A SPECTACULAR WATERFOWL MIGRATION 

 THROUGH CENTRAL NORTH AMERICA 



FRANK C. BELLROSE, Gome Specialist, Nafural History Survey Division 



An exceedingly large and spectacular waterfowl 

 migration began on the Great Plains of Canada on 

 October 31, 1955, and moved southward in the United 

 States within the Mississippi Fly way on November 1, 2, 

 and 3. Veteran observers concurred that it was* the 

 largest single movement of waterfowl since the Armi- 

 stice Day storm of 191-0. Because of the magnitude of 

 this migration and because of the large number of 

 observers who happened to be in the field at the time, 

 the event afforded an unusual opportunity to assemble 

 and analyze the reports of a truly great movement of 

 waterfowl. Also, it afforded an opportunity to study the 

 effect of weather elements on waterfowl migration. 



The compilation and analyses of the migration 're- 

 ports, which covered an area that extended from west- 

 central Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, provided infor- 

 mation on the routes followed by waterfowl in the 

 Mississippi Flyway, and the altitude, time, and speed 

 of migration under storm conditions. Fortunately, popu- 

 lation changes which resulted from the mass migration 

 in several areas of the flyway could be measured, for 

 some censuses were taken immediately before, some 

 during, and some immediately after the migration. 

 Waterfowl biologists throughout the Mississippi Flyway 

 had been taking periodic censuses, and November 1 

 was a date scheduled for one of these censuses. 



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 



Many wildlife biologists, game agents, and refuge 

 managers in the Mississippi Flyway furnished informa- 

 tion on their observations of the spectacular waterfowl 

 migration that is the subject of this paper. Several 

 persons furnished material solicited from their col- 

 leagues: These were Arthur S. Hawkins of the United 

 States Fish and Wildlife Service; Forrest B. Lee of the 

 Minnesota Department of Conservation; Laurence R. 

 Jahn of the Wisconsin Conservation Department; and 

 William G. Leitch of Ducks Unlimited of Canada. Names 

 and addresses of persons who contributed information 

 on the spectacular flight are listed below. 



George C. Arthur, Illinois Department of Conserva- 

 tion, Hamilton, Illinois. 



Gus Artus, Missouri Conservation Commission, 

 Bowling Green, Missouri. 



Irven Boeker, Upper Mississippi Wildlife and Fish 

 Refuge, La Crosse, Wisconsin-. 



Homer L. Bradley, Long Lake National Wildlife 

 Refuge, Moffit, North Dakota. 



J. R. Caldwell, Ducks Unlimited, Swift Current, 

 Saskatchewan, Canada. 



Harry Canfield, Dallas City, Illinois. 



J. C. Carlsen, Mud Lake National Wildlife Refuge, 

 Holt, Minnesota. 



William D. Carter, United States Fish and Wildlife 

 Service, Winona, Minnesota. 



Mike Casey, Minnesota Department of Conserva- 

 tion, Forest Lake, Minnesota. 



Robert E. Cleary, Iowa Conservation Commission, 

 Independence, Iowa. 



Ldward A. Davis, Upper Mississippi Wildlife and 

 Fish Refuge, Grafton, Illinois. 



David Donaldson, Arkansas Game and Fish Com- 

 mission, Paragould, Arkansas. 



George Freeman, Ducks Unlimited, Calgary, 

 Alberta, Canada. 



William E. Green, Upper Mississippi Wildlife and 

 Fish Refuge, Winona, Minnesota. 



Arthur S. Hawkins, United States Fish and Wildlife 

 Service, Minneapolis, Minnesota. 



Lewis G. Helm, Missouri Conservation Commis- 

 sion, Columbia, Missouri. 



Carl Hunter, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, 

 Little Rock, Arkansas. 



Laurence R. Jahn, Wisconsin Conservation Depart- 

 ment, Horicon, Wisconsin. 



Harry A. Jensen, United States Fish and Wildlife 

 Service, Jamestown, North Dakota. 



Forrest B. Lee, Minnesota Department of Con- 

 servation, St. Paul, Minnesota. 



Roger A. Lehmann, Minnesota Department of Con- 

 servation, St. Paul, Minnesota. 



William G. Leitch, Ducks Unlimited, Winnipeg, 

 Manitoba, Canada. 



Harry T. Maltby, United States Fish and Wildlife 

 Service, Des Moines, Iowa. 



Dale N. Martin, Indiana Department of Conserva- 

 tion, Columbia City, Indiana. 



Frank R. Martin, Upper Souris National Wildlife 

 Refuge, Foxholm, North Dakota. 



Harvey W. Miller, Nebraska Game, Forestation and 

 Parks Commission, Bassett, Nebraska. 



Harland M. Morgan. United States Fish and Wildlife 

 Service, North Platte, Nebraska. 



