
247 
WATERFOWL BREEDING GROUND SURVEY IN NEW YORK, 1955 
Dirck Benson, Donald Foley and Donald Schierbaum 
Introduction 
Data indicative of the 1955 waterfowl production in New York have 
been collected through four methods. These include ground surveys, banding 
studies, aerial transect flights, and canoe sampling in the Adirondacks. 
Ground Surveys 
Breeding ground survey of sample areas by ground observers in 
New York is partially summarized elsewhere in this report in Schuler's article 
on the Northeastern States. In addition, during the rearing season 186 man-made, 
wildlife marsh units which averaged five acres in size were studied. Table I 
presents these observations in comparison with the 1953 and 1954 records. 
Table I. - Comparison of Broods Observed Per Marsh Unit in 1953, 1954 and 
1955 in New York. 
Units Broods Observed Per Unit 
Year Surveyed Black Mallard Wood B-w. Teal Total 
1953 81 0.26 0.56 0.75 0.12 1.69 
1954 181 0.23 0.39 0.53 0.06 1,21 
1955 186 0.36 0.45 0.63 0.07 1,51 

These data do not indicate any marked changes from 1953, and, 
since in 1954 it was concluded that the apparent differences were due to water 
level conditions, it must be concluded that about equal production has occurred 
on the wildlife marshes and the nearby swales and potholes over the last three 
years. Putin terms of acres this is a production of 25 to 30 broods per 100 
acres compared with the less than 10 broods per 100 acres which have been 
observed on the large marsh areas of the State. These are all minimum 
estimates since the majority of the areas were subject to extensive not intensive 
coverage. 
