

Supplementing the irork of all the flyway biologists were weekly or 

 monthly reports from dozens of refuge managers, regional biologists, 

 game-management agents, and other Bureau personnel. Information from 

 these sources flowed in so steadily that the story of the movements of 

 the birds and of the conditions affecting them was virtually oomplete. 



January Inventory 



The sixth consecutive January inventory of migratory waterfowl was 

 oonduoted under exceptionally trying conditions but with results that com- 

 pletely justified the methods employed, under the leadership of the 10 

 regional directors practically the entire field force of the Bureau was 

 thrown into this operation, aided by the Army Air Corps, the Naval Air 

 Service, the Coast Guard, a commercial tire and rubber company, the For- 

 est Service, Soil Conservation Service, National Park Service, State for- 

 estry, police, and game and fish departments, and others. No attempt has 

 been made to compile a oomplete list of participating personnel but the 

 estimate is between 2,000 and 3,000— a fine corps of trained observers. 



While the advent of winter over much of the country was delayed near- 

 ly to the holiday season, it closed in about at inventory time with an in- 

 tensity that has not been equaled in many years* Freezing weather extend- 

 ed to the Gulf coast and deep snows were prevalent. Despite these unusual 

 and frequently hazardous conditions, the inventory was carried out on sched- 

 ule. 



The 1940 estimates indicated that there were somewhere in the neighbor- 

 hood of 65,000,000 ducks and geese on the continent. These figures repre- 

 sent an increase of about 15 percent in the waterfowl population since Jan- 

 uary 1939, and nearly two and one-half times the count of 1935, The 1940 

 population is probably very olose to half that of 1900. 



When arranged by flyways, the results of the inventory showed a deoided 

 lack of uniformity as had been indicated by study of the fall migration. As 

 in the past few years, the Atlantio and Mississippi Flyways this year har- 

 bored most of the ducks and geese. The Central Flyway showed a large de- 

 crease in all species, while in the Pacific Flyway the status of the birds 

 remained almost at the 1939 level. 



According to species, the mallard and the pintail are making the b*v 

 recovery, due of course to their extensive ranges. Black ducks show a slight 

 decrease, which may be more apparent than real. Although but little improve- 

 ment oan be detected in the status of the redhead, the oanvasback shows a 

 satisfactory increase. The population of Canada geese is somewhat greater 

 than last year, but the increase does not come up to expectations, probably 

 because of the excessive slaughter of these birds in one or two areas during 

 the past hunting season. Both blue and snow geese show a satisfactory in- 

 crease. 



Starvation of Ducks 



Shortly after the inventory and while the country still remained in 

 the grip of severe winter, widespread reports of alleged wholesale starvation 



13 



