
After several years and in many locations waterfowl technicians have 
concluded that it is futile to try to determine nesting success for a given population 
by seeking out individual nests where predation and desertion are abnormal due to 
human interference. In many studies the success of those nests found is so low 
that if this figure were applicable to the population as a whole over a period of 
time, most species could not maintain themselves. Therefore, for the purpose of 
assessing total production success, the fate of individual nests search out has not 
been considered in this light. 
During banding operations on the upper Selawik River drainage a 
white-fronted goose population of considerable extent was found. Relatively few 
broods were observed in the dense willow cover, but two flocks of flightless adult 
geese numbering 2, 000 to 2,500 in each flock were counted from the air on large 
lakes. From the amount of grazing along several miles of stream and lake shore 
it was evident that many thousand more geese were resident in the area than were 
actually seen. Only 113 of these white-fronts were banded, but trapping sites and 
techniques were established so that a representative sample can possibly be banded 
in the future. 
Summary and Conclusions 
1. Substantial production losses on some major breeding grounds 
were partially offset by gains on others so that the over-all Alaskan production 
was probably only 10 to 20 percent lower than that in 1954. 
2. A population index, as derived from aerial surveys, is undoubtedly 
the minimal figure acceptable under present sampling techniques in Alaska. 
3. As summarized in Table V., a total of 1,488 birds of 17 species 
and sub-species was banded at five stations. 
