B IRD-BANDING is carried out only to a limited extent in the Arctic today, although information on birds there is probably more urgently needed than elsew’here for ‘both economic and scientific reasons. Many arctic birds make m’ore extensive migrations and cover longer distances than is usual among...
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| Language: | English |
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| Online Access: | http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.563.6700 http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/arctic9-4-258.pdf |
| Summary: | B IRD-BANDING is carried out only to a limited extent in the Arctic today, although information on birds there is probably more urgently needed than elsew’here for ‘both economic and scientific reasons. Many arctic birds make m’ore extensive migrations and cover longer distances than is usual among boreal birds; these migrations can be studied in detail only by banding. Before the Greenland bird-banding programme was started, no regular banding system was in operation in any part of the Arctic. The banding of a few sea birds, particularly kittiwakes (Rissa tridactylx), common murres (Uria aalge), and herring gulls (Larus argentatus), had been carried out by the Russians on the coast of Pol’uostrov Kol’skiy (Dement’ev, 1955; Kartashev, 1955). Arctic waders were banded at some Scandinavian stations (Jaren in Norway, Oeland in Sweden, and Amager in Denmark) during spring and fall migrations, but no banding was carried out on their arctic breeding grounds. The inaccessibility of breeding localities, the nomadic habits of most of the human population and the lack of competent, educated personnel made it difficult to carry out regular bird-banding programmes in the Arctic. In Greenland these difficulties have been overcome to a large extent. Trade and other economic matters are handled by the government, and Danish officials are stationed a t regular intervals along the extensive coasts as managers of settlements and outposts, or as employees at weather stations. The native inhabitants are in frequent contact with the officials, and they can be interested in bird-banding by the offer of a modest reward for their co-operation. This idea was developed by the late Dr. Alfred Bertelsen, Medical Officer of Umanak District, West Greenland, who, with the help of Greenlanders, banded a total of 681 birds, mainly eiders (Somateria mollissima) and kitti-.wakes, in the years 1926-34. During 1936-39 only 51 birds were banded, mainly great black-backed gulls ( L a m s marinus) and Iceland gulls (Lmus glaucoides) (Bertelsen, 1948). ... |
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