These circumstances, in which most of first-season recoveries 
are taken within the vicinity of the banding station, are not restricted 
to bandings in Massachusetts but occur at various other points down the 
coast and at certain areas through the interior as in Vermont and Mich~ 
igan. At the moment it would seem that an explanation for one area may 
not hold with another, for circumstances appear to differ in different 
areas. 
The relatively high percentage of locally banded birds 
recovered on the Massachusetts coast may possibly be explained by the 
fact that the local gun pressure is so intense that a heavy loss of 
ducks occurs before the birds normally migrate from the area. It would 
seem, however, that the heavy "take" of black ducks by hunters in the 
vicinity of the banding station, does not satisfactorily explain why 
these coastal bandings do not show a significant "through" migration. 
Local hunting pressure undoubtedly contributes heavily to the 
lopsided distribution pattern of Massachusetts bandings. However, there 
seem to be other contributing factors, probably associated with the 
habits of the birds themselves and perhaps with the trapping methods, 
too. Part of the answer undoubtedly lies in the fact that the coastal 
marshes and bays of Massachusetts are wintering grounds for black ducks. 
It has been the experience of many of us who have observed black ducks 
over a period of years on the coast of Massachusetts that those birds 
that are going to stay become oriented to winter quarters soon after 
arrival. In fact some black ducks banded during the summer period at 
Newburyport never leave the vicinity and may be retrapped during the 
fall and throughout the winter. In other words, some black ducks which 
breed from Massachusetts south are actually permanent residents. Hagar 
(1946) in his excellent analysis of the Cape Cod bandings (Austin 
station), showed exceptionally prolonged repeating at the traps. It 
was his belief that most of the original fall population on the Cape 
could be accounted for by winter bandings and by the estimated hunting 
losses in the immediate area. 
It has been the experience of the author and others that 
"repeating" in coastal traps in late summer or early fall develops 
immediately and in a few weeks most of the birds trapped each day are 
already banded and have established a strong "trap-habit". This 
happens also, to some extent on inland fresh-water areas in the north- 
ern states and Provinces but in these instances there is usually a 
"turnover" of much of the population over a 3-week period. In contrast, 
on the tidal marshes of Massachusetts and probably in states to the 
south, many of the black ducks trapped early in the season are retrapped 
later in the season. Only if the traps are moved, sometimes merely a 
few hundred yards, is an unbanded group of birds taken. In other words, 
many black ducks inhabiting the coastal marsh in early fall rapidly 
establish rather sedentary habits using the same limited section of 
marsh day after day unless driven out temporarily by gunning or other 
factors. Some of these birds eventually leave for the south when 
2)%= 
