WATERFOWL 
STATUS REPORT 
1965 
The 1965 waterfowl hunting regulations 
were developed from four broad, closely 
related categories of information as here¬ 
in reported. The groups of data are or¬ 
ganized byflyways, from Pacific to Atlan¬ 
tic, with appendixes of tables to correspond. 
Credit has been given to each individ¬ 
ual or organization that submitted a 
Figures in tables A-1 and A-2 sum¬ 
marize the waterfowl observed during 
an extensive survey of winter habitat. 
Most of the Stateside survey was com¬ 
pleted by January 10, and the Mexican 
surveys were extended until January 25, 
1965. 
A comparison with previous survey 
results is not feasible because of the 
widely divergent habitat conditions in 
different years and a lack of compara¬ 
ble visual coverage in many areas. 
Under the best of conditions the winter 
survey is not an accurate measure of 
annual waterfowl population changes, 
because of yearly differences in visi¬ 
bility, major shifting of populations 
report. Although many of the narra¬ 
tive statements have been briefed, 
and a few tables deleted or shortened 
if they contained data submitted pre¬ 
viously or in another form, the essen¬ 
tial information from each report has 
been retained to the greatest extent 
possible. 
SURVEY 
from one habitat type to another, 
changes in observers, variations in 
weather, and other factors. This 
year, for instance, much of the Pa¬ 
cific Flyway experienced flood con¬ 
ditions which coincided with severe 
winter in another area of the Flyway at 
the time of the January survey. This 
combination of weather caused a typi¬ 
cal distribution of birds and visibility 
conditions not encountered in previous 
surveys. In the southern end of the 
Atlantic and Mississippi Flyways heavy 
rains flooded most of the hardwood 
river bottoms. These conditions in¬ 
duced a dispersion of waterfowl into 
habitat where accurate observation was 
WINTER 
Approved for publication October 1965. Special Scientific Report—Wildlife No. 90. 
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