WATERFOWL BREEDING GROUND SURVEY IN OHIO -: 1950 
John M. Anderson 
In 1949 the private shooting clubs which employ the writer, au 
breeding ground survey of the southwestern Lake Erie region. ’ 
consists of a strip of marsh along the southwest corner of Lake Erie, between Toledo 
and Sandusky, roughly 30 miles long and a mile wide. Water areas included in the 
survey were of three categories; temporary roadside ponds, artificially flooded 
marshes, and natural marshes. Coverage was by boat and on foot. On marshes of 
more than 2,000 acres, a square-mile block was sampled. On marshes ranging from 
2,000 acres down to 500, a block of 160 acres was Sampled. On smaller areas, the 
entire area was covered. Six roadside ponds, 13 artificially flooded marshes a 40 
acres or less, and 10 marshes of from 500 to 2, 800 acres were sampled. There 
were no non-productive areas, such as upland or the open water of Lake Erie and 
Sandusky Bay included in the survey. A total of 2,272 acres was covered, repre- 
senting roughly 12 percent of the entire region. Identical areas and sampling methods 
were employed in 1949 and 1950. 
thorized a 
The region involved 
Table 1. -- Breeding Pairs on 2,272 Acres of Marshland 
Sr ry eS 

Species Pairs Pairs Per Percent 
Sq. Mi. Change 
1949:1950 1949:1950 
Mallard 100:77 28.2:21.7 decrease 23 
Black duck 52:38 14.6:10.7 u 26 
Pintail 4; 3 1.3: 0.9 " 25 
Blue-winged teal 21:22 5.6: 6.2 increase 4 
Wood duck 6:20 lL. 5.5 " 333 
Totals 183:160 51.5:45.1 decrease 12 
Table 1 shows the species composition and number of breeding pairs per 
Square mile in 1949 and 1950. A 12 percent decrease in total pairs per square mile 
is shown by the data. Mallard pairs per square mile decreased 23 percent; blacks 
decreased 26 percent; pintails decreased 25 percent; while blue-winged teal and wood 
ducks increased 4 percent and 333 percent respectively. 
Water and Weather Conditions 
Throughout the nesting season, the level of Lake Erie was roughly one foot 
higher than during the same period in 1949, This decreased the number of loafing 
and nesting sites in most of the larger marshes. Damage from flooding during 
seiches caused by northeast winds, however, was slight in 1950. Generally speaking, 
water and weather conditions were favorable throughout the spring and summer months. 
Spring was about two weeks later than in 1949, and an apparent migration 
barrier caused the migrants to "pile up" in the region in unprecedented numbers. 
Nesting Success 
It was impossible to spend sufficient time in the field during June and July 
to ‘gether adequate data on the number of broods per square mile for comparison with 
1949, A sufficient number of broods was seen, however, to indicate that the average 
size, of ‘Class 11l broods was 6.0 as compared to 6.2 in 1949. 
