did you get in touch with Wetlands International? They have a worldwide international waterbird monitoring program and should be able to provide the Eider data you search, at least for geographically close/comparable areas.

Hello Stephanie,

I don't know the answer to this specific question, but I can point you to some sources likely to either have the information in them, or contain references to search further.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Subsistence has over 400 reports online about uses of fish and wildlife in Alaska.  Google the website and use the search function to narrow down reports for Port Clarence area (Teller, Brevig Mission, and further to include Wales, Nome, Shishmaref and Deering).  You might also look at the annual reports in the Subsistence Division technical report series dealing with annual household surveys of migratory waterfowl harvests.  Those reports may have references to waterfowl biology that address your question, and to TEK about seasonality.

Work by Henry Huntington and others looked at TEK for belugas in eastern Norton Sound....not your species of concern and east of Port Clarence, but again, may have references that are more on target with your question. 

Huntington, Henry P. and the communities of Buckland, Elim, Koyuk, Point Lay, and Shaktoolik

1999 Traditional Knowledge of the Ecology of Beluga Whales (Delphinapterus leucas) in the Eastern Chukchi and Northern Bering Seas, Alaska. Arctic 52(1):49-61.

Another recent publication that might be of interest and have relevant data or references:

Mason, Owen K., Matthew L. Ganley, Mary Ann Sweeney, Claire Alix and Valerie Barber

2007 An Ipiutak Outlier: A 1,500 Year Old Qarigi at Qitchauvik on the Golovnin Lagoon. Final Report on the Golovin Heritage Field School, 1998-2000. NPS Technical Report Number NPS/AR/CRR/2007-67. U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Alaska Region, Shared Beringian Heritage Program, Anchorage, AK.

Finally, you might want to contact Madonna Moss and look at her blog about faunal analysis.  Madonna is at University of Oregon, Eugene, and has a faunal reference collection.  [email protected]

Moss, Madonna L. and Peter M. Bowers

2007 Migratory Bird Harvest in Northwestern Alaska: A Zooarchaeological Analysis of Ipiutak and Thule Occupations from the Deering Archaeological District. Arctic Anthropology 44(1):37-50.

What is the Port Clarence project you are working on?  I know BLM and other agencies have been looking at the beach ridges out there since the USCG abandoned the LORAN site several years ago.  Please let me know if any of these leads help you.  Would enjoy seeing any of the reports that come out of your work....we strive to stay on top of the research going on in Alaska.

Cheers, Richard