Bay, Choptank River, Hooper Island, Smiths 
Creek (St. Marys County), Solomons, and Gib- 
son Island areas during the years 1952-58 
(table 130) came from 432 indirect recoveries. 
The recoveries included 121 from birds banded 
in winter and 311 from birds banded in 
spring. Nearly three-fourths of the kill oc- 
curred in the Mid-Atlantic States. About one- 
half of the total kill was in Maryland alone, 
and there was a fairly large kill in Virginia, 
Most of the remainder of the kill was in the 
Eastern Great Lakes - St. Lawrence section, 
North Central States, prairie provinces, and 
southeastern states. 
A more comprehensive analysis of recovery 
data of Lesser Scaup banded in Maryland, 
including studies of the chronology of the 
migration, sex and age ratios, and mortality 
rates was reported by Longwell and Stotts 
(1958), 
COMMON GOLDENEYE 
Bucephala clangula (Linnaeus) 
Common Goldeneyes are quite generally 
distributed throughout the Upper Chesapeake 
region during migration and wintering periods, 
occurring wherever there are open-water 
habitats. They usually are in small scattered 
flocks, although rarely they may concentrate 
in groups of 1,000 or more individuals, 
Population estimates of Common Goldeneyes 
and Buffleheads were combined because it 
was difficult to distinguish between them 
during the aerial surveys. This is not as 
unsatisfactory as it might seem, however, 
because the seasonal occurrence and ecological 
distribution of the two species are quite 
similar, 
January inventories for the years 1953-58 
show that the wintering population of Common 
Goldeneyes and Buffleheads combined ranged 
from 9,500 in 1958 to 36,100 in 1956, averaged 
approximately 18,000. This average figure 
represents about 7% of the continental winter- 
ing population of the two species and about 
17% of the Atlantic population. Some indication 
of the relative abundance of Common Golden- 
eyes and Buffleheads was obtainedfrom counts 
of birds that were positively identified during 
numerous local boat and shore censuses, 
The total count for the two species was 
7,421 birds; 5,064 (68%) were Common 
Goldeneyes and 2,357 (32%) were Buffle- 
heads, 
The fall migration of Common Goldeneyes 
usually is during the period from October 
15-25 to December 15-25, with the peak be- 
tween November 10 and December 10. The 
normal spring migration period extends from 
March 1-10 to April 20-30, with the peak 
between March 15 and April 10. 
55 
Habitats 
Migrant and wintering populations of Com- 
mon Goldeneyes ordinarily are distributed 
throughout the open estuaries of the Upper 
Chesapeake region. Brackish estuarine bays 
apparently are the optimum habitat, although 
large numbers of birds frequently occur on 
salt estuarine bays. Common Goldeneyes also 
occur on slightly brackish estuarine bays and 
on the coastal bays. Fresh estuarine bays are 
used most extensively by early fall migrants, 
During migration, small flocks occasionally 
may be present on interior impoundments for 
brief periods. 
January inventories of 1955-58 showed the 
following distribution of wintering populations 
of Common Goldeneyes and Buffleheads com- 
bined: brackish estuarine bays - 61%; salt 
estuarine bays - 13%; fresh estuarine bays - 
13%; coastal bays - 9%; and slightly brackish 
estuarine bays - 4%, 
The ecological distribution of Common Gold- 
eneyes and Buffleheads during the 1958-59 
season is shown in table 131. The birds ap- 
parently preferred brackish estuarine bays 
during late fall, winter, and early spring, 
but used the fresh estuarine bays most com- 
monly in early fall. Considerable numbers 
were present on salt estuarine bays during 
all four surveys. 
Biogeographic Sections 
The average distribution of Common Gold- 
eneyes and Buffleheads during the January 
inventories of 1955-58 is shown in table 132. 
The Choptank River and Eastern Bay sections 
are the primary winter concentration areas. 
Nearly two-thirds of the Upper Chesapeake 
population was in the coastal and eastern 
shore areas, extending north to Eastern Bay. 
Fairly large populations also were in the 
Upper Potomac, Central Western Shore, Pa- 
tuxent River, and Susquehanna Flats sections. 
Seasonal changes in numbers in 1958-59are 
shown in table 133. The lower and central 
eastern shore area extending north to Eastern 
Bay contained high populations during all 
four surveys. The north Chesapeake area, 
particularly the Susquehanna Flats and Upper 
Western Shore sections, had many birds during 
November but many fewer during the other 
months. The central and lower Potomac sec- 
tions had fairly large numbers of birds dur- 
ing all four surveys. 
Food Habits 
The gullet and gizzard food contents of 25 
Common Goldeneyes were examined, Data for 
23 of these are shown in tables 134-136. Two 
others were shot on the coastal bays during 
November and March. 
