WATERFOWL BREEDING GROUND STUDIES IN WESTERN WASHINGTON - 1949 
Robert G. Jeffrey 
During the 1949 breeding semeon an attempt waa nade to measure waterfowl 
production for that part of the State lying west of the Caacmdes. In 1947 and 
194F%, eome cenéus work hed been done locelly in northwestern Washington, but 
Bince the results ¢ovlad not be apnlied to larger aresea, they were of limited 
wWalue. Thie semeon, the census Plote were sagéein workec, and entugh additional 
information was gathered to permit some proricionsl conclusions to be drawn 
regarding the productivity of the habitat ase a whole. 
The procuction estimate war composed of four atepa: (1) Finding the 
average size of the nearly or ouite fully grown waterfowl brooas; {2} clasei- 
fying the habitat as to ‘ype and finding the brood procuctivity of each type; 
(3) finding the total amount of each habitat type in western Waehington: and 
(4) calculating the waterfowl production. In addition, a serles of brood 
census satples were set up throughout the most important waterfowl areas in 
order to follow yearly fluctustions in the breeding success. 
For thie year's surrey, all of the brood habitat was claseifiled into fi¥e 
types, ac follows: (1) Shallow lakes and wider diked-in sloughe tn which the 
emergent communities were especially well dereloped. (2) Other lakes occurring 
at an Altitude of lese than 1,000 feet, The amount of emergent cover ¥aries 
ereatly on these, but fa veuslly confined to a relatively narrow, shallow zone 
along the shoreline. (3) Creeke, ditches, and smaller diked-in ploughe were 
lumped together as the third type. Only the slow-moving creeke of the flat 
lands were included. (4) Tidal channele of the river deltas, (5) Swamps. 
Table 1. -- Comparison of Territorial Paire with Brood Sight Records - 
L242 and Js49 
1948 1949 
Brood Brood 
Species Sight Recorda Territorial Pairs Sight Recorda Territorial Paira 


Mallard eat 63% (55) a2% 6a (70) 
Faldpate 2% ( 2) 
Pintail 1% (1) 2% 1% (1) 
C-.w, teal ag 1% (1) be B& (11) 
B-w. and Ginn. teal 7% ( 6}* 11% 6% (g4)"* 
Shoreler 76 6( 6) 2% { 2) 
Wood duck 30% 21% (18) sf (£10) 
100% 100% 87} Loot 101% {130} 
* 4 blue-wings, 2 cinnamon 
** 25 blue-winge, 8 cinnamon 
LOG 
