Waterfowl in Maine annually support about 140,000 person-days of hunting and a 

 kill of 100,000 retrieved birds. The hunting pressure and kill for coastal 

 Maine, which is about two-thirds of the state total, has generated an 

 important recreational and hunting industry for a number of coastal 

 communities, and emphasizes coastal habitats and estuarine systems as critical 

 waterfowl habitat. 



Although waterfowl are a widely recognized resource, needs for their 

 protection and management sometimes are controversial. For example, the eider 

 duck feeds heavily on cultured mussels, which has raised an unresolved 

 conflict of interest. The magnitude of human destruction of the natural 

 habitat of waterfowl in some areas of the coast of Maine is disturbing. Oil 

 spills, toxic wastes (e.g., pesticides and heavy metals), and increased 

 recreational boating are examples of environmental problems. Waterfowl are an 

 intergral component of coastal Maine and coastal zone planning and management. 



Much of the data for this chapter were drawn from the Maine Department of 

 Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIFW) division files at the Orono Research 

 Section. Waterfowl often are associated with seabirds (e.g., gulls, terns, 

 and cormorants), shorebirds (e.g., phalaropes, plover, and yellowlegs), and 

 raptors (e.g., eagles and hawks), and the interactions of some of these groups 

 are described in chapter 14, "Waterbirds" , and chapter 16, "Terrestrial 

 Birds." 



Because much of the literature on the waterfowl of Maine has been prepared for 

 counties and research units, or for the state as a whole, it is sometimes 

 difficult to identify the data with particular regions of the characterization 

 study area, but its general application to coastal Maine is reasonably clear. 



Common names of species are used except where accepted common names do not 

 exist. Taxonomic names of all species mentioned are given in the appendix to 

 chapter 1 . 



WATERFOWL GROUPS 



To better understand waterfowl populations and their interactions with 

 ecosystem components, waterfowl populations or species may first be identified 

 as "groups" based on migratory habits or residential status. Using these 

 criteria, waterfowl are grouped as resident, breeding, wintering, and migrant 

 species (Palmer 1949; and Spencer 1975). These groups, as used in this 

 chapter, are overly simplified because some or all species or populations are 

 migratory at one time or another. 



A brief description of the groups are as follows: 



1. Resident species. Those present throughout the year (table 15-1). 



2. Breeding species. Those that breed in Maine but usually winter 

 elsewhere (table 15-2) . 



3. Wintering species. Overwintering migrants (table 15-3). 



4. Migrants. Those species that are usually present only during spring 

 and fall migration (table 15-4) . 



15-7 



10-80 



