The South-west Greenland Open Water Area is an internationally important wintering area for seabirds in the North Atlantic. Nearly two decades after the area was last surveyed, we conducted a replicate aerial survey in March 2017 to update information on the distribution and abundance of seabirds. With a total effort of about 5800 km, we covered the coastal area from Aasiaat (69°N) to Kap Farvel (60°N), 56% of the open water area in the fjords, and the offshore bank, Store Hellefiskebanke. Line transect survey methodology was used except in the fjords, which were censused by total counts. By means of distance sampling analyses, the abundances of the dominant species were estimated to be roughly 1100 000 king eiders (Somateria spectabilis), 443 000 common eiders (Somateria mollissima), 42 000 long-tailed ducks (Clangula hyemalis) and 76 000 Iceland gulls/glaucous gulls (Larus glaucoides/Larus hyperboreus). For the great black-backed gull (Larus marinus), great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo), mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) and red-breasted merganser (Mergus serrator), we present the first winter population estimates for the area (6100, 7700, 7600 and 3200 individuals, respectively). Areas around Kangaatsiaq, Nuuk and Julianehabsbugten were identified as key wintering sites, as was Store Hellefiskebanke which held 99% of the king eiders. For all species assessed in 1999, abundance in the coastal survey area was considerably lower in 2017. In some cases, this may be due to changes in distribution patterns. However, for thick-billed murre (Uria lomvia), long-tailed duck and black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla), the reduced coastal abundances coincide with declining breeding populations.

中文翻译：

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格陵兰岛西南部的越冬海鸟，2017 年

西南格陵兰开放水域是国际上重要的北大西洋海鸟越冬区。在上次对该地区进行调查将近二十年后，我们于 2017 年 3 月进行了一次重复的航空调查，以更新有关海鸟分布和数量的信息。我们总共努力了大约 5800 公里，覆盖了从 Aasiaat（北纬 69°）到 Kap Farvel（北纬 60°）的沿海地区、峡湾开放水域的 56% 以及离岸银行 Store Hellefiskebanke。使用线样调查方法，但峡湾除外，这些地区按总计数进行普查。通过距离抽样分析，优势种的丰度估计为大约 1100 000 只王绒鸭（Somateria spectabilis），443 000 只普通绒鸭（Somateria mollissima），42 000 只长尾鸭 (Clangula hyemalis) 和 76 000 只冰岛海鸥/白鸥 (Larus glaucoides/Larus hyperboreus)。对于大黑背鸥 (Larus marinus)、大鸬鹚 (Phalacrocorax carbo)、绿头鸭 (Anas platyrhynchos) 和红胸秋沙鸭 (Mergus serrator)，我们提供了该地区的第一个冬季种群估计数 (6100、7700、7600和 3200 个人，分别）。Kangaatsiaq、Nuuk 和 Julianehabsbugten 周围的地区被确定为关键的越冬地点，拥有 99% 的王绒鸭的 Store Hellefiskebanke 也是如此。对于 1999 年评估的所有物种，2017 年沿海调查区的丰度要低得多。在某些情况下，这可能是由于分布模式的变化。然而，对于厚嘴海鸦 (Uria lomvia)、长尾鸭和黑腿猫鼬 (Rissa tridactyla)，