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 March 2020 Newsletter
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 Map of Red-legged Kittiwake Breeding Range - circle size corresponds to colony size.
A rare bird with a very limited range may be responding to climate change by moving north. Red-legged Kittiwakes nest only in the Bering Sea, with most of their population breeding in the Pribilof Islands. The only other places that they nest are a few sites in the Aleutian Islands and on Russia’s Commander Islands. Until now.
Although some Red-legged Kittiwakes winter in the northern Bering Sea , they are rarely observed in this region during the breeding season. We were surprised in 2018 when we began documenting these birds nesting on St. Matthew Island, a 240 mile northward extension of their breeding range.
Why the dramatic shift in habitat? We’re not sure. Timing is everything, making food available for wildlife when they're raising the next generation, but climate chaos is mixing up natural interrelationships on a warming planet. Arctic terns may arrive on their nesting grounds after an early insect hatch, leaving their chicks without enough food. Plants are blooming earlier, making their nectar unavailable to hatching pollinators. Could something similar be happening with Red-legged Kittiwakes? Is their favorite food – Northern Lampfish – moving northward?
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Red-legged Kittiwakes have eyes that are slightly larger than their cousins the Black-legged Kittiwakes, which may give them an advantage when hunting in low light. Northern Lampfish come to the surface at night but during the day the lampfish spend their days in waters over 600 feet. St. Matthew Island is on the continental shelf with relatively shallower surrounding waters than the Pribilofs. That means potentially a longer commute to the grocery store for birds on St. Matthew vs the Pribilof Islands. The cost of the additional time spent foraging means that the kittiwakes have less energy to feed and raise their chicks.
The ocean is a complex system that we struggle to understand. We’ll continue to study seabirds across the refuge, spanning Alaska’s vast coastline. St. Matthew Island was once a place that we visited infrequently, but during this time of great change, we recognize the importance of keeping a close eye on this Northern Bering Sea island.
Read the full paper here: http://www.marineornithology.org/content/get.cgi?rn=1322
 Red-legged Kittiwake in flight
Red-legged Kittiwakes have had some bad years recently. Some colonies have had multiple years of near complete breeding failure. At St. George – the largest colony in the world – adult survival may be declining, so we want to know more about what drives population dynamics of this species.
The species population is estimated to be about 230,000 birds, and as the article above notes, their range is very limited. This, along with their relatively small population size, and specialized diet may make the Red-legged Kittiwake particularly susceptible to the effects of climate change.
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While we understand a lot about what’s happening to Red-legged Kittiwake colonies during the breeding season, the 8-month non-breeding season when they are at sea is more of a mystery. With our partners at Oregon State University we’re using geolocators to track winter distributions of birds from two of the largest Red-legged Kittiwake colonies: Buldir and St. George Islands The geolocators (which weigh as much as a paperclip), were attached to leg bands.
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 Locations of the Red-legged Kittiwakes in early winter. Buldir Island nesters are shown in red, whereas birds that nested on St. George Island are in blue.
Data from the geolocators revealed some interesting differences in the kittiwake winter habitat as seen in the map above. We have more to learn, but we know that birds need healthy habitat in the non-breeding season so that they're strong enough to raise chicks. Combined with our long-term monitoring program, using tools like geolocators gives us a broader perspective on what's driving the health or decline of this rare bird species.
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Science is fundamentally about curiosity and creativity. Most of us who love nature think about the remarkable world of wildlife around us and wonder how it works. How does a salmon find its spawning stream? Where do our birds of summer go in the winter? A scientist has the curiosity to ask such questions, but also develops creative strategies to learn the answers. Usually, because the natural world is endlessly complex, it means answering just one small piece of a many part question. It may not be possible to answer “where do birds go in the winter?” because there are different answers for different birds in different locations. But it is possible to answer “where will this bird go this winter?” and learn just a little bit more about the world around us.
