151 
in nesting pairs, 10 percent of which occurred on the Stillwater marsh; the 
remainder was attributed to an abundance of water at the Pelican Island area which 
is located at the mouth of the Carson River, an area that is usually dry. The water 
level in the Stillwater marsh is higher this year than the two previous breeding 
seasons and new fringe areas were flooded and used by puddle ducks. A change in 
the relative abundance of species resulted with a 14 percent increase in puddle ducks 
and an 18 percent decrease in divers. The nesting density for the area also 
decreased. 
Table I - Numbers of nesting pairs for Stillwater Wildlife Management Area 
1950 through 1952 
Percent Change 

Species 1950 1951 1952 1951 - 1952 
Canada geese 15 32 30 = -6 
Mallard 100 172 554 +222 
Gadwall z200 251 449 + 79 
Baldpate 10 15 25 + 67 
Pintail 20 33 75 +127 
Green-winged teal 0 3 12 +300 
Blue -winged teal 0 0 7 +700 
Cinnamon teal 340 762 1,149 + 51 
Shoveler 15 53 18 - 66 
Redhead 650 1,427 1,214 - 15 
Ruddy duck 20 * 60 145 +143 
Total Ducks 1, 355 2,776 3,648 + 31 
Coot 1, 500 1, 668 2,174 + 30 
Total Waterfowl 2, 870 4,476 5, 852 + 31 
Duck Production 
From Table II for the reservoir trend areas in northern Nevada (Unit II ) 
there is an indicated decrease in production which is in part due to the large drop in 
numbers of mallard and pintail broods and young that were recorded. However, all 
of the periods of observation are not comparable for both years. The first obser - 
vations this year were later, resulting in a low count on Class I's and a high count 
on Class III's. By extracting the data for the first half of August for both years 
there were 86 broods of all classes seen in 1951, and 85 broods of all classes seen 
for the same period in 1952, indicating little change in production. 
There are several possibilities in regards to the mallard and pintail 
production picture. The early nests could have been unsuccessful due to rising 
water conditions on the reservoir areas or some could have failed due to cold 
weather. Another possibility was that the abundance of water throughout the 
general area reduced the nesting density of these two species on the trend areas, 
Gadwall and lesser scaup production increased while the production for the other 
Species was in general comparable for both seasons. 
