were obtained in one or more of these years and the actual number of years by 
species is shown in the table. 
table 1. -- Hatching Success and Brood Survival 

Before 
Reaching 
Species Water Class I Class II Class III 
No. DKLS / No. DKLS/ No. DKLS/ No. DKLS / 
Broods Brood Broods Brood Broods Brood Broods Brood Remarks 
Blacks 
Av.(45-49) - =: 23.2 8.0 12.4 5.7 16.2 6.3 
949 5 43 7 30 .5 5 6. 
B-w. teal 
Ay. (45-49) . - - 1.4 6.3 3.2 5.5 4.5% 7.1% #4 yrs 
1949 aE eae L 5.0 3 6.2 4 8.0 
Gy, teal A 
Av.(45-49) - ~ 2.4 5.5 2.4 6.1 5.0¢7 5.8% #2 yre 
1949 boa aud 3 5.0 He} 6.0 5 5.6 
Wood duck 
Av .(45-49) - - Soe 5.6# 9.4 ee 8.0 6.5 #4yre 
1949 - -~ 18 5.5 28 5.2 20 5.6 
Ring-neck 
Av. (45-49) - - 24.6 6.6 16.4 6.4 8.7% 6.0# #4 yrs 
49 paar bani 39 6.6 20 5.7 18 5.8 
Golden-eye 
Av. (45-49 ) — aaa 28.0# 6.2# 10.6 4.3 9.0 5.0 #4 yrs 
= = 5 9 4 
Class I = Up to 1/4 grown, i.e. in the down. 
Class Il = 1/4 - 3/4 grown. 
Class III= 3/4 grown to awing. 
Five black duck broods were found with the female leading them to water 
and they averaged ten ducklings per brood. This is slightly above-average 
hatching success for this area. Many more broods of all three classes were 
found this year than average, but this in itself was not an indicator of an 
increased breeding population as the number of observers were not the same 
each year. the downy broods were definitely smaller than average, but they 
numbered slightly above-average by the time they reached the flying stage. 
This was true for all species except the ring-neck, the golden-eye, and the 
wood duck, and indicates a slight decrease in duckling mortality among black 
ducks and the two teals. Brood survival as a whole was average with three 
species above and three below the average of the previous years. 
The average brood sizes for black ducks are based on the count of 259 
broods containing 1,826 young ducks in the past 5 seasons. The other species 
are represented by proportionately smaller numbers consistent with the number 
of breeders on the area. 
95 
