This is a normal, albeit uncommon, winter resident that is regularly found in the Pribilofs through early spring. They become less common by the end of May and are rarely encountered after early June with only sparing reports after June 5th. There are just four records of individuals lingering into summer and even fewer records […]
Category: Ducks, Geese, and Swans (Anatidae)
Barrow’s Goldeneye
A rare and possibly overlooked vagrant, this species is often found with the closely related Common Goldeneye. Occurrence patterns for this species likely mirror that of the Common Goldeneye, with nearly all of the 11 known records arriving in May, while there are a couple early June records and a single summer arrival record. It […]
Smew
This species is recorded on a semi-annual basis with a record every three years on average since 1995. They are most commonly found during the spring from May 15th-31st, with many records of birds lingering for days or of multiple individuals arriving together. There are three early summer records in late June and early July, […]
Hooded Merganser
This species has been recorded once in the Pribilofs during late fall. It is a rare late fall migrant in south-coastal Alaska from its breeding range in the southeastern part of the state, which coincides well with this occurrence in late October. It is also in line with normal freeze over in these areas, which […]
Common Merganser
A nearly annual spring vagrant that is seen in most years during mid-late May, though there are only a handful of records prior to the year 2000. It is most likely to be seen from May 10th-25th though the actual timing of this species in spring may extend much earlier than records indicate as it […]
Red-breasted Merganser
A spring migrant best seen between May 15th and June 5th, though it can often be found across the full spring period from early May to mid-June. While still not expected, summer wanderers and lingering individuals from the spring are found during late June and July on a regular basis, though the first fall migrants […]
Mallard
A regular, albeit sparse, migrant in the Pribilof Islands, which could be seen at almost any time of the year but is most regular in the spring between May 5th and June 5th and again in the fall from mid-September into October. The beginning of spring migration for this species typically falls outside of the […]
Northern Pintail
This species has typically already arrived before the first birder coverage commences in the spring with moderate to large numbers present by the beginning of May. Migrant numbers usually peak in mid-to-late May, with a decline in migrants by June 10th and standard breeding numbers usually present from mid-June on. The exact migratory pattern is […]
Green-winged Teal
Early migrants have typically arrived prior to the first birder coverage in early May with small-to-moderate numbers arriving during mid-late April. Timing of migrant and peak movements is clouded in the Pribilofs due to summer residents; however, predictably the largest spring numbers would be found in mid-late May with a decline in daily numbers until […]
Canvasback
This species has been found only very rarely in spring during mid-to-late May and in the fall during early-mid October. This pattern is typical of this waterfowl genus (Aythya) and it is likely that this is when future records will be found. As most records involve single individuals, they are often found in the company […]