WATERFOWL POPULATIONS IN THE UPPER CHESAPEAKE REGION 
The Upper Chesapeake region is one of the 
more important areas in North America for 
migrating and wintering waterfowl.* Condi- 
tions here affect the welfare of waterfowl 
populations in the entire Atlantic Flyway. 
During the more recent years of this study 
there was a noticeable decline in waterfowl 
populations in this region, probably as a 
result of destruction and disturbance of habitat 
along with a steady increase in hunting pres- 
sure. The purpose of this report is to present 
information on the distribution, ecology, and 
harvest of waterfowl in the Chesapeake Bay 
Region, so that this information can be used 
as a guide to management and preservation of 
waterfowl populations. 
The Upper Chesapeake region, as referred 
to in this study, covers the tidewaters and 
the watersheds of the adjoining Coastal Plain 
of the upper portions of Chesapeake Bay, ex- 
tends south to and includes Pocomoke Sound 
and Tangier Island along the eastern shore, 
and the entire Potomac River estuary along 
the western shore. The adjacent coastal area 
between the Maryland-Delaware line and Chin- 
coteague, Virginia, although not part of Chesa- 
peake Bay proper, also is included as part of 
the region because of its close geographical 
relationships with the Chesapeake area. The 
principal rivers, islands, and other prominent 
physiographical features of the Upper Chesa- 
peake region are shown on the mapinfigure Il. 
The intensive phase of this study was begun 
in April 1954 and continued for about 5 years. 
Data recorded on occasional field trips in the 
area during the years 1945 - 54 also are 
utilized in this report. 
Results are organized in four major parts. 
The first, Size and Composition of the Popula- 
tion, concerns annual and seasonal variations 
in the numbers and kinds of waterfowl in the 
region as a whole. The second part, Waterfowl 
Habitats, defines 13 major habitats of the 
region, lists their principal plants, fishes, 
and invertebrates, and characterizes the an- 
nual and seasonal variations in their waterfowl 
populations. The third part, Biogeographical 
Sections, defines 15 biogeographical areas on 
the basis of waterfowl distribution and use and 
the combination of habitats composing each 
' section. The fourth and major part, Species 
Accounts, comprises detailed accounts of the 

*The term ‘‘waterfowl” as used in this paper refers to the ducks, 
geese, and swans (Anatidae) and the American Coot, 
individual species. Subjects included for the 
species are size of the Chesapeake population 
and its proportion in the Atlantic and continental 
populations, ecological distribution, biogeo- 
graphical distribution, breeding, migration, 
food habits, local distribution of the hunting 
kill, and harvest areas of birds banded in the 
region. 
Information concerning distribution and 
numbers of waterfowl during the winter came 
from the annual continental survey (January 
inventory) of the U. S, Bureau of Sport Fish- 
eries and Wildlife. Data from surveys made 
during the 6-year period, 1953-58, are used 
in this report. During the last 4 years (1955-58), 
data were recorded separately for as many 
as 35 geographical survey units and therefore 
were especially useful in helping define the 
major biogeographical sections. 
Information concerning distribution and 
numbers of waterfowl during the fall, winter, 
and early spring came from special aerial 
surveys during 1958-59, The tidewater areas 
were covered completely five different times. 
These special surveys were made by Charles 
D. Evans, Atlantic Flyway Biologist, with the 
assistance of Charles F, Kaczynski. Data 
were recorded separately for ecological units 
proposed by the author. 
The reliability of aerial surveys is unknown, 
but it is believed that they provide at least 
fairly dependable indexes for most species. 
Certain species can be seen and counted more 
easily than others, so data concerning the 
relative numbers of the different kinds of 
waterfowl are not completely accurate. Aerial 
counts of certain species that are difficult to 
distinguish from the air often were recorded 
together. Thus the terms ''scaup,'' ''scoters,'' 
and ''mergansers" as used throughout the text 
and tables refer to more than one species of 
each. Numbers of Common Goldeneyes and 
Buffleheads usually were combined also. Vari- 
ous sea ducks, including Oldsquaws, scoters, 
and mergansers were not censused adequately, 
because many of them often remain consider- 
able distances offshore. Aerial surveys were 
not made in the Coastal Plaininterior, because 
of the difficulty of seeing waterfowl along 
wooded streams and small impoundments. 
Except for Wood Ducks and Ring-necked Ducks, 
this omission is not believed to have altered 
the data significantly. Numerous ground checks 
of waterfowl in the interior indicated that less 
than 1% of the Upper Chesapeake population 
