Before launching into the discussion on population movements 
it should be emphasized that the discussions which follow are based only 
on existing banding data. Some of these data are limited in volume, 
were obtained over 20 years ago, and in recent years the wide variation 
between states in length and time of the open season has left potential 
gaps in the recovery pattern. It is expected that with more banding in 
the north, particularly in Canada, the additional recovery data will 
indicate annual variations in time and extent of movement and will even- 
tually permit a more complete and accurate story than that which is 
given here. 
Commencing with bandings in eastern Quebec (fig. 23) we see 
that there is an early movement into the Maritime Provinces and east- 
ern Maine. Just how early these birds arrive is not certain but at 
least they are in the Maritime Provinces during the first days of 
October. Very likely the vanguard arrives the latter part of September, 
and the movement continues throughout the fall. Apparently, eastern 
Maine and Nova Scotia represent the farthest southward penetration of 
this first movement, because the Massachusetts gunners do not begin to 
shoot these Quebec birds until early December even though the season 
has been open for several weeks or months. This distribution of recov- 
eries in Massachusetts may not by typical because all but one of the 
1947-1950 hunting seasons were split, thus creating a situation in 
which the chances of getting recoveries in Massachusetts during the 
middle and latter part of November were much reduced. However, during 
the middle of the fall period part of the Quebec birds take flight and 
head apparently non-stop, for Long Island, New Jersey, and other south- 
ern coastal areas, passing by all southern New England. The vanguard 
of this flight probably arrives in New Jersey during the first or 
second week of November or possibly in late October, and the spread of 
the recoveries indicates that very likely such flights continue through- 
out the fall period. At any rate, we have a situation in which some of 
the Quebec black ducks are in southern Jersey at least 3 weeks before 
the Quebec birds are taken in numbers in Massachusetts. The Quebec 
blacks apparently arrive in Virginia and the Carolinas about the same 
time they are first taken in numbers in Massachusetts. These far south- 
ern records may represent long flights from the northern coast as well 
as shifts from New Jersey and other Middle Atlantic areas. It would 
seem that the movement of the Quebee birds continues along the coast 
throughout most of November and December. 
The timing of recoveries from the Tinker Harbor, Labrador, 
station (fig. 24), appears to be more erratic but this may be the 
result largely of a lack of a sufficient volume of records. However, 
some of the Labrador birds seem to fly over the Maritime Provinces and 
fill gaps in southern New England not occupied by the Quebec birds dur-~ 
ing the middle of the fall period. The earliest record in Massachusetts 
for these far norvhern blacks is at the opening of the season around the 
middle of October. Perhaps these migrants were actually on Massachusetts 
waters early in October. The Labrador blacks are in the New Jersey to 
Carolina area about the same time as the Quebec birds. 
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