Seabird colony survey trip report 2007: Kenai Fjords National Park

Hahr, Meg; Hall, Shelley; Slater, Leslie

In August 2006, the National Park Service (NPS), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) signed a General Agreement to increase interagency coordination in order to establish a seamless network of coastal refuges, reserves, parks and sanctuaries (USDI 2006). In the spirit of the Seamless Network Agreement, Meg Hahr (Kenai Fjords National Park), Shelley Hall (Kenai Fjords National Park), and Leslie Slater (Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge) conducted a resurvey of 14 seabird colonies in Kenai Fjords National Park (KEFJ) from July 3-5, 2007 aboard the NPS vessel the MV Serac. The objectives of the trip were to revisit seabird colonies that had not been surveyed in more than 30 years, and to familiarize park biologists with USFWS monitoring protocols. Although survey effort was limited due to poor weather and insufficient time to complete replicate counts, relative abundance of all species except glaucous-winged gull (Larus glaucescens) appears to have declined from 1976 levels. Species observed (in order of abundance) include: glaucous-winged gull, black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla), double-crested cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus), pelagic cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus), horned puffin (Fratercula corniculata), common murre (Uria aalge), and tufted puffin (Fratercula cirrhata). Double-crested cormorants were observed at seven colonies in 2007 but were not seen in 1976. Species observed in 1976 but not seen during our 2007 surveys include red-faced cormorant (Phalacrocorax urile) and arctic tern (Sterna paradisaea). KEFJ and the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge (AMNWR) plan to continue cooperating on seabird surveys in 2008 to better understand the dynamics of breeding seabirds along the Kenai Peninsula coast.

Seabird colony survey trip report 2007: Kenai Fjords National Park

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