CENTRAL FLYWAY 
NEBRASKA 
Weather and Weter Conditions 
Conditions in the Nebraska Sandhills were generally favorable to 
the 1958 waterfowl breeding population. Very mild weather prevailed during 
the winter and most lakes were free of ice by March 1. Continued seasonr 
able weather during the breeding season resulted in an advanced phenology 
at least two weeks earlier than in 1957 and perhaps as much as one week 
earlier than the locally accepted average, 
Water conditions were fair to excellent and generally reflected 
the somewhat spotted precipitation which was locally average to consider- 
ably above average for 1957 and the first half of 1958. The southern por- 
tion of the eastern Sandhills (Wheeler and Garfield Counties) and the 
western portion of the central Sandhills (central Cherry County) had only 
average precipitation and had somewhat limited amounts of available 
breeding habitat. The remainder of the Sandhills showed spectacular re- 
covery from the drought of 1954-56 and habitet conditions remained gen- 
erally good throughout the breeding and nesting seasons. All the 
Sandhill lakes, the levels of which are generally controlled by the 
ground water table, were up from 1957 and in some cases, equaled the 
record levels of 1950-52. 
A rather severe dry-up of the small potholes in the eastern and 
central Sandhills resulted from the brief hot, dry weather of early June, 
However, above average precipitation in late June and July restored many 
of these areas back and also maintained excellent water levels in all 
lakes and marshes. 
Breeding Population Indices 
Breeding Population Surveys 
Table I 1958 Waterfowl Population Indexes 
Eastern Central Western Over-all 
Square Miles in Study Area 
Stratum B 734 1,815 2,814 
Stratum A 3,859 2,624 4,186 
Observed Ducks per Square Mile 
Stratum B 3.70 0.32 3.80 
Stratum A 5.66 11.80 25.00 
Aerial Survey Index* 2h. , 558 33,904 115, 343 173,805 
' Percent Non-breeders Observed 8.9 6.1 29.9 
Breeding Duck Index 22, 384. 31, 854 80,918 
Percent Lone Males Observed 39.2 34.1 17.3 
Hen-on-nest Correction 9,613 11,565 20, 042 
Corrected Breeding Ducks Indexes 31 43, 41 100,960 176,376 
* Duck per square mile x square miles in study area. 
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