12-17 



Black ducks, although primarily ducks of fresh water, are 

 often forced to the New England coast by winter freeze-ups of inland 

 waters. Band returns have shown that ducks wintering in Long Island 

 Sound arrive from breeding grounds in Labrador, Quebec and western Maine 

 (Geis, et al. , 1971). Some birds remain only a portion of the winter, 

 flying on to the mid-Atlantic states (Addy, 1953). Approximately 60,000 

 winter in New Jersey alone (Bellrose, 1968); others winter south along 

 the Atlantic coast to Florida. Aerial surveys showed 2200 as the maximum 

 number of black ducks wintering from Pond Point to Sachem Head, Connec- 

 ticut, during the winters of 1967-1970 (Normandeau Associates, Inc., 

 1971) . The largest number observed in New Haven Harbor during this 

 study by ground observations was 2695 in November 1976. 



Common goldeneyes {Bucephala clangula) breed in Canada from 

 Alaska to Newfoundland and in the United States in northern New York and 

 northern New England. The Atlantic coastline including Long Island 

 Sound are the primary wintering area of the entire continental popula- 

 tion (Johnsgard, 1975) . Common goldeneyes were usually present in New 

 Haven Harbor from November through April (Appendix Table 12-2) . The 

 maximiom number occurred in January 1976 when 863 were observed. 



Outnumbering goldeneyes during the most recent two years of 

 this study, yet entirely absent in 1975, were the canvasback {Aythya 

 valisineria) . A breeding bird of the prairie pothole region of the 

 great plains, this species winters primarily in coastal areas. Almost 

 one-half of the entire continental population winters in Chesapeake Bay, 

 with wintering birds occurring north to New England and south to Florida 



(Johnsgard, 1975) . Population levels of this species in the United 

 States have been very low for the past 10-15 years. Estimates of total 

 wintering canvasbacks in the United States in 1973 numbered only 215,400 



(Benning, et al., 1975). A prized game bird, it has been protected by 

 restrictive hunting regulations including closed seasons during 1960- 

 1963 and again in 1972-1973 (Geis, 1974). Restrictive regulations and 

 low numbers resulted in the canvasback accounting for only 0.3% of the 

 total retrieved duck kill in the Atlantic Flyway in 1974 (Schroeder, 

 et al., 1975). Because of these facts, it is not expected that large 



