

 to occur there throughout winter. We found nests or fledged young at 

 the Salmon River, the Tuluksak River (downies; DNW photo), and the 

 Kisaralik River. Owls were also observed at the Kisaralik River on 21 June 

 1987 (B. J. McCaffery, personal communication). One owl was seen on 

 28 July 1985 at the Kwethluk River (M. Brown et al., unpublished). 

 Nesting territories were generally in riparian spruce-cottonwood or the 

 edge of riparian spmce-cottonwood and spmce forests 30-280 m asl. 



Seven centers of nesting territories were about 5.5 km (4.7-6.3 km) 

 apart at the Tuluksak River, and three families with fledged young were 

 seen along 38 km of the middle and lower Kisaralik River in July 1979. 

 Nests were on the ground and to 8 m above the ground, and they were 

 located inside an old dredge (one), at the base of a tree on a cliff face 

 (one), in hollow tops of old poplar stubs (two), and in old raptor or raven 

 nests in p>oplar trees (two). 



In 6 years on the Tuluksak River, we found 1 .92 ± 0.88 pairs per year; 

 broods with large, fledged young averaged 1.50 ± 0.72 young per nest. 

 One nest had eggs in mid-March, four pairs had young fledge between 

 25 June and 5 July, and four broods were flying well on 1-15 July. 

 Breeding success was uncertain but probably high (one site had young 

 fledge 6 of 7 years). No young were found on the Tuluksak River in 1983 

 after the 1982 snowshoe hare population crash. 



Great homed owls at the Tuluksak River were highly selective preda- 

 tors of hares, larger microtines, and larger birds (Weir and Hanson 1989). 

 Nineteen fresh food items at nests or seen being taken to young included 

 10 juvenile snowshoe hares, 1 adult spmce grouse, 1 adult willow ptarmi- 

 gan, 1 juvenile pintail, 1 large shorebird, 1 swallow, 2 small passerines, 

 1 dolly varden (Salvelinus malma), and 1 arctic grayling (Thymallus 

 arcticus). Food items in pellets collected near a nest during July 1974 



