impossible. At the other extreme, 
there was exceptionally low water in 
the Laguna Madre along the Texas and 
Mexican coasts. There was a major 
decline in the number of scaup and red¬ 
heads normally seen in this area, but 
the survey was not extensive enough to 
determine if they were present in some 
other area. 
Only for a few species and for a few 
discrete populations is the winter sur¬ 
vey used to help measure annual popu¬ 
lation status. The best information for 
setting of annual hunting regulations is 
derived from a survey of waterfowl 
populations in the spring and summer 
on the nesting grounds. The annual 
January survey is used primarily to 
determine distribution of waterfowl on 
the wintering grounds and to detect 
major changes in the condition of winter 
habitat as measured by the comparative 
utilization of that habitat by waterfowl. 
BREEDING GROUND SURVEYS 
ALASKA 
Data supplied by James G. King and 
Clinton Lostetter, Bureau of Sport 
Fisheries and Wildlife 
Weather and habitat conditions 
An extended thaw in March melted and 
evaporated most of the snow in interior 
Alaska. April brought freezing tempera¬ 
tures again. Thawing weather predomi¬ 
nated in May but really warm weather 
did not occur until June. Ice breakups 
in the Tanana and Kuskokwim Rivers 
were 2 and 5 days later than the long¬ 
term average, respectively, compared 
to breakup 14 and 21 days later than 
average in 1964. 
As a result of the March thaw there 
was very little runoff water and there 
was very little flooding of river valleys. 
The ponds and lakes did not receive the 
melt water which normally raises the 
ice, breaks it loose from the banks and 
permits the wind to churn it about has¬ 
tening its destruction. The breeding 
pair survey was delayed while the ice 
melted. Although the ice in many of the 
lakes persisted later than usual and the 
weather was cool, there was sufficient 
open water for the ducks to disperse on 
schedule. Once dispersed, instead of 
finding the usual soggy or flooded habitat 
conditions the birds found relatively dry 
conditions so nesting could proceed at 
once. Thus, although the phenology of 
the vegetation is slightly later than nor¬ 
mal we may find that bird production is 
right on schedule or early in many areas. 
The combination of near normal weather 
with the unusual lack of flooding in any 
area may permit very favorable nesting 
conditions and high production. 
A hint as to what duck production will 
be can be gained by observations of 
geese and swans on the Copper River 
Delta, the Yukon Delta and the Kenai 
Peninsula. Greater nest density and 
larger clutches than during the past 
several years was reported from each of 
these areas. 
Breeding population indexes 
Tables B-l and B-2 indicate a decline 
in breeding population, especially for 
scaup and pintail which make up the bulk 
of birds observed in the survey. The 
slight increase in widgeon which are 
never observed in great abundance may 
be caused by change in observer this 
year. The increase in teal may be the 
result of the same causes, however, 
production studies in 1964 indicate that 
teal did better in some areas than most 
other species.. The increase shown for 
canvasbacks likewise may not be real as 
the sample is small. The decrease in 
mallards on the other hand may not be 
2 
