PACIFIC FLYWAY 
WATERFOWL KILL SURVEY 
An estimated 1,778,900 ducks were bagged 
in the Pacific Flyway during the 1962-63 
waterfowl season, a decrease of 12 percent 
from the previous season (table A-5 and A-6), 
An additional 366,400 ducks were knocked 
down but not retrieved, for a total kill (bag 
plus cripples) of approximately 2,145,300 
ducks, 
All States except Nevada and Arizona 
registered decreases in the total duck bagas 
compared to the previous season. 
Analysis of the total Flyway duck bag by 
species, as derived from data provided by the 
Duck Wing Survey, shows that the bags of 
five species—mallard (558,300), pintail 
(388,600), green-winged teal (235,200), 
American widgeon (231,000), and shoveler 
(116,600)—totaled 1,530,300 ducks or 86 per- 
cent of the Flyway bag of all species, 
Several species of ducks registered bag 
increases over the previous hunting season, 
of which greater scaup (+535%), oldsquaw 
(+200%), and scoter (+167%) showed the great- 
est increases, 
The total flyway goose bag of an estimated 
234,200 birds increased 11 percent from the 
previous season. An additional 41,600 geese 
were knocked down but not retrieved, fora 
total kill (bag plus cripples) of approximately 
275,800 geese. All States registered in- 
creases in the total goose kill with the excep- 
tion of Arizona (-50%) and Oregon (-2%). 
An estimated 67,300 coots were bagged in 
the Flyway, a bag virtually unchanged from 
the previous season, An additional 30,000 
coots were knocked down but not retrieved, 
yielding a total kill (bag plus cripples) of 
about 97,300 coots. 
A total of approximately 239,540 waterfowl 
hunters were afield during an estimated 
1,647,200 hunter-days (table A-7p.63),regis- 
tering a 3 percent decrease in the number of 
active hunters, but a 7 percent increase in 
total hunter-days from the previous season, 
WING COLLECTION SURVEY 
Flyway-wide age ratios of the more im-.- 
portant species of ducks in the Pacific Fly- 
way kill in 1961 and 1962 are shown in table 
B-2, (p. 74). Six of the 12 species considered 
here showed increased numbers of immatures 
per adult. Most noticeable of these were the 
shoveler and pintail. Widgeon showed a de- 
cline in the number of immatures per adult 
when compared with 1961. The ratio of im- 
mature to adult blue-winged and cinnamonteal 
{which could not be separated) also showed a 
WINTER 
Data supplied by John E, Chattin, 
Pacific Flyway Representative, Bureau of 
Sport Fisheries and Wildlife 
The Alaska winter survey effort has been 
discontinued because ofthe insignificant num- 
ber of birds involved and hazardous flying 
decrease in 1962, Mallard age ratios, which 
are summarized in table B-2, did not show 
any important differences between 1961 and 
1962. 
Species composition in the Pacific Flyway 
is shown in table B-5 (p. 78), Mallards de- 
creased from 34 to 32 percent of the total 
kill, while widgeon decreased from 17 percent 
to 13 percent of the total kill and pintails in- 
creased from 18 to22 percent ofthe total kill, 
SURVEY 
conditions normally encountered. British 
Columbia surveys did not include total cover- 
erage of waterfowl habitat but were based on 
sample areas which could be covered with 
some degree of certainty annually. Coverage 
of all other units was essentially complete and 
comparable from year to year. 
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