ATTANTTIC PRYCAY 
For the purpose of predictine chantes in the size of the 
Tall flight in the Atlantic Flyway 1% is not possible to rely on 
information from the breeding grounds to nearly the same degree 
that is possible in the three flyvays to the west. Primarily, 
this is due to the fact that operational surveys have not yet been 
developed for the important Quebec - Labrador breeding area, and 
adequate methods of sppraising changes in production of young have 
not been developed for forest and tundra breeding areas in the 
remainder of the northern part of the continent. Therefore, it is 
necessary to depend largely on the results of the annual winter 
survey for the purpose of determining population trends in the 
Flyway. | | 
Attention is called to the discussion of the winter 
survey results on pages 144 through 1:4 and to the graphs on 
pages 147 and 148, It seems evident that there was no recovery 
during 1958 from the low population level that vas recorded 
during the winter survey at the beginning of the year. Rather, 
there Is some possibility that there may have been a small 
decrease in the total duck population, which means that at the 
start of the 1959 breeding scason the population was more than 
50 percent below the peak level reached in 1953, and for both 
1958 and 1959 was well below any other year during the past 11. 
From wheat is known of breeding conditions affecting 
the Atlentic Flyvwey breeding population there is little reason 
for optimism. Severe drought and very low production charac- 
terized the southern portions of the Prairie Provinces, the 
Dakotas, and Minnesota, which supply the bulk of such species as 
the mallerd, blue-winged teal, canvasbackback, redhead, baldpate, 
and pintail to the Flyway. Since these species made up 40 
percent of the total duck kill in the Flyway during the 1958-59 
season, the implications cannot be ignored. Breeding habitat 
conditions were particulerly adverse for over-water nesters, such 
as the redhead, canvasback, and coot. 
™m the northern portions of the Prairie Provinces and 
the Northwest Territories the spring was the latest recorded 
since surveys were first initiated in 1947. Many lakes were 
covered ~vith ice until late June and freezing temperatures were 
common during the month, A revort from an aerial survey crew 
operating in the Northvest Territories stated that broods were 
just beginning to make their appearance on July 28, During 
other years when July surveys have been mm in this area the 
bulk of the early nesters were already on the water by this date 
167 
