ALASKA = continued 
Production Indices 
Production surveys were confined to three rather small areas, 
One team of two biologists intensively covered a @-square mile study 
area on the Copper River Delta, beginning in late April. A second team 
covered a study area in the Tetlin-Northway district beginning in mid- 
June. On July 2, an aerial survey was made of black brant production 
in the vicinity of Hazen and Igiak Bays on the Yukon Delta. 
On the Copper Delta study area 224 Canada goose nests and 
115 duck nests of six species were observed. Hatching success was 
62.3 percent for the geese and 67-3 percent for the ducks with several 
scaup nests still under incubation. The geese averaged 5.7 eggs per 
nest. Through the lOth of July 50 broods of ducks had been tallied 
in this area for an average brood size of 5.9, slightly smaller broods 
than last year, but maybe too small a sample to be significant. It 
is interesting to note that canvasback broods were observed, a new 
nesting record for the Copper Delta, and there was a high incidence 
of shoveler broods. In addition, a pair of redhead ducks was observed 
on both the Copper Deita and Kenai Moose Range. This constitutes a 
new record for the species in both areas. 
As mentioned above, it was mid-June before the biological 
team arrived at the Tetlin camp to start a production study. From 
the time of their arrival it was very apparent that the breeding 
population had increased considerably above that recorded from the 
aerial survey. A few ruddy ducks, several redheads and many blue- 
Winged teal, all new records for the area, were observed. Through 
July 20, seven blue-winged teal broods had been recorded averaging 
8.0 young. No ruddy nor redhead broods had yet been recorded but 
two female redheads were flushed from dense clumps of tules on 
July 15 where they may have been nesting. 
Of perhaps greater significance than the new records of 
southern breeders is the influx of shoveler, green-winged teal and 
canvasback above the numbers formerly breeding in the area. This 
could mean that displaced prairie nesters have successfully read- 
justed to a far northern habitat. Through July 20, 330 complete 
broods of ten species were recorded at Tetlin. ‘The overall brood 
size was identical with those of 1958, although the early nesting 
wallards and pintails had smaller broods. This may have been a result 
of the late break-up. Scaup, bufflehead and goldeneye broods had just 
started to appear by mid-July and canvasback, a normally early nesting 
species, was much later than usual. Of the 24 canvasback broods 
recorded, 11 were counted on July 15 and 16. All of these were still 
Class I broods so undoubtedly there are many canvasback still to be 
hatched judging from the number of adult male moulters. Brood counts 
for both the Copper Delta and Tetlin-Northway area are summarized in 
Table 3. 
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