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Birds of the Prudhoe Bay Region, Northern Alaska

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Birds of the Prudhoe Bay Region, Northern Alaska WESTERN BIRDS Volume 25, Number 2, 1994 BIRDS OF THE PRUDHOE BAY REGION, NORTHERN ALASKA CRAIG J. HOHENBERGER, Ventana Wilderness Sanctuary, Coast Route, Monterey,California 93940 WAYNEC. HANSON, 1902 Yew StreetRd., Bellingham,Washington 98226 EDWARD E. BURROUGHS, 101132 Lee Street,Eagle River, Alaska 99577 This paper summarizesthe resultsof our studiesof birds of the arctic coastalplain of Alaskafrom 1971 to 1993 and numerouspublished and unpublishedreports. Our objectiveis to synthesizethe considerabledata accumulatedsince oil extractionbegan in the Prudhoe Bay area and to providea detailedaccount of all specieswithin three contiguousregions so that futurechanges in speciescomposition and statusmay be assessed. Our primarysources of informationwere ecological studies of impactsof petroleumresource development undertaken at PrudhoeBay from 1971 to 1973 as part of the AlaskanArctic Gas PipelineCompany's effort. From 1974 to 1981, additionalstudy sites were establishedon the coastalplain, near FranklinBluffs, and in the coastalfoothills under U.S. EnergyRe- searchand DevelopmentAdministration (now U.S. Departmentof Energy) sponsorship.Several biologists and an increasingnumber of birdershave continuedto communicateto us their observationsin the PrudhoeBay area. REGIONAL SETTING The area coveredby this paper extendsfrom the ArcticOcean on the northto the crestof the BrooksRange on thesouth, from the Canningand Ivishak rivers on the east to the Itkillik and Colville rivers on the west. We have dividedthis sectorinto three north-southregions: Prudhoe Bay, FranklinBluffs, and Central Foothills(Figure 1). The Central Foothills regionextends from the BrooksRange north to the SagwonBluffs and White Hills.The FranklinBluffs Region includes the area boundedby the northern edge of Franklin Bluffs, which form the east bank of the SagavanirktokRiver in that area, and the Itkillik and Shaviovikrivers. The Western Birds 25:73-103, 1994 73 BIRDS OF PRUDHOE BAY I 1510 ø I 148I ø I 148I ø PRUDHOEBAY • REGION •]• Colville ' ß SimpsonLagoon River Delta Prudhoe HoweIsland. % FlaxmanIsland .7'• ---. River LLS •AtigunPassP , ! , •l0 M• 0 50 K Figure1. PrudhoeBay, Franklin Bluffs, and Central Foothills regions. The dashed linefrom north to southshows the pathof theDalton Highway and Trans-Alaska pipeline.A, ArianticRichfield Company's Prudhoe Bay operation center; B, British Petroleurn'smain operation center; C, PointStorkerson; D, Endicott Causeway; E, AftgunValley; F, OliktokPoint; G, Deadhorse;H, PointMcintyre; I, WestDock; J, PointBrower; K, GalbraithLake; L, ToolikLake; M, pumpstation 3; N, pump station 4. 74 BIRDS OF PRUDHOE BAY PrudhoeBay Region extends south to the northernend of FranklinBluffs and east to the confluence of the Kavik and Shaviovik rivers. In the BeaufortSea. the regionextends offshore about 55 km to includepelagic. nearshore,and littoral habitatsof the continentalshelf: it is borderedon the westby the ColvilleRiver and on the eastby FlaxmanIsland. Central FoothillsRegion In this the most southern of the three regions, the Brooks Range dominatesthe landscape.Peaks range from 2134 to 2438 m in elevation, with ruggedridges extending east-west (Figure 2). The low, sparsealpine tundravegetation of these mountainsis composedof lichens,mat and cushionplants, and dwarf shrubs.The northernpart of this region is characterizedby numerouseast-west ridges rising to about360 m. inter- spersedwith rolling plains and braided streams (Sage 1974). The dominant habitatis tussock-heathtundra, characterized by cottongrass(Eriophorurn vaginaturn),mountain avens (Dryas integrifolia),dwarf birch (Betula nana), cranberriesand blueberries(Vaccinium spp.), Labradortea (Ledurn decurnbens),and other shrubs.Willow (Salix spp.)thickets along streams and riversand local patchesof tall brushprovide important habitat for passerines.Many areas away from the DaltonHighway, such as the White Hills, remainpoorly explored from an avifaunalstandpoint. Figure 2. Spring break-upalong the Dalton Highway and Trans-Alaskapipeline, in the Central Foothillsregion, BrooksRange, Alaska. Photo by Craig Hohenberger 75 BIRDS OF PRUDHOE BAY FranklinBluffs Region This region is a narrow transitionalarea betweenthe wet coastalplain and rollingplateaus and mountainsof the CentralFoothills. The dominant physiographicfeature is the FranklinBluffs, which rise to 293 m andextend 32 km from north to south (Figure3). Moderateslopes and relief have produceda mixture of well-drainedxeric and mesictundra and low, wet tundra. Drier areas are vegetatedby Dryas, Eriophorum tussocks,and shrubs.Poorly drained terrain is characterizedby wet sedge meadows coveredby pioneeringherbaceous plants. These mesic