Steve Delehanty
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 Don Dragoo
Wildlife Biologist - Chukchi Sea Unit
What is it like to bring a bird back from the brink of extinction? Our wildlife biologist, Don, knows firsthand. Beginning his career as a volunteer biologist with the U.S. Forest Service in Colorado, Don worked several seasons as a temporary biological technician and wildlife biologist throughout Colorado and Alaska and even volunteered with Alaska Maritime for a couple summers before landing a permanent job at our refuge. When Don first started at Alaska Maritime, 38 seasons ago, the main conservation push of the refuge was the endangered Aleutian Cackling Goose. Don was part of a team that worked diligently to restore their populations. In the end, their efforts paid off! The Aleutian Cackling Goose was removed from the Endangered Species list in 2001. Watching this return and having an active role in the goose’s recovery has been a highlight in Don’s career. He’s also enjoyed the opportunity to live and work in some of the most remote and spectacular places on the planet, as well as be involved with the evolution of one of the strongest bird monitoring programs he’s witnessed. When he’s not overseeing the biological program for the Chukchi Sea Unit, Don is spending time with his family and reading any book he can. Don is looking forward to retirement soon, so we’d like to say a big “thank you” for all his contributions to wildlife conservation!
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Alaska Maritime
National Wildlife Refuge
95 Sterling Hwy
Homer, Alaska 99603
907-235-6546
Visitor Center Winter Hours
Tuesday-Saturday, 12pm-5pm
Thursday, March 12th
50th Anniversary Lecture Series: Marine Mammals of the State Park
7pm-8:30pm Auditorium
Friends of Kachemak Bay State Park invite you to join them for their 50th Anniversary Lecture Series in 2020! This month's topics will be marine mammals of the state park.
Learn more
Tuesday, March 17th
Hot Topics in Alaska Wildfire
5pm-6pm Seminar Room
Come join the monthly Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges meeting to hear Fish and Wildlife Fire Ecologist Lisa Saperstein. Wildfire was always a major driver of habitat change on most Alaska Refuges but last summer was one for the record books. Scientists and managers are scrambling to understand and figure out how to manage fire with a changing climate. Lisa will give an overview on fire ecology in Alaska ranging from fire history and successional patterns to current research topics and refuge projects. Learn more
Wednesday, March 18th
Women in STEM Discovery Lab
1pm-3pm Lab Classroom
Families and the community are encouraged to stop by for this free event. Discover "Women in STEM" through hands-on activities presented by KBEEA partners.
Learn more
Thursday, March 26th
Pre-K Puffins Early Leaning Program
10am-11:30am Seminar Room
This educational program is designed for children ages 2-5 and focuses on the marine sciences. It will include story time, crafts and early learning centered activities. Learn more
Tuesday, March 31st
Tackling the Climate Crisis: From Knowledge to Action
6pm-7pm Auditorium
Join climate scientist and lifelong Alaskan, Zach Brown, PhD, for a journey into the climate crisis and how we can tackle it. Learn more
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 Aleutian Cackling Goose
If you’ve spotted a flock of Canada Geese and you notice what appears to be a mini-goose, you might want to investigate a bit further! Does the beak appear short and stubby? Is the neck thick? Rather than a honking noise, can you hear a high pitched “cackling”? You could be looking at a Cackling Goose, formerly considered the same species as the Canada Goose but given its own species distinction in 2004. The Cackling Goose has four subspecies – one being the Aleutian.
The Aleutian Cackling Goose has a great comeback story. Nesting only on the remote islands of the North Pacific in the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, this subspecies experienced a population drop when trappers introduced foxes to the islands in the mid-1700’s. The geese lacked natural defenses and their numbers reached as low as around 330. At the time biologists thought they might have disappeared altogether. That is, until 1962, when a remnant population was found on Buldir Island. An Endangered Species Recovery Program saved the subspecies, successfully removing them from the Endangered Species list in 2001. The triumph story of the Aleutian Cackling Goose is a wonderful example of collaboration between refuges, Fish & Wildlife staff, and partners all along the Pacific coast.
Photo credits (top to bottom, left to right):
Kittiwake range map by Bryce Robinson; ORNITHOLOGI
Northern Lampfish by NOAA
Kittiwake in flight by USFWS
McKenzie Mudge with Red-legged kittiwake sporting bands and geolocator by Heather Renner/USFWS
Don Dragoo by USFWS
Aleutian Cackling Goose by USFWS
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