20 BULLETIN 936, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



In general, it may be said that conditions on the Bear River 

 marshes are favorable for the attraction and preservation of a large 

 number of wild ducks. This area may be likened to the lower end of 

 a great funnel, that, drawing its supply of waterfowl from Salt 

 Lake Valley and also from a broad area to the north, concentrates 

 the birds here until they spread in migration to other regions of the 

 West. That these birds do range widely after leaving these marshes 

 has been shown by records of ducks that have been banded and 

 released here and subsequently have been shot elsewhere. 6 Records 

 thus obtained show that birds released near the mouth of Bear Eiver 

 in migration cover the region from Oklahoma and Texas west to the 

 Pacific coast in California. 



6 During an investigation of the duck sickness mentioned as occurring on tiiese marshes, 

 a considerable number of ducks were banded and released. The aluminum bands 

 used are placed securely on the legs of the ducks. These bands are of two types, each 

 bearing a number on one side ; the reverse in one style is inscribed " Notify U. S. Dept. 

 Agr., Wash., D. C," and in the other, " Notify Biological Survey, Washington, D. C." 

 It is hoped that sportsmen killing ducks marked in this way will forward the bands 

 at once as directed, with information as to date and place of capture and any other 

 details that seem relevant. Valuable information is available from such return records 

 as to lines of migration, longevity' of individual birds, and other points of value in 

 study of conditions affecting waterfowl. 



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