habitats are charac- terizedby polygonizedand frost-scartundra. Polygons are low-lyingridges, risingto heightsof 0.5 meters,formed from the cyclicarctic freezes and thaws. Frost scarsare roughlycircular, slightly convex, and composedof fine sandyloam that heavesunder certain moisture and freezingconditions. Dwarf willowsare commonon rises,and shallowponds rimmed with the sedges Carex aquatilis and Arctophila fulva are sparselydistributed throughoutthe region.From 1976 to 1981, thisregion's birds were studied by Hansonand Eberhardt(1977-1981), Brink (1978), Joneset al. (1980), Garrottet al. (1981), and McCafferyet al. (1982), at a 100-ha site located 69 km south of Deadhorse (69o41' N, 148o42 ' W), 0.5 km west of the SagavanirktokRiver, and 1.5 km west of the bluffs. PrudhoeBay Region With a relief of <10 m, the coastalplain in the PrudhoeBay Region is poorly drained, characterizedby wet meadows,lakes, and ponds 1-2 m deep (Britton1957). Walkeret al. (1980) thoroughlydescribed the area's landforms,soils, and vegetation.In general,water covers50-75% of the region (Blackand Barksdale1949), and the land surfaceis coveredby a mosaicof low-centeredpolygons and wet tundradotted with ponds1-2 rn deep. The plain's terrestrialvegetation is dominatedby sedgesmixed with Eriophorum, saxifrages,and louseworts(Pedicularis spp.) and underlaid by mosses.Several decumbent and dwarf willowsare common on higher groundbut are too low for nestingof many passerines.Well-drained sites with lichens,Dryas, and heather (Cassiopetetragona) are found along stream and river terraces,elevated lake shores,and on pingos(ice-cored hills).Salt marshes,dominated by Puccinellia phryganodesand Carex subspathacea,and grassy beaches are found intermittentlyalong the shoresof PrudhoeBay and the BeaufortSea (Figure4) (Jeffries1977, Broadet al. 1980, Taylor 1981). Bergmanet al. (1977) distinguishedeight types of wetlandsand docu- mentedtheir useby loonsand waterfowl.Derksen et al. (1981) expanded that data base and demonstratedthe applicabilityof the classification system across the National Petroleum Reserve--Alaska to the west. Connors et al. (1979), Myers and Pitelka (1980), Jones (1980), and Connors(1984) describedthese habitats' use by shorebirds.Lagoons and barrier islandsof sand, gravel, and tundra border the outer coast of the PrudhoeBay regiondiscontinuously. Barrier islandsoccasionally support highdensities of nestingmarine birds (Divoky 1978a,b) and provide impor- 76 BIRDS OF PRUDHOE BAY Figure3. Representativehabitat, characterized by Dryas and Eriophorum, along Franklin Bluffsand the SagavanirktokRiver. Photo by Craig Hohenberger Figure4. An abandonednative dwelling in wet tundraof the coastalplain adjacentto the Beaufort Sea. Photo by Craig Hohenberger 77 BIRDS OF PRUDHOE BAY tant habitatsfor molting,feeding, and staging birds (Schamel 1978, John- sonand Richardson1980, Divoky1984). The centralBeaufort Sea coast supportslower diversity and densities of breedingbirds than do coastsof other northernseas, such as the ChukchiSea, becauseit has few suitable nestingareas and the sea is relativelyshallow and unproductive(Divoky et al. 1974). The PrudhoeBay Regionis by far the mostthoroughly studied of the threeregions. We studieda PrudhoeBay sitefrom 1971 through1980 (Hansonand Eberhardt1976-1981) and a 100-ha site 20 km southof PrudhoeBay from 1979 to 1981 (Hohenbergeret al. 1980, 1981, 1982). Johnsonand Herter (1989) summarizedthe 249 bird speciesrecorded in the Alaskan and Canadian areas of the Beaufort Sea. ANNOTATED LIST One hundredseventy-four species of 28 familieshad beenrecorded from our studyarea as of 1993. The termswe use in describingthe statusof a speciesare thoseof Kesseland Gibson(1978): Resident--aspecies present throughoutthe year.Migrant--a seasonaltransient between wintering and breedingranges; in spring,includes species that haveovershot their normal breedingrange. Breeder--a species known to breed;prefixed by "possible" or "probable"if concretebreeding evidence is unavailable.Visitant--a nonbreedingspecies; also, in fall, a speciesnot directlyen routebetween its breedingand winteringranges. Abundant--species occurs repeatedly in proper habitats,with availablehabitat heavily utilized, and/or the region regularlyhosts great numbers of the species.Common--species occurs in all or nearlyall properhabitats, but some areas of presumedsuitable habitat are occupiedsparsely or not at all and/or the regionregularly hosts large numbersof the species.Fairly common--species occurs in onlysome of the proper habitat,and large areasof presumedsuitable habitat are occupied sparselyor not at all and/or the regionhosts substantial numbers of the species.Uncommon--species occurs regularly, but utilizeslittle of the suitablehabitat, and/or the region hostsrelatively small numbersof the species;not observedregularly even
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