KILBUCK AND AHKLUN MOUNTAIN BIRDS 



93 



Cape Peirce on 10 August 1981. A hummingbird was reported just 

 outside our area at Kwethluk Village in 1955 (Kessel and Gibson 1978). 

 Rufous hummingbirds are rarely observed along the Alaskan coast north 

 of the Alaska Peninsula; there are no previous records for our study area 

 (Kessel and Gibson 1978). 



Belted kingfisher (Ceryle alcyoh). Csr (29 May-26 August). Speci- 

 men: RMSI962/36/25. 



Kingfishers nested in the northern Kilbuck Mountains and were 

 occasionally found elsewhere. They nested each year at the Tuluksak 

 River and reportedly at the Salmon River (C. Awe, personal communica- 

 tion); Mindell (1983) reported them as an uncommon nesting bird near 

 Nyac; we saw them at the Aniak River, and they were seen at the KisaraUk 

 River (25 August 1985; M. Brown et al., unpublished), the Eek River 

 (R. Baxter, unpublished), and the Goodnews River (B. Huffmon, personal 

 communication) . 



We found 2.6 ± 0.51 pairs per year (zero to five nests) in 8 years at 

 the Tuluksak River along 48 km of major streams within the foothills to 

 250 m asl. Birds fished in fluviatile waters. Six nests were about I-30 m 

 from water and 2-6 m above the water in cutbanks of fine soil. One nest 

 had eggs on 2 June 1962. Young were in nests between 22 July and 

 12 August 1962, 6-13 July 1971, 3-26 July 1976, and on 4 July 1983. 

 Young had fledged by 12 August 1962 and 9 July 1979 and were still in 

 the area until 26 August 1974. Remains of a bird were found at a gyrfalcon 

 nest on 9 July 1987. 



Downy woodpecker (Picoides pubescens). Upr. 



Downy woodpeckers were regular visitors to bird feeders near Nyac 

 in winter (H. Svensen, personal communication) and nested at the 

 Tuluksak River. In 1985, M. Brown et al. (unpublished) found them at the 

 Kwethluk River on 23 July (one to five birds) and 24 July (one bird). We 

 also saw them at the Salmon and Aniak rivers between 26 July and 

 1 August 1986. One nest at the Tuluksak River had young on 1 July 1978 

 and was in a hole 3 m above the groimd in a spruce stub 4.5 m tall. The 

 spruce was among willows (3 m tall) within riparian poplar habitat. We 

 saw an adult carrying food and heard young in similar habitat on 7 July 

 1981. J. Birch (personal communication) saw an adult female there 

 between 28 July and 5 August 1981. We found three recently fledged 

 broods on 5-9 July 1983 along 5 km of riparian spruce-poplar, and 2.9 

 pairs per square kilometer in undisturbed plots. None were found in 

 disturbed plots. Woodpeckers were seen at four to six locations per week 

 in secondary woodland or tall alder shrub habitats in fall (20 September- 

 7 November). All birds were in main valley floors 90-225 m asl. 



