The over-all sex ratio wags 1.9 males to 1 female for 6,222 ducks. Jex ratios 
for incividuals species are as follows; lallard 1,6 males te 1 female; black duck 
Lily pintail 1.4:1 gadwell 1:1; baldpate Lel:l; shoveler 1:1; green-winged teal 1:1; 
blue-winged teal le4sl: wood duek +l; canvasback 1.4:1; golden-eye 3.1 :1; ruddy 
duck 2:1; bufflehead 1.6;1; smericm merganser 29:1; red breasted morganser 1.2;1; 
redhead ted tls 
carlier in the season the sex ratio for all species was larger for males. ‘e- 
tween fpril 1 and 7 the ratio was 2.6 males to 1 female. The ratio “ad changed ta 
@eSil for April € to 14. It was 1.8 to 1 for April 15 to 21 and 1.9:1 for ‘April 22 
vos The lowest number cf males in the ratio was April 29 to liay 5 when it was 
The 1,064 coots were recorded between April 1 and vay 5. The Largest muber 
(616) wags seen during the week of fpril 15 te 21, °° The 1,280 geese breakdovm is as 
follows: Canada geese 566, snow geese 389, blue geese 75 and unidentified nese 
B50. 1,870 of them were ouserved between ipril & and May 5, 
The Migration data in most cases were collected on water areas selected for 
yearly repeated courts. The present data included in this report will serve as 4 
basis for coinparison with future repeated surveys, 
1949 Breeding Waterfowl Studies 
!utcmobile, Canoe and talking Transects) 
4 survey of 1949 breeding waterfowl population was completed in “lay when 
1,394.3 square miles or 4,569 lineal miles of automobile transects were ran in 211. 
parts of the State, This is a 3,1 percent sample of the 42,500 square miles of 
principal duck breeding ranges =y simple proportion it was estimated that there was. 
& Minimum of 172,000 dicks in the principal breeding range as covspired to a9, 200 
ducks in 1948, or a 93 percent increase over 1945, The number of ducks per squere 
mile varied from 5.10 in Gene VUanazenent Area if to 2,05 in Ares YT wits an @verage 
of 3.82 for the entire State. {11 seven Tame Uianagement ‘ress showed increases in 
dueks per square mile over 1948 (See Table le ja 
30,3 percent of all water areas adjacent to the transects were ocoupied by 
ducks. fercent of occupancy was highest in Grant County, (66 percent), ard Jowest 
in Washington County, (2.7 percent}, Tlue-winged teal and mallard tegether com 
prised 70 percent of the breeding waterfowl, 
The data presented in the previous paragraphs and in Table 1 were secured fron 
routes run in 39 counties in seven Gane l/anagement Areas and were submitted to the 
%. &, Fish and Wildlife Service, Information on Area ITT was not uvallable at the 
tine and so was omitted. This information, when combined with the other sum-aries, 
alters only slightly the totals for the Etate. lieuvtes run in 45 counties in eight 
Same Uanapeuent treas five 3.8% ducks per square mile in the State as compared ta 
the previous 3.82 and similarly 1.92 pairs per square mile as connnred to 1.66, 
The total number of water treus was 3,983 and 1,243 of these were orcupled giving 
a percent of occupancy of Tl. as compared te the earlier stated 30.3- 
Canoe and walking transect routes in which a total of 145,6 miles of shoreline - 
was surveyed, were run in five areas. 1,126 pairs and a tetal of 2,252 ducks were 
recorced. These figures indicate 7,68 pairs per mile of shoreline for all areas, 
trea ITI, represented by Thief Lake, had the highest averages — 3 pairs per mile 
of shoreline and 59.3 ducks per mile. #rea VY was second high with 13,4 pairs per 
mile.and 36,46 ducks per mile. The lowest densities wera in the wilderness arez of 
northeastern itinnesota (Area Tj. 
L7? 
