A very rare spring migrant that is encountered on average every few years, though this species has a pattern of showing up for several years in a row and then not being seen again for an extended period of time. The best time to see this species is mid-May, with most records from May 10th-25th […]
Category: Ducks, Geese, and Swans (Anatidae)
Ring-necked Duck
This species has mostly been found as a spring vagrant or summer wanderer with over 10 records during that period, beginning in the late 1970s. The majority of records are from mid-late May, which is to be expected, and often involves a pair of birds. There are two early summer records (both in 2009) with […]
Tufted Duck
This is a nearly annual visitor during the spring with sightings nearly annual since 2000 and more than 50 records for the Pribilofs since the 1910s, with many of them involving more than one individual over an extended period time. They are occasionally found earlier in the season, though the best time to see this […]
Greater Scaup
A common spring migrant and perhaps the most common diving duck that is a passage migrant. This species can be found regularly during May and June while birds likely begin appearing during April in most years and birds linger into the summer season regularly as well. Overall numbers typically peak in mid-late May, though substantial […]
Lesser Scaup
The first Pribilof (and Bering Sea) record came as recently as 1961, though this species has proven to be a semi-annual vagrant in recent springs. Most records come from the second half of May with scattered spring records into mid-June. A few spring arrivals have lingered into July while an occasional summer wanderer has been […]
Steller’s Eider
Primarily a winter resident, this species is found regularly into the early spring. It is most common when coverage is at a minimum; with most individuals moving north by late winter/early spring, but they do linger into the spring most years though rarely past May and very rarely into late June and even July with […]
Spectacled Eider
Primarily a winter arrival, this species is most often found during mid-winter amongst the large mixed-species flocks of Somateria eiders that congregate around the Pribilofs in some years. This pattern leads to very few sightings of this species in total, though there are a couple records of birds from early May and October when birders […]
King Eider
This is essentially a resident non-breeding species in the Pribilofs, with a poorly defined seasonality due to omnipresent non-breeders that are typically present year-round. It is an abundant winter resident in near shore and offshore waters with birds lingering late into the spring and typically into and through the summer months in small numbers. Large […]
Common Eider
Like the other eiders, this species is most common during the winter months with a few lingering individuals being found during spring in most years. The majority of individuals have left by May, though birds do linger into mid-May on a regular basis but are typically gone before the 25th of that month. It is […]
Harlequin Duck
This may be the most consistently common species in close proximity to each of the Pribilof Islands as large numbers winter locally as well as over- summer, though no nesting activity has ever been documented. It is perhaps the least defined non-resident species from a temporal basis as the numbers seem to ebb-and-flow during the […]