Continued - 
*%* 42 ponds averaging one-half acre in size located near a reservoir 
of 2,000 acres. Brood survey taken on ponds only. 
Table VII - Wood Duck Nest Box Checks (State -wide) 


Percent of 
No. Boxes Checked No. Boxes Used _£ Utilization 
Area of Inspection 1955 1956 1955 1956 © 1955 1956 
District No. 2 76 86 — 26 «©6929 =i 834221 33. 72 
District No. 3 113 123 25 29 22.12 =23.58 
District Na. 4 316. 242 32 20 . 10213 8.26 
District No. 5 259 237 36 30 13.90 12.66 
District No. 6 152 158 ~ 23 29 15.13 18. 36 
Magee Marsh (Bednarik) 185 185 21 11 11.35 6.00 
Delaware Dam (Stewart) 77 87 24 16 31.17 18.40 
Woodbury Area (Shuy) 19 19 14 17 73.68 89.46 
Ottawa Co. (Van Camp) 88 151 21 35 23.86 23.17 
Total 1,285 1,288 222 216 17.28 16.75 
Conclusions - 
It would appear that State -wide there is an increase in the number of 
mallards, black ducks and blue-winged teal produced. Wood duck production was 
about the same as last year. 
MINNESOTA 
Weather and Water Conditions - 
The season was later than usual in Minnesota this year. Water con- 
ditions were improved over 1955, with 4.52 water areas per square mile being 
recorded as opposed to 3.00 in 1955. 
Breeding Population Indices - 
Minnesota had an increase of approximately 40 percent in the number 
of ducks returning to nest in the State this past spring. Actually the aerial tran- 
sects (Table I) which were flown from May 14 to May 20 showed an increase of 
74 percent over the previous year. Ground transects were run slightly later, 
into the week of May 20 and showed an increase of 36 percent in number of pairs 
of ducks. Since field checks indicated that some migrants may have been 
present during the period of this aerial census, it was decided that a conservative 
figure of 40 percent should be used to indicate our increase. 
82 
