204 
Table I - Breeding Pairs in South Dakota (88 Square Miles of Ground Transects) 
a a 

Pairs Per | Species 
Species Breeding Pairs Sq. Mile Percent Composition 
~ 1951 +1952 1951-1952 Change T95I «19527 
B-w. teal 835 864 9.49 9.81 + 3.5 39.90 36.1 
Pintail 490 652 5.57 7.41 + 33.1 22.9 27.3 
Mallard 292 335 3.32 3.81 + 14.7 13.6 14.0 
Gadwall 228 226 2.59 2,57 Same 10.6 9.4 
Shoveler 142 159 1.61 1.70 + 11.9 6.6 6.6 
Redhead 63 75 0.72 0.85 + 19.0 z2.9 Sand 
Baldpate 31 16 0.35 0.18 ~ 48.0 1.4 0.6 
Lesser scaup 18 28 0.20 0.32 + 55.5 0.8 ll.2 
Ruddy duck 25 12 0.28 0.14 - 52.0 1.2 0.5 
Canvasback 10 9 0.11 0.10 - 10.0 0.5 0.4 
Ringneck 1 ll 0.01 0.13 - Tr. 0.5 
Unidentified l 1 0.01 0.01 - Tr. Tr. 
Total 2,142 2,392 24.34 26.05 + 11.7 
The foregoing table indicates an increase of 11.7 percent for all species. 
Transect D in the Waubay Hills showed a 30 percent decrease while all other 
transects showed an increase or nearly the same. This was due to the fact thata 
new road constructed on Transect D, shortened the distance considerably and pair 
data were not comparable to 1951 data. Excluding transect D, the increase would 
have been 15 percent. Aerial surveys of the entire State showed a 100 percent 
increase in total ducks but this was due to a large population of ducks in the 
temporary water on the flat, agricultural land. Ground transects in South Dakota 
do not include a large enough sample of this type of habitat in years when an 
abnormal amount of water is present. 
Water areas increased on the transects from 739 to 1,091 or 46.5 percent, 
but the pintail made up most of the 12 percent increase in breeding pairs and as 
‘they prefer the prairie to the hills area the increase in water areas on transects 
was not reflected by a corresponding increase in ducks. 
The Leola Hills and areas west of the James River show an over-all increase 
of 14.2 percent in breeding ducks with a 61.2 percent increase in water areas. The 
Waubay Hills and areas east of the James River show a 9.5 percent increase in 
breeding ducks with a 35.2 percent increase in water areas. The over-all increase 
in breeding ducks is mainly reflected in the flat agricultural areas where the big 
increase in water areas occurred. The more permanent areas in the Waubay and 
Leola Hills areas showed very little change in breeding intensity. 
It is apparent from the above data and from brood data obtained later on that 
at the time the breeding pair census was taken, all of the ruddy ducks had not yet 
arrived on the breeding grounds. The breeding season seemed to be a bit earlier 
than last year and a heavy percentage of the breeding pairs were represented by lone 
drake mallards and pintails. Some shovelers were nesting and a few blue-winged 
teal were believed tobe lone drakes. One blue-winged teal and two mallard nests 
were found during the breeding pair survey. 
