CENTRAL FLYWAY 
Breeding Ground Surveys 
NEBRASKA 
Wagther and Water Conditions - 
Weather conditions remained unfavorable for waterfowl breeding activities 
yatil very as in the spring. The entire winter and spring were quite cold with 
sharp freezing temperatures being recorded as late as the first week of May. .Near 
record ice more than two feet thick resulting from the prolonged cold caused many 
drought depleted lakes to freeze solid. 
Water conditions were very similar to those of 1955. Only a few of the 
large lakes remained in the eastern sandhills and these had generally low water 
levels. Rainfall just prior to the breeding ground survey caused some temporary 
water areas which were used by migrants but not available as breeding areas. 
Precipitation in this area has been below normal through the summer resulting in 
the dry-up of several of the remaining lakes. 
Lake levels in the central sandhills were somewhat lower than in 1955, but 
atill remained generally good. Water levels in the western sandhills were very good 
except for the west central alkaline areas which were low and in some cases, com- 
pletely dry; however, these latter have little effect on waterfowl production. 
Breeding Population Indices - 
ITE — a ee 
Table I - Waterfowl Breeding Population Indices 
cert a eeee D 
Eastern Central Western Over-all 
Sq. miles in study area 
Scarce duck habitat* 734 1,815 2,814 
Abundant duck habitat 3,859 2, 824 4, 186 
Ducks per square mile 
Scarce duck habitat . 00 . 00 . 00 
Abundant duck habitat 6.50 13.39 14.51 
Aerial Index | 25,083 37, 813 60, 739 123,639 
Rercent non-breeders 45.3 32.0 36.8 
Resident ducks 13, 720 25,713 38, 387 
Percent lone males a Se 24.4 “20.0 
Hens -on-nest 3, 183 6,274 7,677 
Carrected Indices 16, 903 31,987 46, 064 94,954 
* Each area was divided by all the possible flight paths that were more than 
one-half and those that were less than one-half within relatively abundant 
duck habitat areas as determined from the 1954 survey. 
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