Aleutian's bird species

Stretching from the Alaska Peninsula, the Aleutian Islands are a chain of 14 large islands, 55 smaller islands and innumerable islets, belonging to both United States and Russia. They occupy an area of almost 18,000 km², and extend about 1,900 kilometres westwards to the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia. They separate the Bering Sea from the Pacific Ocean. The 57 volcanoes of this region of the world are the northern part of the Pacific Ring of Fire.

From east to west, they comprise five groups:

The Fox Islands include 30 islands, and among them Unalaska, Umnak and Unimak. Formerly, foxes, wolves, bears, sea otters and wales were hunted on these islands. In the same way, salmons and trout were abundant in streams and lakes.
The islands of Four Mountains include 8 volcanic islands. Geese and sea lions were hunted there.
Andreanof Islands comprise about 15 islands in the centre of the archipelago where marine mammals were heavily hunted.
Rat Islands include 6 main islands. Rats were accidentally introduced in the 1780s.
Near Islands comprise 5 islands. The main island, Attu, occurs at the extreme west of the Aleutian chain, about 1,770 kilometres from Alaska and 400 kilometres from the Siberian coast. There, numerous, rare North American bird species can be seen.

The climate of the Aleutians is oceanic, with fairly uniform and moderate temperatures and heavy rainfalls, but fogs are almost constant. The highest temperature recorded on the islands is 26°C (78°F) whereas the lowest is -15°C (5°F). The rainiest place is Unalaska with about 250 rainy days per year.

These islands are covered with luxuriant, dense grasslands and shrubs, and also many flowering plant species. Native trees, some stunted willows and a few coniferous trees are growing, but they rarely reach more than three metres height, with many of them less than two metres tall, due to the very strong winds. Areas of peat bog can be found near the coasts. The highest point is the Mount Shishaldin with 2,857 metres of elevation. It is located on Unimak Island.

The Aleutians are home to numerous seabird colonies, including the Bering Sea endemic Red-legged Kittiwake with 250,000 individuals. Vagrant Eurasian birds such as the Common Rosefinch, the Siberian Rubythroat, the Bluethroat and the Lanceolated Warbler frequent these islands where the Intermediate Egret got its first North American record.

Introduced species such as cattle, reindeers, foxes and rats caused habitat degradation through grazing, and predation on seabird colonies.
Pollutants associated with military development can be locally acute. Radioactivity has persisted from nuclear testing in 1971 on Amchitka Island.
All the species of fish-eating seabirds are declining, due to trophic changes in the Bering Sea ecosystem, result of commercial harvests of fish and whales over the recent decades.

However, the Aleutian Islands are largely intact. The island chain is naturally highly fragmented, and few islands are greater than 2,000/3,000 km².

The Aleutians are included in the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge (AMNWR), and several areas are also included in the Aleutian Islands Wilderness.

The Aleutians are best known for their birds, and several millions nest there each summer such as Laridae, Phalacrocoracidae, Alcidae and Procellariidae, whereas the Emperor Goose winters in the Aleutians. The Cackling Goose is recovering and has now increasing population that is re-colonizing the former nesting islands.

These islands are known too for the battles during Aleutian Islands Campaign of World War II. The islands’ strategic value was their ability to control Pacific transportation routes.

Text by Nicole Bouglouan

Text Sources:

Wikipedia – Aleutian Islands

Wilderness Connect - Aleutian Islands Wilderness

WWF - Aleutian Islands

Imago Mundi - Les îles Aléoutiennes

Encyclopaedia Britannica - Aleutian Islands

Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge