Surveys for Gyrfalcons in the Scoresbysund Region of Northeast Greenland in 1999.

Abstract

—We conducted a helicopter survey over approximately 6,000 km2 of Jameson Land, East Greenland, on 9–10 June 1999 in search of nesting areas for Gyrfalcons (Falco rusticolus). An associate also carried out an overland skiing survey between Scoresbysund village and Selfeldene Peninsula on the Liverpool Coast in the later part of May, returning across the mountains of Liverpool Land to Constable Point. The authors also did a trip in dog-sledges between Scoresbysund village and Cape Hoegh on the Liverpool Coast. We found 20 areas that showed signs of current, recent, and historical Gyrfalcon breeding activity, four on the Liverpool Coast and 16 in Jameson Land. Five had confirmed incubating females, seven others had apparent non-breeding pairs (n=2) or single adults present, and three could not be determined because of bad flying conditions. Kap Tobin, located near the entrance of Scoresbysund on its north side, appeared to be a suitable location for a trapping, banding, and marking station for fall migrating Gyrfalcons, and this assumption proved to be correct in 2004 and 2005. Comparing our findings with historical information from the 20th Century, while indicating that there could have been an overall decline of 50 percent in the nesting population of Gyrfalcons in NE Greenland since the mid-1900s, still the current population is substantial, and Scoresbysund remains an important location for studying the migratory movements of falcons along the East Greenland coast and associated marine habitats. Received 9 September 2011, accepted 26 September 2011. CADE, T. J., AND O. K. NIELSEN. 2011. Surveys for Gyrfalcons in the Scoresbysund region of northeast Greenland in 1999. Pages 73–80 in R. T. Watson, T. J. Cade, M. Fuller, G. Hunt, and E. Potapov (Eds.). Gyrfalcons and Ptarmigan in a Changing World, Volume II. The Peregrine Fund, Boise, Idaho, USA. http://dx.doi.org/10.4080/gpcw.2011.0402