TRADITIONS OF WATERFOWL 



hunting that took place in southern Minnesota during the nesting season 

 and he concluded that it was doubtful whether "the remnant can be saved 

 even with careful protection." The passage of years has shown, however, 

 that protective action came in time so that in Minnesota and many other 

 prairie states and provinces, the Upland Plover is still a member of the 

 native fauna, in some places showing steady increase. 



Another story of the salvation of threatened birds, and perhaps the most 

 remarkable one, is that of the American Egret and Snowy Egret. Brought 

 so close to extinction early in this century by the plume-hunters, these 

 herons are once more abundant on their breeding grounds, from which 

 some wander each summer north to southern Canada. 



Forbush (1912:516) concluded that "when North America was first set- 

 tled, wildfowl bred more or less abundantly throughout most of the region 

 now known as the United States." This still holds today, for a study of the 

 summaries of the annual breeding ground surveys shows that at least sixteen 

 states ° claim to have from nine to sixteen breeding species of ducks with- 

 in their boundaries. A dozen more have from four to eight, and each of 

 the remaining states have two or three. Thus in terms of species, the roll 

 call of breeding ducks in the United States may not have changed greatly 

 since early times. 



This shows the potential for waterfowl within the United States ; but of 

 course, while there may be a fine list of nesting species, state by state, some 

 regions have lost most of their native ducks. Some populations have disap- 

 peared entirely with the rise of cities and intensive farming. As a young 

 man, my Grandfather Hochbaum knew places, now deep within Chicago, 

 where several kinds of ducks bred; and when marshes, like the great Kan- 

 kakee, where he went wildfowling, were drained, large units of breeding 

 range were lost. Far and wide across the Middle West, waters were spilled 

 forever from marshes large and small, and these places were withdrawn 

 from the realm of wildfowl. Even where water itself was not lost, certain 

 agricultural practices so altered the reedy edges that they no longer served 

 some kinds. Where grazing destroyed emergent vegetation and shoreline 

 cover, some, like Canvasback and Redhead, could not stay on. 



Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Colorado, 

 Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, California, Oregon, and Washington claim from 

 nine to sixteen of the following species: Mallard, Black Duck, Gadwall, Baldpate, Pintail, 

 Blue-winged Teal, Green-winged Teal, Cinnamon Teal, Shoveller, Wood Duck, Redhead, Ring- 

 necked Duck, Canvasback, Lesser Scaup, American Golden-eye, Barrow's Golden-eye, Buffle- 

 head, Harlequin Duck, Ruddy Duck (surveys published by many authors in Special Scientific 

 Report - Wildlife No. 25, published jointly by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the 

 Canadian Wildlife Service). 



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