Avian Studies for the Alpine Satellite Development Project, 2011

Avian aerial surveys were conducted in the Colville Delta and in the northeastern National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska (NE NPRA) in 2011 in support of the Alpine Satellite Development Project (ASDP) for ConocoPhillips Alaska, Inc., and Anadarko Petroleum Corporation. The surveys continued long-term data acquisition begun in 1992 on the Colville Delta and in 1999 in the NE NPRA. Surveys focused on the abundance, distribution, and habitat use of 5 focal species groups: Spectacled Eider, King Eider, Tundra Swan, Yellow-billed Loon, and geese. These 5 taxa were selected because of 1) threatened or sensitive status, 2) indications of declining populations, 3) restricted breeding range, and/or 4) concern of regulatory agencies for development impacts. Monitoring a collection of focal species with differing habitat requirements provides both in-depth data on species trends and responses to a changing environment and a general view of ecosystem health. Aerial surveys for eiders, swans, and geese were conducted from fixed-wing airplanes. Surveys for Yellow-Billed Loons were conducted from a helicopter. The Colville Delta study area (552 km²) encompassed the entire delta from the East Channel of the Colville River to the westernmost distributary of the Nibliq Channel. The Alpine Facility (CD-1 and CD-2) began oil production on the Colville Delta in 2000. Two ASDP satellite drill sites were built in the winter of 2005: CD-3 was built as a roadless drill site to reduce its gravel footprint in Spectacled Eider (a federally listed threatened species) breeding habitat on the outer delta, and CD-4 was connected by a road on the south side of the Alpine Facility. The CD-3 site began producing oil in August 2006, and CD-4 began producing in November 2006. The NE NPRA study area (reduced in size to 174 km² in 2011) abuts the western edge of the Colville Delta and encompasses 2 proposed development sites that are part of the ASDP: drill site CD-5 and the Clover A gravel mine site. Most years, open houses were held in Nuiqsut to allow residents to visit with CPAI biologists and other scientists to discuss information and concerns about resources in the Colville Delta and NE NPRA areas. In October 2010, CPAI staff attended a science fair at the local school during the day, followed by a community meeting in the evening where they presented findings of recent monitoring efforts. During the summer field season in 2011, CPAI sent weekly updates to the Department of Wildlife of the North Slope Borough, various state and federal agencies, several environmental organizations, and key representatives of the Kuukpik Subsistence Oversight Panel (KSOP) and Kuukpik Corporation for distribution in Nuiqsut. The updates reported on surveys conducted the previous week (for example, type of aircraft used, altitude of aircraft, and species enumerated) and the schedule of surveys for the upcoming week. Chris Long, a Nuiqsut resident flew along on several aerial surveys in 2011, providing assistance to our wildlife biologists and serving as a liaison between wildlife studies and the local community. CPAI also attends Kuukpik Corporation board meetings annually. The open houses, board meetings, subsistence representatives, and weekly updates keep local residents informed on the progress and results of studies conducted by CPAI in the area near Nuiqsut. Results of aerial surveys in the Colville Delta study area indicated that 2011 was an above-average year in terms of abundance for Spectacled and King Eiders, Yellow-billed Loons, Brant, and Snow Geese, Glaucous Gulls, and an average year for Tundra Swans. Productivity in the Colville Delta study area was generally high for geese, gulls, and loons, and average for swans. In the NE NPRA study area, 2011 was an above-average year in terms of abundance for Spectacled and King eiders and Snow Geese, an average year for Yellow-billed Loons and Tundra Swans, and possibly below average for Brant. Surveys were conducted in a more restricted portion the NE NPRA study area in 2011 when compared with previous years. Spring conditions began with warmer than average temperatures in the last half of May and ended with colder than average temperatures in the first half of June. The mean monthly temperature for May 2011 on the Colville Delta was only 0.3° C below the 15-year mean temperature and June was 1.3° C colder than the long-term mean. Cumulative thawing degree-days (an index to days with temperatures above freezing) for the last half of May (11 thawing