NorthernCanada rocky spireoverlooking the Nares markthe southernmostbreeding location for Strait to the icecapsof Greenland this speciesin JamesBay. A casualstop to (ph. DS). Brant are regular late check a group of seeminglyout-of-place May-earlyJun migrantsat Akimiski swansat NaresL., s. Yukon6 Jun yieldedthe L, Nunavut;this year,daily totals Yukon'sfirst AmericanWhite Pelicans (DP); werein the2000-3000 range until 1 a quickcall to otherbirders ensured that the Jun,when there was a majordepar- 4 pelicanswere photographically document- ture on the full moon. Smaller num- ed (ph. CE, HG). In responseto subsequent bers(<500 per day) lingered until 10 mediacoverage of thepelicans, it waslearned Jun.A latermovement of birdspre- that theyhad been seen at nearbyTagish for sumedto be froms. James Bay stag- abouta week(ph. LG). An aerialsurvey of is- ing areaswas noted 6 Jun, when landsin AkimiskiStrait, Nunavut 5 Jun found small flocks were seen crossing 60 ad. Double-crested Cormorants and 30 Akimiski I. from the s. on a north- nests(KA et al.). A TurkeyVulture, Nuna- easterlypath and continuingover vut'sfirst, was an unexpected find in Arviat23 theJames Bay ice pack (KA et al.). A Jul (ph. LR, MP). few late Brant were seenat Nares L., An imm. Bald Eagle at HerschelI., n. Cameron D. Eckert s. Yukon6 Jun (CE, HG). A latebut notewor- Yukon20 Jun (ph. CE, DA, PF,LJM) estab- thy springreport was of a BarnadeGoose in lishedjust the 2nd recordfor the island.The the companyof CanadaGeese and possibly connection between the northern and the speciesacross the North continues to pairedwith oneat AkimiskiI., Nunavut26-28 southernhemisphere's bird populationswas nfascinateongoing and surgetroubleof northernextralimital bird- May (KA et al.). A pair of TrumpeterSwans beautifullydemonstrated this year by the in- ers.Reports of MagnoliaWarbler, Ovenbird, Red-eyedVireo, and Western Tanager added to the ever-growinglist of Neotropicalmi- grantsappearing well beyond their ranges in the northwest. Two firsts for Nunavut this seasonwere PipingPlover and TurkeyVul- ture, while Yukonerssaw their first American White Pelicans. Two southern invaders bred for the first time in the Yukon this summer; an influx of AmericanCrows in WatsonLake, Teslin,and Whitehorse culminated in the ter- ritory'sfirst confirmedbreeding record for ASnow Goose on its nest at St.Patrick Bay, Nunavut on the north end of Ellesmere Island 1 July2007 overlooks a true Arctic this northward-expandingcotrid. While the wilderness.Photograph byDoug Stem. crowswere greeted with onlymodest inter- was againnoted nesting this year in Tomb- tercontinentalmigration of markedPeregrine est, the territory'sfirst nestingHouse Spar- stonePark, cen. Yukon 28 Jun; 4 TundraSwans Falcons.The Falcon ResearchGroup put rows inspired even less excitement.The wereseen on thesame day at ChapmanL., just satellite transmitters on 7 falcons in Chile in Yukon's summer weather was warmer than n. of TombstonePark (BM et al.). Three Red- Feb 2007; on 21 Jun, the ad. male known as average;glacial melt, heavy winter snow heads(2 males,one female),n. of their normal "Seven" arrived n. of the Arctic Circle in Tuk- pack,and rain madefor recordflooding in range,were seen on the MackenzieR., NWT tut Nogait N.P., near Paulatuk,NWT. Two theYukon Southern Lakes. In theFort Simp- 18Jun (ph. AL). Heavysnow delayed the re- other marked birds, named "Linda" and sonregion of NorthwestTerritories, June was turnand subsequent nesting chronolo- dry for much of the monthbut saw heavy gy of Common Eiders and other rainfallduring the latter daysof June. The specieson SouthamptonI., Nunavut Arctic regions were again increasingly this year (MM). Eiderswere also de- warmerthan usual this summer.On 21 June layedby up to twoweeks at HighArc- 2007, 15-year-oldYukoner Malkolm Booth- tic locations,primarily due to heavy roydand his parents cycled southward to be- ice conditionsalong the migration gin a year-long,fossil-fuel-free journey in route as opposedto breedingsites searchof birds.It's an inspirationto seea (MM).A maleHooded Merganser, very greatbirding adventurelaunched to raise rarein cen.Yukon, was seen near Daw- awareness of bird conservation and climate son 26 Jun (LD, KR). A noteworthy change(<www. birdyear. com>). summerconcentration of 77 Ruddy Thistrio of Redheadson the MackenzieRiver, Northwest Territories 18 Ducks was recorded at the Whitehorse June2007 were north of the species'typical breeding range; however, theymay be post- or non-breeders. Photograph byAnthony Levesque. WATERFOWLTHROU6H sewageponds, s. Yukon27 Jul (BD, SHOREBIRDS HG). A femaleWhite-tailed Ptarmigan with a "SparrowKing," traveled to the WagerBay A nestingSnow Goose at St.Patrick Bay on the brood of at least 5 chicks was seen on Keno ands. BaffinI. areasof