159 
WATERFOWL BREEDING GROUND SURVEY IN UTAH 
Noland F. Nelson and Albert T. Klett 
Survey Methods 
Aerial transects over Cache, Weber, and Box Elder Counties were 
established and flown in 1950. These same transects were retraced in 1951, with 
the exception of the Cache County area; and new transects were flown over,Davis, 
Salt Lake and Utah Counties. Only scattered birds were found along transects in 
Cache County, so this area was dropped from the 1951 flights. The 1952 flights 
covered the same routes that were flown in 1951. The flight transects were located 
by prominent landmarks such as roads, dikes, and powerlines. These strips were 
covered by the standard method of counting an eighth-mile on each side of the plane. 
Most of the important breeding grounds in northern Utah are covered by these flights. 
The concentrated nature of the breeding grounds of northern Utah make it 
possible to get a high percent of coverage with a limited amount of hours flying. 
Large concentrations of ducks make it impossible to make a species composition 
or breeding pair breakdown from the air, so it is necessary to make ground counts 
along the transect routes to get an accurate determination of the composition of birds 
counted on the flights. 
Estimates of the potential breeding population of State refuges have been 
made each year. This estimate is tabulated by a dike line census at weekly intervals 
during May. Counts are made of pairs and lone males to arrive at the total number 
of breeding pairs. 
Brood counts and nesting studies were carried on at refuges to determine 
nesting success, predation losses, brood survival, etc. 
Weather and Water Conditions 
“In Utah this past winter, record snows were deposited in the mountains, Winter 
weather continued through the entire month of March. March, which is normally 
rather mild, was characterized by blizzards and a freezing over of the marshlands, 
This prolonged winter caught many of the early migrant waterfowl in northern Utah. 
A mild period during February brought thousands of birds into the north end of the 
state. Avocets perished by the hundreds in a few days' exposure to a severe mid- 
March blizzard. Snow covered the ground at a time when Canada geese are normally 
Starting to lay their eggs. Many ducks which may have nested in this area may have 
moved out during the bad storms in March. 
Record floods came down most of the streams in northern Utah. The water 
remained high for a long period during the spring, but little flooding of nests resulted 
as the ducks had not started to nest when the high water started, and were forced to 
establish nests on high ground. 
Large areas of new ground were flooded during the spring runoff. This, 
no doubt caused a scattering of ducks to these new areas and could account for a 
reduction in the number of birds counted along established aerial transect routes. 
