74 

WATERFOWL BREEDING GROUND SURVEY IN MANITOBA 
Arthur S. Hawkins 
The seventh annual waterfowl survey in Manitoba started in April soon after 
the ducks arrived and ended in September when most of this year's crop was on the 
wing. As in the past, two aerial crews using the standard transect method measured 
the changes in numbers of waterfowl and water areas. One crew using a light plane 
covered the agricultural belt (strata A and B), while another using an amphibian, 
covered the hinterlands (strata C and D). Nearly two dozen conservation officers of 
the Manitoba Game Branch, students and biologists assisted in ground surveys which 
had as their objectives not only measuring trends but also evaluating production in 
relation to weather and habitat conditions, determining relative numbers and success 
of the waterfowl species present, testing techniques used in appraising populations and 
banding significant numbers of young ducks, 
A roster of the 1953 waterfowl survey party is given below: 
Aerial Crew (Grumman Goose) - Hinterland Coverage 
E. G. Wellein, Pilot; C. W. Newcomb, Observer (Fish and Wildlife Service) 
Aerial Crew (Piper Supercub) - Prairie and Lowland Coverage 
A. P. Noltemeier, Pilot (Fish and Wildlife Service); D. G. Colls, Observer 
(Canadian Wildlife Service). 
Ground Crew - Manitoba Game Branch Transects 
Officers Serafin, Henderson, Goodey, Krentz, McEwan, Roper, 
Gilmore, Schindler, Shand, Beck, Newman. 
Ground Crew - Newdale-Erickson Pothole Area 
W. H. Kiel, C. D. Evans and A. S. Hawkins (Fish and Wildlife Service); 
G. Parsons (Manitoba Game Branch); D. B. Reid (Canadian Wildlife Service). 
Ground Crew - Elkhorn Pothole Area 
J. Howard (Manitoba Game Branch); D. B. Reid (Canadian Wildlife Service); 
G. Pospichal (Fish and Wildlife Service). 
Banding Crew - Potholes 
D. Kreible, R. C. Tice and A. S. Hawkins (Fish and Wildlife Service). 
Banding Crew - Delta Marsh 
A. S. Hawkins, ©. D. Evans and W. H. Kiel (FWS); 
N. Mulder (Wildlife Management Institute). 
Special Population Studies - Graduate Students 
A. Dzubin (University of British Columbia and Wildlife Management Institute) 
S. T. Dillon (University of Wisconsin and Wildlife Management Institute). 
M. E. Weller (University of Missouri and Wildlife Management Institute). — 
Methods 
The only innovation of note in aerial surveys was the use of a dictaphone in 
recording ducks seen in heavily utilized areas (see page 83 of Special Scientific Report: 
Wildlife No. 21 for previous experience with this technique), Otherwise the sampling 
