85 
WATERFOWL BREEDING GROUND SURVEY IN NEWFOUNDLAND, 1950 
Leslie M. Tuck 
The island of Newfoundland has an area of 42, 734 Square miles. Its shoreline 
is rugged and the deep indentations of bays and inlets create a coastline of 6,000 miles 
in length. The topography in the western section is mountainous, rising to an elevation 
of 2,673 feet, The interior of the island is undulating, low hills alternating with marshy 
tracts, and wooded areas interspersed with numerous ponds and rivers. Areas in the 
higher elevations of the central portion of the island, and areas in the northern portion 
are alpine tundra. It is estimated that 17,000 square miles of the island are occupied 
by forest, and 5,000 square miles by ponds and lakes. 
Compared with the climate on the nearby mainland, that of the island of 
Newfoundland is generally more temperate, both in winter and in summer. The annual 
precipitation varies from 23 inches at St. George's on the west coast, to nearly 54 
inches at St. John's on the southeast coast. Summer comes rather suddenly in the 
month of June and the growth of vegetation is rapid. Fog, created by the meeting of 
the Gulf Stream with Arctic currents near the Grand Banks, occasionally blankets 
parts of the coast, but except for ground fog from the larger lakes, which dissipates 
quickly, the interior is practically free from fog. 
Newfoundland, Labrador, has been so scantily studied in relation to this 
report, that it might be sufficient to state that there is evidence that the interior can 
support a large number of breeding black ducks and Canada geese, and that parts of 
the coast line and many suitable islands are breeding areas of the common eider duck, 
The purpose of this survey was to obtain a general picture of the breeding 
potential of sample areas in the Province. No similar project had been attempted 
previously and therefore no comparative data are available. 
Three areas in the island of Newfoundland were visited by the writer during 
May and June for the purpose of this survey. On the Avalon Peninsula, potential 
waterfowl breeding areas along 180 linear miles of road were visited. In the Gander 
area, 486 miles of aerial reconnaissance on three flights were made. Along the Upper 
Humber, approximately 30 linear miles of waterways were travelled. A two-months 
familiarization visit to northern Newfoundland and along the Labrador coast presented 
some opportunities to observe additional waterfowl breeding areas, but prevented 
follow-up on the breeding success of the areas previously mentioned. 
The following species of waterfowl have been recorded as breeding in the 
Province: Canada geese, black duck, green-winged teal, ring-necked duck, American 
golden-eye, common eider, American merganser, and red-breasted merganser. 
Additional species will undoubtedly be added when further studies are made, particularly 
in Labrador. 
Cruise Tally by Regions (pairs) 
Species Avalon (by car) Gander (by air) Humber (by canoe) 
mene een manne ROP OC ET 
Canada geese 55 213 Bs 
Black duck ll 5 0 
Green-winged teal 19 ; 123 14 
0 53 5 
Ring-necked duck 
American golden-eye 15 93 15 
eee ne A SC a eee 
