Maynard M. Nelson first noticed the mass flight in 

 the south-central part of Minnesota at 4:30 P.M. on 

 November 1. Between 5:00 and 6:00 P.M., at Pierce 

 Lake in Martin County, he counted 41 flocks, which 

 contained an estimated 4,125 ducks. None of these 

 flocks stopped, but, that night, a multitude of ducks 

 descended on Martin County lakes; large concentrations 

 of ducks were observed by Nelson in that area the fol- 

 lowing morning. 



At Talcott Lake, about 50 miles to the northwest 

 of Pierce Lake, Roger A. Lehmann at 4:15 P.M. no- 

 ticed the first of many flocks of mallards flying from 

 the north on November 1. From that time until it was 

 too dark to see, he observed a continuous flight to the 

 lake. The flocks of mallards varied from .50 to 300 birds 

 each. 



The mass flight was still in progress in some 

 areas of Minnesota on November 2. A short distance 

 north of St. Paul, Mike Casey saw flocks of migrating 

 waterfowl from daylight to 10:30 A.M. Mallards predomi- 

 nated in the flight, which included smaller numbers of 

 scaups, ring-necked ducks (Aythya coUaris), redheads 

 (Aythya americana), canvasbacks (Aythya valisineria), 

 and Canada geese. Flocks varied in size from 10 to 

 several hundred birds each. Although large, high-flying 

 flocks continued on in flight, many small, low-flying 

 ones dropped into the Carlos Avery Refuge. The ducks 

 were flying at altitudes that varied from a few hundred 

 feet to heights at which they were barely discernible 

 to observers on the ground. 



Mississippi River. —On the Upper Mississippi Wild- 

 life and Fish Refuge south of Winona, Minnesota, 

 William D. QPete^ Carter watched the departure of 

 25,000 ducks between 7:30 and 8:30 A.M. on November 

 2. During that hour, flocks of 50 to 150 ducks were tak- 

 ing flight toward the south at about ,5-minute intervals, 

 until only 5,000 remained. Farther down the river during 

 the rest of the day. Carter observed a steady flight of 

 ducks southward; none of these ducks appeared to stop. 

 On the following day he observed only a few flocks, all 

 of them flying high and moving southward. 



About 175 miles south of Winona on the Mississippi 

 River, near Clinton, Iowa, Dr. William E. Green and 

 Irven Boeker were aviating north at an altitude of 1,200 

 feet on November 2. Suddenly, at 9:00 A.M., they were 

 surrounded by a heavy flight of ducks heading south- 

 east. As far as they could see on each side, as well as 

 above and below the plane, ducks filled the air. For an 

 hour, Green and Boeker, aviating on a northwesterly 

 course across country to Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, 

 watched the flight of waterfowl continue. These water- 

 fowl appeared to be taking a short-cut across the big 

 eastward bend of the Mississippi River in northwestern 

 Illinois. 



About 70 miles southwest of Clinton, at the Louisa 

 National Wildlife Refuge, adjacent to the Mississippi 

 River near Wapello, Iowa, E. V. Pierce saw the mass 

 duck migration on November 2. Following is his vivid 

 description of it: "Starting at about daylight and last- 

 ing without any apparent let-up until about an hour after 

 noon, there took place a migration of ducks, mostly 

 mallards, that simply defies description. If an accurate 

 description could be written, anyone not having seen 

 the migration could not possibly believe or imagine 

 what went on. All the duck hunters who were fortunate 

 enough to be out in the Odessa bottoms at Louisa that 

 day agree that they witnessed the largest and most con- 

 centrated flight of ducks they had ever seen in their 

 lives in any single day. There was a strong west- 

 northwest wind mixed with light rain, sleet, and snow. 

 Visibility was extremely limited, but, from within gun 

 range to as far and as high as one could see, the air 

 was literally full of ducks. For about an hour, between 

 8 and 9, the flight was hardly divided into flocks, but 

 rather appeared to be just one solid drove of birds. As 

 nearly as anyone could tell, this flight came right down 

 the Mississippi and also, in probably greater numbers, 

 from the west and northwest. The great majority of 

 these birds flew right on through this neighborhood, but 

 by evening Louisa Refuge held at least 150,000 mal- 

 lards." 



Forty miles farther downstream, on November 2, at 

 Dallas City, Illinois, Harry Canfield noted raft-s of mal- 

 lards scattered over the river surface at dawn where 

 none had been the evening before. Other flocks of 

 mallards were winging overhead, and a steady flight 

 continued until 11:00 A.M.; at that time a snow shower 

 started, after which the magnitude of the flight sharply 

 diminished. Although mallards made up the bulk of the 

 flight, there were numerous flocks of lesser scaups, 

 ring-necked ducks, and canvasbacks, along with a few 

 flocks of gadwalls and widgeons or baldpates (Mareca 

 americana). 



Some 30 miles southeast of Dallas City at Col- 

 chester, Illinois, hunters saw many flocks of mallards 

 passing southward in the dim light of early dawn on 

 November 2. 



From a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River 

 near Hannibal, Missouri, Gus Artus witnessed on 

 November 2 the greatest waterfowl migration he had 

 ever seen. From dawn through the morning, myriads of 

 flocks of southbound ducks were in sight for several 

 miles to the east, over the flat valley lands on the 

 Illinois side of the Mississippi River. His view to the 

 west was limited by hills to a mile or so, but, as far as 

 he could see in that direction, there also were flocks of 

 migrating ducks. By early afternoon, the magnitude of 

 the flight had diminished. 



