Turner (1885) listed the red-legged kittiwake as abundant and breeding in the Near Islands. Turner (1886) also stated that he had seen quite a number about a cliff back of the village on Akutan Island in 1878. He added that to the westward this kittiwake was more abundant than the black-legged kittiwake. Murie (1959) expressed the opinion that Turner had confused the short-billed gull with the "short-billed" kittiwake. Clark (1911) also reported that he had seen the red-legged kittiwake in small numbers near Unalaska and that they became progressively more common west to the Near Islands. Nelson (1887) reported seeing large numbers of red-legged kittiwakes at Unalaska. Murie (1959) and Gabrielson (1940, 1944) did not see any red-legged kittiwakes in the Aleutian Islands. The species has recently been discovered breeding at Buldir and Bogoslof islands (G. Vernon Byrd, personal communication).
Is it possible that we have here another species which is exhibiting a response to some unknown long-term perturbation? The suggestion that such an event has occurred is faint, but it is there. Do we have in the red-legged and black-legged kittiwakes an example of yet another congener pair that has been affected by some perturbation in which one was affected positively and the other negatively? Clark (1911) reported small numbers of black-legged kittiwakes to go with large numbers of red-legged kittiwakes in the Near Islands, which is the reverse of the current situation.
Gabrielson and Lincoln (1959) attribute to the Arctic tern the most extensive range of any Alaskan water bird. It is found in suitable habitat everywhere north of Tracy Arm in Southeastern Alaska. Murie (1959) stated that he found it nesting at suitable sites everywhere he went. Isleib and Kessel (1973) considered it to be an abundant breeder in Prince William Sound and along the northern Gulf Coast.
The Arctic tern was observed in FWS aerial surveys in Prince William Sound, and surveys in July and August 1972 provided an estimate of 45,000 terns in the Sound (Isleib and Kessel 1973). On the other hand, tern colonies were located only rarely in the FWS colony surveys before 1975. This is, however, a reflection of the equipment and methods used and not of the abundance of terns.