239 
WATERFOWL NESTING SURVEY - MISSOURI, 1954 
Lewis G. Helm 
Introduction 
Since 195] a waterfowl nesting survey has been conducted in Missouri, 
primarily for the purpose of obtaining trend data of summer resident wood ducks. 
Included in the survey are observations of the nesting attempts of mallard and blue- 
winged teal. The survey is conducted by conservation agents, who in the 1951 survey 
found wood ducks nesting in their districts. This year 45 agents censused 4931 acres 
of lake and marsh and 218 miles of stream. Managers of five State and Federal 
areas contributed information on nesting waterfowl, and 12 Federal-Aid biologists 
ran census routes on 363 miles of stream. 
As in previous years, the following observations were recorded as nesting 
attempts: lone drake, lone hen, pair and brood. The total nesting effort was computed 
as the total of all these observations. The census was carried out during the period 
May 10 to June 10. 
Table I summarizes the data recorded during the survey. Omitted are single 
observations of shoveler, pintail, gadwall, preen-winged teal, lesser scaup, canvas- 
back, hooded merganser, and coot. Table II shows trend data for the 1953 and 1954 
nesting surveys, and Table III gives trend data for wood ducks only. 
Summary 
Nesting waterfowl surveys have been conducted on areas and streams in 
Missouri since 1951. Based on the number of nesting attempts observed per square 
mile of lake and marsh and per mile of stream, a downward trend has been recorded. 
For wood ducks, mallards, and blue-winged teal, nesting attempts are down 31 percent 
on lakes and marshes and 18 percent on streams. For wood ducks only, nesting 
attempts are down 24 percent on lakes and marshes and. 8 percent on streams. 
