The Montana Unit, working with the nesting population of Canada geese in the Flathead Valley, determined the 

 reproductive rate and population turnover for the flock over a 10-year period, and devised various methods for field 

 study such as the neck band of colored plastic tape (left) and the weighing device (right). (Photos by John J. 

 Craighead) 



Canada geese in the Flathead Valley. — Study of 

 banded and color-marked Canada geese in the Flat- 

 head Valley by the Montana Unit revealed that 

 goslings exhibit a strong tendency to return to 

 the area where hatched. None of these geese 

 nested the first year of life, but they did pair, and 

 some pairs defended an area. Only two-thirds of 

 the 2-year-old geese nested, and they, too, showed 

 a strong homing instinct. Geese 3, 4, and 5 years 

 of age. and older tended to return to the previous 

 year's nest site, or near vicinity, to nest. It would 

 appear that the goose population in the Flathead 

 Valley of Montana is largely maintained by mem- 

 bers of the population unit returning each year to 

 nest. 



Production and utilization of sago pondweed. — 

 Sago pondweed is one of the major waterfowl food 

 plants in the United States. It grows abundantly 

 in the marshes of the Bear River National Wild- 

 life Refuge. In 1962 and 1963, the Utah Unit, 

 cooperating with the Refuge Division, sought to 

 determine just how much sago pondweed is being 

 produced on the Refuge, and how important it 

 is as a waterfowl food. 



During the two growing seasons, numerous sam- 

 ples were taken to determine the amount by weight, 

 of vegetation and seed, and the number of tubers 



produced. In addition, soil and water salinities 

 have been measured, water temperatures and 

 depths recorded, and soil types observed to ascer- 

 tain whether correlation exists between plant pro- 

 duction and any or all of these factors. 



An excellent brood-production area on the Montezuma 

 National Wildlife Refuge for mallards, black ducks, blue- 

 winged teals, and wood ducks developed by flooding a low- 

 grade stand of young hardwoods. An evaluation of the 

 type as waterfowl habitat is being made by the New York 

 Unit in cooperation with the Division of Wildlife Refuges 

 of the Bureau. (Photo by Daniel Q. Thompson) 



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