|
|
|
|
SITE NAME
|
|
Cambridge Bay, Victoria Island, Canada
|
|
| Contact details
(phone/fax//e-mail//address): |
| (204)661-0763 // rkoes@mts.net // 135 Rossmere Crescent, Winnipeg, Manitoba R2K 0G1, Canada
|
|
PROJECT DETAILS |
|
Project name:
|
|
Eagle-Eye Tours birding group
|
|
|
Start of survey:
|
End
of survey: |
Team
size: |
|
3.07
|
7.07
|
13
|
|
WEATHER
CONDITIONS
|
|
|
|
Weather conditions: |
| Ice still covered most of the salt water and larger lakes in the Cambridge Bay area at arrival on 3 July 2008. Snow had largely melted, except for drifts in the lee of hills. The vegetation was about one week behind 2007. Likewise, nesting activity was behind the previous year.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Date of ice-break on
rivers: |
|
|
| Date of final loss of
snow: |
|
|
BIOTIC
CONDITIONS
|
| Rodents abundance evaluation: |
low
|
|
|
Breeding conditions:
|
Arctic Fox numbers were also low; during the period of observations from 3 to 7 July we saw only a few individuals.
The Rough-legged Buzzard was the only diurnal raptor noted, with a daily maximum of about 5-6 birds. Three ground nests with eggs were found on hills northwest and west of town. No owls were noted.
Up to 8 Long-tailed Skuas were tallied daily and a few nests with eggs were found. Three Arctic Skuas were seen drifting over on 4 July, but not at any other time. No Pomarine Skuas were present. Glaucous Gulls were common, and a few nests were noted but no young were seen. The Sabine's Gull was the next most common larid, but no nesting activity was noted. A few Common Ravens were seen most days, but never more than 3-4.
The most common waterfowl were the Long-tailed Duck, King Eider, Cackling Goose, Tundra Swan, Common Eider, Northern Pintail and Greater White-fronted Goose, in descending order. Only Cackling Geese were noted on nests. Five Brant were present on 3 July, but only a couple were noted on later dates. These appeared to be migrants. An out-of-range Common Goldeneye female was at the town's sewage lagoon on 3 and 6 July. No Rock Ptarmigans were found.
The most common shorebirds were the Red-necked Phalarope, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Stilt Sandpiper, Baird's Sandpiper, Semipalmated Plover and American Golden-Plover, again in descending order. Semipalmated Sandpipers were the most common breeders; several nests with eggs were found. Red-necked Phalaropes were not yet breeding. Although expected, Grey Phalaropes could not be found. Noteworthy nests included one of the Grey Plover (4 eggs) about 5 km northeast of town and one of the Buff-breasted Sandpiper (4 eggs) about 5 km northwest of town.
|
|
|
Rodent dynamics:
|
| Lemming numbers were low, although up a bit from last year when they were virtually absent.
|
|
Rodent species recorded:
|
| Latin | Abundance |
|---|
| Dicrostonyx groenlandicus | rare |
|
|
|
Summary
of fauna studies: |
|
|
|