This is Jean Iron's final report for the period 7 - 11 June 2008 from
Akimiski Island in James Bay. Recent below average temperatures and
prevailing strong north winds have made for difficult conditions. The
nice part is that mosquitoes didn't bother researchers. It has been a
cold late spring in the James Bay region to date.
"Lesser" Snow Goose: First eggs hatched on 9 June. Many eggs were pipping.
Brant: 650 around camp should be migrating farther north soon.
They're very fat almost dragging their rear ends. Ken Abraham noted
that he has not seen any copulating, which should be normal behaviour
this late in the season for staging birds that are already paired off.
Cackling Goose: Three on 10 June are likely headed for Southampton or
Baffin Island.
Canada Goose: 1200 goslings web tagged and completed. A crew will
return in August to band them when they are larger.
Hudsonian Godwit: 19 Hudsonian Godwits on 10 June. Of interest was
that 17 of the 19 were brick red males. 42 Hudsonians on 11 June also
had a majority being males. This species in the Hudson Bay Lowlands
should be paired now and on the breeding grounds. Are these birds
migrants, early failed breeders, non-breeders? Jehl (2004) in
Birdlife of Churchill Region (Manitoba) reported that early arriving
flocks in late May are dominated by males with local birds moving at
once to the nesting territories. Jehl also reported that flocks
gathering at Churchill in early July "tend to be skewed in favor of
males, which is puzzling because both parents tend the young into late July."
Other Shorebirds: Burke Korol photographed a Short-billed Dowitcher
(nominate subspecies griseus) on 9 June. Five on Short-billeds on 10
June were not identified to subspecies. Today Jean saw 12
Short-billeds and photograhed several nominate griseus. Mixed flocks
(+200 in one flock) of unidentified shorebirds flying northwest over
the ice of James Bay presumably originating from the Atlantic. High
Arctic breeders are still migrating and will continue to mid-June.
For example, there were 70 Black-bellied Plover on 7 June, 29 on 8
June, 30 on 8 June, 12 on 10 June and 4 on 11 June. 6 Ruddy
Turnstones, 9 Red Knots, 50 Dunlin, 70 Semipalmated Sandpipers,
several White-rumped Sandpipers and scattered Sanderlings observed on
8 June. On 11 June there were 5 Red Knots, 9 Ruddy Turnstones and 15
White-rumped Sandpipers.
Shorebird Artificial Nest Study: On 8 June a very high tide driven by
a strong north wind washed out 4 of the 40 artificial nests. These
four were relocated to higher ground on 9 June. On 10 June 24 of the
"dummy nests" were checked with 21 showing evidence of depredation.
Other Bird Sightings: A Bufflehead and a "Western" Palm Warbler
(expected nominate subspecies palmarum) on 8 June were new for this
year. A two year old Iceland Gull was seen on 7-8 June. Common
Nighthawks heard over camp on two occasions.
James Bay Birds Having Western Affinities: The new Ontario Breeding
Bird Atlas (2007) shows a significant number of birds occurring east
to the James Bay area which have distinct western or western boreal
affinities. These include Lesser Scaup, White-winged Scoter,
Bufflehead (primarily western), American White Pelican, Sharp-tailed
Grouse, Sandhill Crane (subspecies rowani of the aspen parklands and
western boreal), Lesser Yellowlegs, Marbled Godwit, Wilson's
Phalarope (rare), Bonaparte's Gull, Great Gray Owl, Bohemian Waxwing,
Orange-crowned Warbler (primarily western with small numbers in the
East), Connecticut Warbler, Clay-colored Sparrow, Le Conte's Sparrow,
and Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow (subspecies alterus which is
similar to nominate nelsoni). There is a western component in other
taxa such as the Boreal Chorus Frog. The broad coastal marshes and
wet meadows of western James Bay remind one of the northern prairies.
The geology, soil, precipitation, similar plants, and vegetation
structure probably account for the above birds whose core ranges are
more to the West. I thank Michel Gosselin of the Canadian Museum of
Nature for interesting discussions on bird biogeography.
Late Sea Ice: We had questions asking why the ice cover persists so
long on Hudson and James Bays. Because half of the major rivers of
Canada flow into James and Hudson Bays, their salinity averages 1/3
that of the North Atlantic. This results in earlier freezing in fall,
thicker ice in winter, and very late melting with extensive sea ice
well into July. This contributes to the formation of the most
southerly tundra in the world extending southeast along the Ontario
coast terminating in a wide tundra expanse at Cape Henrietta Maria at
the junction of Hudson and James Bay. Note the current extensive ice
cover extending well into southern James Bay.
http://www.natice.noaa.gov/pub/ims_gif/DATA/cursnow_usa.gif
Today an Ontario Government Twin Otter flew 13 of the 16 member crew
to Moosonee and Timmins. Jean is sad leaving Akimiski Island. It is
an uninhabited and unspoiled coastal wilderness with none of the
flotsam common along coastlines in much of the world. Once you
experience the aura of the north, there is the desire to return year
after year. Five Belugas (whales) were seen from the plane this
afternoon about half way between Akimiski and Moosonee. Jean thanks
Research Scientist Ken Abraham and the Ontario Ministry of Natural
Resources (OMNR) for the opportunity to assist research projects. She
was impressed with the crews who worked 10 hours in the field plus
evenings downloading data from their PDAs (personal digital
assistant) and planning the next day's activities.
Today's flight to Akimiski Island dropped off Mark Peck of the Royal
Ontario Museum and two associates, Tyler Hoar and Gerry Binsfeld.
They will continue the artificial nest depredation study, look for
Marbled Godwit nests, survey Semipalmated Plovers, and assist with
ongoing studies. Mark will phone us with reports from Akimiski Island.
Reference: Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas (2007)
http://www.birdsontario.org/atlas/index.jsp
Ron Pittaway
Toronto and Minden ON
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