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themselves. Then too, these better areas with their extensive cover almost invariably 
have a higher percentage of errors than those more easily surveyed. Finally, it is 
believed that the majority of the waterfowl produced in New Hampshire come from the 
many small areas of various kinds such as oxbow ponds, marshy coves in lakes and 
ponds, beaver ponds, meadow marshes, etc., where from one to several broods are 
raised; and other things being equal, the more areas visited the more accurate the 
survey. It does appear now, however, that the best type of survey would be one that 
calls for visits both in June and August to the representative areas selected for deter- 
mining trends, leaving July for the investigation of new areas. So far it has been 
difficult to work in inspections of wood duck boxes at the same time as the brood 
surveys, Accordingly, only those convenient to check have been checked in the course 
of the brood survey, the figures being accumulated for a separate report when all boxes 
have beenchecked. The methods used in the brood survey are as follows: Each area 
as itis surveyed is covered in entirety, though high percentages of error must be 
assumed in the case of the better areas. Actual coverage may be by one of several 
different methods or a combination. Certain small areas next to a road can sometimes 
be surveyed from a car, especially with the aid of a small telescope. More often a 
short walk takes the observer to a spot overlooking the whole area, and occasionally 
a strategically located tree is the best vantage point. One of our outstanding ponds is 
next to a railroad junction, and here a railroad car is usually available as a high spot 
from which to look it over. A canoe, since it is apt to disturb the ducks, is used only 
as a last resort, though often it is the only practicable way to cover an area. 
Of the broods observed by Richards in 1950, 40 percent were first seen from 
a boat, 27 percent from the ground, 21 percent from an automobile and 12 percent from 
a tree or railroad car. Quite different were the percentages of the number of COMPLETE 
broods seen, namely, 42 percent from the ground, 27 percent from a car, 17 percent 
from a tree or railroad car, and only 14 percent from a boat. 
Data Collected 
The data collected consist largely of the number of broods and potential broods 
observed in each of nine regional divisions of New Hampshire. These figures are shown 
in Table 1 and include totals for 1949 (revised) and 1950, for the areas visited both years 
and for all areas visited each year. Considerably more areas were visited in 1950, 
Under broods are included the number of actual broods seen, the number of broods not 
seen but accounted for by the actions of maternal females and the number of probable 
broods as indicated by groups of apparently grown-up young ducks. Under potential 
broods are included all excess adults, not counting drakes, except in cases where more 
were seen than the number of broods. These figures for potential broods are included 
because undoubtedly a large share of them represent actual broods, perhaps enough so 
that the totals including them may be a better measure of production than just the total 
number of reasonably sure broods. Figures for wood duck box use indicate probably 
much greater production ‘in certain of the better areas, but are not included because 
they are as yet very incomplete. 
Examination of the figures reveals a striking similarity between those of 1949 
and 1950 for the same areas covered, Counting only the combined totals of the broods 
and the potential broods, the variation is only a little over two percent for the grand 
total and still only about ten percent in the cases of the black duck and the wood duck. 
The latter two figures suggest possible slight decreases and increases 
respectively. Assuming, however? that they merely indicate chance variation, the 
sampling methods may well be accurate enough to show what they were intended to 
show: namely, the approximate relative abundance of the different species and any 
major trends that might occur. The important findings are that the black duck and 
the wood duck are common nesting birds practically everywhere in New Hampshire, 
