Most of the waterfowl production 
occurring in California was found in 
northeastern California and on the rice 
lands of the Sacramento Valley. Other 
areas covered by this survey are: the 
Suisun Marsh, the Grasslands, and rice 
and pasture areas of the Central San 
Joaquin Valley. Other smaller areas 
produce some ducks, but the accumulated 
total is of little significance. 
Breeding population and production 
indexes 
Comparable figures of nesting pairs 
and fall population of waterfowl are pre¬ 
sented in tables B-13 and 14. 
NEVADA 
Data supplied by C. V. Oglesby 
Nevada Fish and Game Department 
Weather and habitat conditions 
Winter came early this year in Ne¬ 
vada, bringing large amounts of snow in 
the higher elevations throughout the 
northern portions of the State by mid- 
December. A warming trend occurred 
with rain on snow during the last week 
in December resulting in unseasonably 
heavy runoff and some flooding in west¬ 
ern Nevada. Snowfall during January 
was sufficient to offset deficiencies in 
February and March, and the April 1 
snow pack along most of the east slope 
Sierra was 125 percent of average. 
Heavy runoff continued throughout 
late winter and early spring, resulting 
in an early fill of storage reservoirs. 
As of April 1, Nevada f s principal res¬ 
ervoirs held more stored water than any 
time since 1959. A good carry-over of 
stored water into the 1966 water year is 
anticipated. April-July streamflow 
forecasts throughout major waterfowl 
production areas were expected to range 
from 94 to 158 percent of average. 
Water has been restored in all pro¬ 
duction areas to normal levels or above. 
Marsh vegetation is showing excellent 
recovery from the recent drought and 
nesting habitat is considerably improved 
over last year. Some flooding of goose 
nests occurred in western Nevada due to 
the early filling of most reservoirs. 
Streams remained unusually high during 
June and July and nest loss due to flood¬ 
ing is expected in ducks nesting along 
stream courses. 
Above normal rainfall and subnormal 
temperatures persisted throughout late 
spring and early summer and it appears, 
judging from the abundance of class I 
broods recorded during July surveys, 
that the nesting season was exceptionally 
late. 
Breeding population index 
The May duck breeding population 
index, as determined by aerial surveys 
on sample areas, showed an overall in¬ 
crease of 30 percent over 1964. Com¬ 
parable habitat sampled amounted to 
316 square miles. A total of 8, 652 duck 
pairs was recorded this year and repre¬ 
sents 27 nesting pairs per square mile of 
habitat sampled. Dabblers were up 31 
percent overall with significant increases 
occurring in pintails, cinnamon teal, and 
gadwalls. The diving group was up 35 
percent in the aggregate with a signifi¬ 
cant increase in the redhead breeding 
population (up 65 percent). The Canada 
goose breeding population was up 20 per¬ 
cent over 1964 (table B-15 and 16). 
Production indexes 
Results of brood surveys on com¬ 
parable trend areas indicate an increase 
in duck production over 1964 of 13 per¬ 
cent. Comparable habitat sampled in 
1964 and 1965 was 114. 5 square miles. 
There were 8. 3 broods and 59 ducklings 
observed this year per square mile of 
habitat. Increased production was noted 
in gadwalls and redheads (up 26 and 35 
percent respectively) whereas cinnamon 
8 