degree-days) were higher than the long-term mean (7 days). However, by 15 June, only 17 thawing degree-days had accumulated, compared to the long-term mean of 38 thawing degree-days by the same date. Peak water levels in the Colville River occurred on 28 May, about 3 days earlier than the mean date. Snow disappeared from the tundra on 3 June. Ice was gone from all lakes by 4 July, 9 days earlier than in 2010. The indicated number of pre-nesting Spectacled Eiders on the Colville Delta in 2011 was the highest recorded in 18 years. As in previous years, Spectacled Eiders were found primarily in the CD North subarea. Some of the highest counts of Spectacled Eiders have been recorded on the Colville Delta study area over the last 5 years, reversing the depressed numbers recorded in the early 2000s. Nonetheless, the long-term trend for Spectacled Eiders on the Colville Delta is similar to the long-term trend observed on the Arctic Coastal Plain, which is slightly negative but not significantly different from a slope of 0, indicating a stable population. During 2011, Spectacled Eiders in the NE NPRA were also at near record numbers, but as is typical, they occurred at about 25% of the density found on the Colville Delta study area, with the highest densities of eiders in NE NPRA occurring in the Alpine West subarea. Spectacled Eiders preferred 7 habitats on the Colville Delta study area: 3 coastal salt-affected habitats, 3 aquatic habitats, and 1 terrestrial habitat. Spectacled Eiders in the NE NPRA preferred 4 habitats, of which 3 were the same as those preferred on the Colville Delta. During pre-nesting on the Colville Delta in 2011, King Eiders were more numerous than Spectacled Eiders and most of the King Eiders were in the Northeast Delta subarea. The density of King Eiders on the Colville Delta study area in 2011 was well above the long-term average. Annually we record high numbers of King Eiders on the Colville Delta in habitats unsuitable for nesting, particularly the eastern channels of the Colville River. Those records during pre-nesting and the low frequency of King Eider nests relative to Spectacled Eider nests in areas searched, lead us to surmise that King Eiders primarily use the Colville Delta as a stopover while moving to breeding areas to the east. In contrast, King Eiders breed in high numbers in the NE NPRA study area, and in 2011 they occurred at about twice the density on pre-nesting surveys in NE NPRA compared with the density in the Colville Delta study area. Seventy-two Yellow-billed Loons were observed during the nesting survey in the Colville Delta study area in 2011, which was the highest number recorded during 17 years of surveys. A total of 29 Yellow-billed Loon nests were found in 2011. Six of the 29 nests were found during a survey that was conducted on 13 June, 1 week before the nesting survey. The number of nests found only during the nesting and monitoring surveys in 2011 (25 nests) was the fewest recorded during the last 7 years when both surveys were conducted. In the NE NPRA study area, we counted 13 Yellow-billed Loon nests, 1 of which was found on the 13 June survey. The number of nests found in the Alpine West and Fish Creek Delta subareas was similar to previous survey years. In both the NE NPRA and Colville Delta study areas, high water levels on many lakes during the last half of June caused the flooding of some traditional nest sites. Of the Yellow-billed Loons affected by flooding, some nested late, after water levels had dropped, while other loons failed to nest. Most Yellow-billed Loon nests hatched between surveys on 11 and 18 July, which is similar to the timing of hatch of most previous years when nest monitoring occurred. In the Colville Delta study area, 15 of the 25 nests found during the nesting and monitoring surveys hatched young for an apparent nesting success of 60%, which was similar to the 7-year mean (59.4%) . In the NE NPRA study area, 4 of 12 nests found during the nesting and monitoring surveys hatched young for an apparent nesting success of 33%, which was the lowest since nest monitoring surveys began in that area in 2008. Despite low nest numbers on the Colville Delta in 2011, chick survival was high, producing a higher than average number of chicks at the end of monitoring. During the monitoring surveys immediately post-hatch in 2011, 15 Yellow-billed Loon pairs and 24 chicks (0.83 chicks/nest) were observed in the Colville Delta study area. In the NE NPRA study area, 4 pairs and 6 chicks were observed (0.46 chicks/nest). On the last brood monitoring survey on 12 September, 7 pairs in the Colville