tJhitfS'd States 



HalDitat coru3..itions. on ,th,e National Wildlife refuges serve as a ijuiit for ' ■■ 

 measurement of 'other- conpara'ble' at* eas'. "Genera ll-y,- thro\ag,hout the co-'-ontry, nesting 

 conditions vrere excellent and a. review 'of data from ref^oges in. North DaJfota, ^So-uth ■ 

 Dakota, Montana,- NelDras^a, Minnesota, and Utah, -indicated, that the production from'- 

 potential habitat .averaged one nest 'per acre. This average was much higher in ->. ■ 

 crime nesting halsitat for field records shov/ed- nesting densities averaging fvom-yji- - 

 nests per acreo.n th^. Lov/er Souris refuge in North Dakota, to '"^.6 nests per acre'on.. 

 the Lacre^k Refuge, in South Dakota. 'Evenhigher densities vrere reported from some- - 

 parts of the Bear^ River Refuge in Utah where an average of "^.6 nests' per acre v/a.s 

 found in one studv area. " . ■■-.■..,,. ' .--.., 



... - _ Fall Migration .' • ■ ■ ■ . 



Never since the. all-time low of thft 'waterfowl population 10 years ago i 'v^as- ■ .- 

 there so much discussion concerning thp status of the (^ucks and geese, Pfs.' transpired 

 during and after the- fall migration. It is nowhis.tory . that' the l^UU-He^^ .shooting- .... 

 season was -the- no-s.t freakish in the memory of -the. oldest, hijjiters." Co'nfllcting re-., 

 ports were current .in many States as Well as among sportsmen and conservation • r>. ■ ■ .. 

 agf^ncies generaMy. ■ '■ ' ■ .■•- . .- 



In many parts of the coiontry the ducks and ..fr<=ese — delayed in Ca na da • 'b.3'' mild ■ 

 weather and an -ahundance of food — vrere nearly a month latr-. Some famous ducking _. 

 areps, particularly on th*^ Atlantic Coa.^t, never did have a hef^vy flight. Other 

 sections of the coijiniry, particularly in the Great Plains, region, reported, the 

 largest supT)ly of Ib.irds in two or three decades. r ' - • - . 



A report from the hiologist of the Pacific Fl.way indicated that VHriitefronted,.- . 

 Cackling,- a:nd Snow Geese x^rere exceedingly a'b-'jind.ant. at Summer Lake, Oregon, in the .. 

 Klamath Ea-si-n-,- and .in the Sacram.ento Valley. ■ Pinta.ils, Widgeons, and Mallards also 

 showed a considerahle increase, these three outnumhering all other speci'es. -In 

 northwestern V.'ashington the Black Brant appeared in. normal numhers. Despite these^. 

 early reports of abundance, shooting in the Pacific Coast States and in those of -the 

 Great Basin, was erratic and varied greatly from, day to d.ay. • ' ' 



On the Grea-t Plains the situation was i^ntirely r'^xT-rsed, the- flight throitigh . •. 

 eastern Montana, Wyoming, the Dakotas, Minnesota, Nehras.ka, Colorado',- and-.'Kansas ,•• .. 

 heing particularly heav.v. In some parts of this regio.n,- reports indicated the 

 presence of the greatest concentrations in 15 or 20 years, the ma.jority "bfelng ■ 

 Mallards, follov/ed "by Pintails and Widgeons, with nota.hle flights of Redlieads, 

 Ruddy Ducks , and Ca.ny9.shacks . 



Throughout, .the length of the Mississippi Va.lley, the flight was generally late. ■ 

 "but locall.v it provided fairly good shooting. . A"bsence of an early freeze prolonge.d, . 

 the flight and prevented the customary concentrations in deep-water areas, the "b.irds., . 

 drifting slo^vly southv/ard over a wid^ expanse of country. V/arm. vreather prevailed _ -. 

 into late Novem'ber and good "duck days" were scarce in many arep? until after the 

 latter part of D.ecPiTi"ber. Even in the famous duck marshes of Illinois, Missouri, 

 and Arkansas, shooting v;as decidf^dly "spo-tty" although on some d.a.ys many iSood "bags 

 were made. Great num"bers of "birds xi^ere reported, on th^^- St. Clair Flats in- Michigan- 

 and on the Lakp Erie Marshes of northeastern- Ohio, "but shootir^g was- /renerally poor 



