A breedin 

 tion with the 

 are presented 

 served in 1979 

 (56 percent) b 

 This figure is 

 152 nests. Fo 

 27 percent inc 

 ing 20 percent 



g population survey was again conducted in conjunc- 

 initial nest surveys. Data for the last 4 years 

 in Table 28. A total of 569 Canada geese was ob- 

 , with a potential breeding population of 317 

 irds, utilizing pairs and singles as an index. 



close to the number of birds (304) associated with 

 r comparable river sections, this represents a 

 rease in total spring population and a correspond- 



increase in nests from 1978 to 1979. 



Table 28. Canada goose breeding population survey - Missouri River, 

 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979. 



Pairs 



Singles 



Groups 



Total 



X - Not surveyed 



79 



93 

 193 



94 

 111 



78 



569 



As in previous years, all nests were located on islands, and 

 Canada geese' affinity for islands was again demonstrated. Canada 

 geese populations associated with islands were high during the spring 

 breeding surveys, with 91 percent of the 569 birds observed on or 

 adjacent to islands. This compares to 90 percent in 1978, 75 per- 

 cent in 1977, and 87 percent in 1976. 



Canada goose nest fate is presented in Table 29. For known- 

 fate nests, the hatching success (one or more eggs hatched) was 

 85.6 percent. The hatching success was 66.6 percent in 1976, 



86.5 percent in 1977, and 84 percent in 1978. Desertion accounted 

 for 8.5 percent of the nests, and 5.9 percent of the nests were de- 

 stroyed in 1979. The highest desertion rate recorded (Table 30) was 



29.6 percent in 1976 and the lowest 7 percent in 1978. The rate of 



73 



