Observations of Thick-billed Murres (<i>Uria lomvia</i>) and Other Seabirds at Cape Parry, Amundsen Gulf, N.W.T.

Abstract

The Thick-billed Murre colony near Cape Parry, Northwest Territories, Canada, is the only murre colony in the western Canadian Arctic and is isolated to a greater extent than any other murre colony in the world. We conducted a brief but intensive survey of this colony on 1 and 2 August 1979 and recorded over 700 Thick-billed Murres, 16 Black Guillemots and 2 Common Murres. Some murre eggs were seen on the cliffs but a reliable measure of production was not determined. The number of Thick-billed Murres counted was much greater than reported several decades earlier and the sightings of the Common Murres were new for the Beaufort Sea.Key words: Thick-billed Murres, Arctic, Beaufort Sea, Cape Parry, N.W.T.