Delta study area each had 2 chicks and 5 pairs each had 1 chick (0.66 chicks/nest). In the NE NPRA study area, 1 pair retained 2 chicks and 3 pairs had 1 chick each (0.38 chicks/nest). Loon chicks in both study areas were 8–9 weeks old during the last monitoring survey and none were observed flying. Twenty Yellow-billed Loon nests on the Colville Delta were monitored with time-lapse cameras. Nineteen loons left nests during camera installation. Six nests were monitored with cameras in the NE NPRA study area and 5 loons left nests during camera installation. All but 1 loon returned to their nests after camera installation and that loon lost its eggs to a Parasitic Jaeger while interacting with intruding loons on its lake. Apparent nesting success for camera-monitored nests on the Colville Delta and NE NPRA was 65% and 33%, respectively. Of the 7 nests that failed in the Colville Delta study area, 3 failures were attributed to predation by Glaucous Gulls, 1 to a Parasitic Jaeger, and 3 to red foxes. Of the 4 nests that failed in the NE NPRA study area, 2 were attributed to a Parasitic Jaeger and 1 to a Glaucous Gull; the predator at the remaining nest was not captured on camera images. Yellow-billed Loons at hatched nests exhibited slightly higher nest attendance than those at failed nests, spending 97.8% and 95.0% of monitored time on nests, respectively. Similar nest attendance was recorded at hatched and failed nests in the NE NPRA study area (98.3% and 94.8%, respectively). The cameras also documented partial predation at 1 nest and verified that chicks were present at another nest where no chicks were seen during weekly monitoring surveys. Fifteen nests and 10 broods of Pacific Loons were counted incidentally during Yellow-billed Loon surveys in the Colville Delta study area in 2011. One nest and 1 brood of Red-throated Loons were seen during the same aerial surveys. In the NE NPRA study area, we counted 13 nests and 11 broods of Pacific Loons, but no Red-throated Loon nests or broods. Swan productivity was average in 2011. Thirty-five Tundra Swan nests were found in the Colville Delta study area, which is close to the 18-year mean of 34 nests/year. The count of 29 swan broods in the Colville Delta study area in 2011 was a little higher than the long-term average of 25 broods. Apparent nesting success was 83%. The mean brood size of 2.8 young in 2011 was above average, and the 63 swan young counted on the delta approximated the long-term average production of 62 young/year. In the NE NPRA study area, 12 Tundra Swan nests were found in June and 10 broods were seen in August, for a success rate of 83%. Brood size averaged 1.9 young. Brant and Snow Goose productivity was high in the Colville Delta study area in 2011. The total count for Brant during brood-rearing (1,986) was well above average, and the gosling count (765) was the fourth highest ever recorded along the survey route. Record numbers of Snow Geese were counted in the Colville Delta. The total count of Snow Geese (4,023) and the number of goslings (2,278) were each twice the previous records set in 2008. In the NE NPRA study area, 1,756 Brant (906 adults and 850 goslings) were recorded, representing a decline from the previous 2 surveys in 2008 and 2009. However, goslings comprised 48% of all Brant recorded, indicating good survival of goslings in 2011. A record 388 Snow Geese (142 adults and 246 goslings) were counted in the NE NPRA study area in 2011, well above the previous record in 2008. Brant and Snow Geese favored coastal salt-affected habitats for brood-rearing and molting in the Colville Delta and NE NPRA study areas. The number of Glaucous Gull nests and broods in the Colville Delta study area in 2011 was the highest in 12 years of records. Sixty-four Glaucous Gull nests and at least 22 broods were counted incidentally during loon aerial surveys in the Colville Delta study area in 2011. More solitary nests were recorded in 2011 than in previous years while the number of gull nests at colony locations remained similar to previous years. Based on 50 lakes monitored annually in the Colville River study area, the number of Glaucous Gull nests increased significantly during the 10 years between 2002 and 2011. In the NE NPRA study area, we found 24 Glaucous Gull nests and 7 broods in 2011. Nineteen of the 24 nests were in the Alpine West subarea, 16 of which were at 2 colony locations. Three Sabine’s Gull colonies with a total of 24 nests were found in the NE NPRA study area during the loon nesting survey. No Sabine’s Gull nests were found in the Colville Delta study area. ASDP Avian