Nunavut,respectively, n. endof EllesmereI., Nunavut1 Jul enjoyed Hill, cen.Yukon 6 Jul (ph.MOD). to spendthe summer months. an absolutelyawe-inspiring view: perched ad- A pair of Pacific Loons observed on Twoad. WhoopingCranes seen 28 Junat jacenta Gyrfalconnest on the tip of a 270-m AkimiskiI., Nunavut10 Jun (KA et al.) may LocheL., TulitaDistrict, NWT (RO) were sev- 600 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS NORTHERNCANADA1 GULLSTHROUGH FINCHES near Yellowknife,NWT 8 Jun; and another An estimated 45 Franklin's Gulls was seenin town a few weekslater 0B). A were seen at the Mackenzie R. WarblingVireo singing at TombstonePark, crossingnear Ft. Providence,NWT cen.Yukon 9 Jun (HG et al.) providedthe 8 Jul (ph. GV), a remarkablegath- firstDempster Hwy. record for thespecies. A eringNorth of 60 for thispredomi- Red-eyedVireo, rarebut apparentlyregular nantly prairie species.A late but in the Watson L area, was seen at Albert Cr. noteworthyreport of springgulls 4 Jun (TMK). A pair of EasternYellow Wag- from Akimiski 1., Nunavut includ- tailscarrying food and giving alarm calls pro- ed an ad. Litde Gull 31 May andan vided a good indication that young were ad. IcelandGull 26 May followed somewherenearby at the Firth R. delta, n. Thisphotograph, taken through a shimmering heat haze, nicely docu- mented the Yukon'sfirst AmericanWhite Pelicanson NaresLake at (:arcross by a second-cycleIceland 28 May Yukon 11 Jul (HM). (KA et al.). A concentrationof 300 on6 June2007. Photograph byCameron D.Eckert. AmericanCrows are steadily gaining a Bonaparte•Gulls on Drury L., s. foothold in the Yukon. Small numbers were eral hundred kilometers away from the Yukon6 Jun (PSi) seemedodd for the date. seen in Watson L. and nearbyAlbert Cr. species'known breeding grounds. A Black- Highlightsof an aerialsurvey of islandsin throughthe summer (ph. CE;TMK); onewas bellted Plover at Wright Pass (Yukon/ Akimiski Strait, Nunavut 5 Jun included the in Teslin10Jun (BS); in Whitehorse,2-3 were NorthwestTerritories border) 8 Jun (SF,DM) first nest record for Great Black-backed Gull seenthrough the summer,and breeding was may haveprovided the first recordfor the (10 ads.)and an estimated 140 Caspian Terns; confirmed16 & 26Jul whenrecently fledged DempsterHwy. A surveyof tundranear Mary othernesting species included Herring Gull, crowswere seen being fed by ads.(BMu; ph. R., n. BaffinI., Nunavutturned up goodnum- Ring-billedGull, andArctic Tern (KA et al.). CE, PSi).A singleAmerican Crow, only the bers of AmericanGolden-Plovers, with 8 (in- Glaucous,Thayer's, and Sabine's Gulls, as well 2nd recorded in the area, was at Norman eluding3 localyoung) on 28 Jul and52 (in- asArctic Terns, in Nunavut'sHigh Arcticnest- Wells, NWT through the period (RP, ph. cluding12 localyoung) the nextday (WR et ed about10 dayslater than usualthis year DW). A displayingNorthern Wheatear was al.). The bird of the seasonwas Nunavut• first (MM). Black-leggedKittiwake sightings near right on cue for a groupof birderson Gold- PipingPlover discovered 3 Jun during shore- the MaryR., n. BaffinI. included3 eachday ensidesMt. in TombstonePark, cen. Yukon bird surveysat AkimiskiI. andseen through 30-31Jul (WR et al.). Lownumbers of Ivory 29 Jun (BMa et al.) A total of 10 Northern 10Jun (ph. CL, AF,BO et al.). A Killdeerat Gulls(68) wererecorded at the SeymourI. Wheatearnest sites (ads. carryingfood to Tuktoyaktuk,NWT 7Jun(SF et al.) hadover- and BrodeurPen., Nunavut coloniesthis sea- nests)was recorded around Iqaluit, Nunavut shot its breeding grounds. A Canadian son (MM); the formersite alsosuffered sig- during27Jun-14Jul (DH). A maleNorthern Wildlife Service(C.W..S.) shorebird breeding nificant nest loss to predation.Two surveynear Ft. Simpson,NWT foundWil- pairs of nestingRoss's Gulls were son'sSnipe to be the most abundantbird foundnear Bathurst I., Nunavutin Jul speciesduring 1-'19Jun; LesserYellowlegs (MM). weremuch less common than expected (PSm, A GreatGray Owl nearEagle Plains, SD). NestingWandering Tattlers are rarely re- cen.Yukon 8 Jun wasa highlightfor a portedand alwaysnoteworthy; a pair of ad. coupleof DempsterHwy. travelers (SF, tattlers with a small chick were found in an DM). A Short-eared Owl nest with two alpinewetland along the upperKetza R., s. eggswas found at PaulineCove, Her- Yukon2Jul (ph. BS).Late migrant shorebirds schelI., n. Yukon21 Jun (ph. CE, DA, at HerschelI., n. Yukon includeda Black-bel- PF,LJM). CommonNighthawk, now a lied Plover and 3-4 White-rumpedSand- Speciesat Riskin Canada,was noted to pipers8-9 Jun (AK); alsopassing through at be in low numbersin the Yellowknife, Pauline Cove on Herschel I. were 4 Buff- NWT area0B). Reportsof BarnSwal- breastedSandpipers 21 Jun (CE) and 3 Red lowswell beyond their ranges included Phalaropes18 Jun (ph. CE). An ArcticFox