FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE RELEASES 2010 DUCK BREEDING POPULATION ESTIMATES

 The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has announced results of the 2010 Waterfowl Breeding Population and Habitat Survey, completed each spring, and numbers are similar to last year. The preliminary count of duck populations from the traditional survey areas estimates 40.9 million birds, similar to last year’s estimate of 42 million birds, and is 21 percent above the long-term average.

Some species down but overall numbers stable, well above long-term average
WASHINGTON, DC — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has announced results of the 2010 Waterfowl Breeding Population and Habitat Survey, completed each spring, and numbers are similar to last year. The preliminary count of duck populations from the traditional survey areas estimates 40.9 million birds, similar to last year’s estimate of 42 million birds, and is 21 percent above the long-term average.

The report summary focused on areas encompassed by USFWS and Canadian Wildlife Services’ (CWS) Waterfowl Breeding Population and Habitat Survey. The survey samples more than 2 million square miles of waterfowl habitat across north-central and northeastern United States; southcentral, eastern, and northern Canada; and Alaska. The survey estimates the number of ducks on the continent's primary nesting grounds.

Highlights from the survey in northcentral United States, southcentral and northern Canada, and Alaska (the traditional survey area) are illustrated in the following table:

2010 Estimates of May Ponds and Breeding Ducks (in millions)

*indicates significant differences

Weather during the survey period included average to below-average moisture and a mild winter and early spring across the entire traditional and eastern survey areas. Conditions across the Canadian prairies were similar to 2009. Portions of southern Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba improved, but a large area along the Alberta and Saskatchewan border remained dry, and moisture levels in portions of Manitoba declined from last year.

The 2010 estimate of ponds in Prairie Canada was 3.7 million, similar to last year’s 3.6 million and the 1955–2009 average of 3.4 million. The 2010 pond estimate for the northcentral U.S. was 2.9 million, the same as last year's estimate and 87 percent above the long-term average. Fall and winter precipitation in the eastern Dakotas generally improved the good habitat conditions already present.

The annual survey guides the USFWS waterfowl conservation programs under authority of the 1918 Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The agency works in partnership with state biologists from the four flyways — the Atlantic, Mississippi, Central (which includes Kansas) and Pacific — to establish regulatory frameworks for waterfowl hunting season lengths, dates, and bag limits.

If these breeding populations have a good nesting season, it could spell great fall duck hunting in Kansas, which rests in the middle of the Central Flyway. For detailed information, the entire “Trends in Duck Breeding Populations, 1955-2010” report can be downloaded from the USFWS website, fws.gov/migratorybirds/NewReportsPublications/PopulationStatus/Trends/TrendReport2010.pdf .

The Black Duck is primarily found in Eastern North America. Its size, body structure and flight characteristics closely resemble the Mallard.

The Black Duck is dusky brown with a paler head. The drake and hen look very similar except for their bills. The drake's bill is greenish yellow while the hen's bill is an
olive green. Both sexes have a dark blue wing patch and a white under wing visible in flight. They both have a dark eye line.





American Wigeon 

Anas americana

The American Wigeon drake has a distinctive white forehead with a deep green stripe running from the eye to the back. The body, chest, back and sides are light brown while the belly is white and the rump is black. Bold white shoulder patches on the drake are visible in flight. The hen is generally brown and has duller shoulder patches than the drake. Both sexes have stubby bills and slightly pointed tails.

Blue-winged Teal

Anas discors

Blue-winged Teal are among the smallest of the dabbling ducks. The drake has a very prominent white facial crest between the bill and eye, a brown spotted breast and flanks, a pale blue shoulder patch and a black rear end. The hen has a dark eye line, mottled brown body and duller pale blue shoulder patch. Because of the pale blue shoulder patches, Blue-winged Teal can be confused with the larger Northern Shoveler in flight.

Cinnamon Teal

Anas cyanoptera

Green-winged Teal

Anas crecca

Green-winged Teal are the smallest of the dabbling ducks - about the size of a pigeon.
The drake has a brownish head with a dark green patch extending back from the eyes. The chest is light brown flecked with brown spots. A white vertical band separates the chest from the gray back and sides. The hen is mottled brown. Both sexes have green wing patches.

Mallard

Anas platyrhynchos

The Mallard is the largest of the dabbling ducks and the most abundant duck species in North America. The Mallard drake has a distinctive iridescent green head and neck, a white neck ring and a brown breast. The drake's body is gray and the rump is black with a white tail. The hen has a mottled brown body with an orange and black bill. Both the hen and drake have blue wing patches bordered with white bands.





Mottled Duck

Anas fulvigula

The Mottled Duck can be mistaken for the American Black Duck and the hen Mallard. The Mottled Duck is lighter than the American Black Duck and its blue wing patches are rimmed with black rather than white as on the hen Mallard. The Mottled Duck is a southern species found in Florida, all along the entire Gulf Coast and the southern Atlantic coast.




 

Northern Pintail

Anas acuta

With its long black pointed tail, brown head with white neck stripes and gray slender body, the Northern Pintail drake is one of North America's most beautiful ducks. Their long neck makes them appear larger than a Mallard but they are smaller. The Northern Pintail hen is mottled brown and also has a pointed tail. In flight drakes have iridescent steel green wing patches bordered with light bands. Hens have a duller wing patch bordered with light bands.




 

Northern Shoveler

Anas clypeata

The Northern Shoveler is so named because of its large distinctive spoon-shaped bill – black in the drake and brown in the hen.

The drake has a green head and neck, a white breast, brown sides and pale blue shoulder patches. The hen is buff and light brown with grayish shoulder patches. In flight Northern Shovelers can be confused with Blue-winged Teal because of similar pale blue shoulder patches, however Shovelers are larger in size.

Wood Duck

Aix sponsa

With its striking green crested head, white bridle, orange-reddish bill and eye, the drake Wood Duck is a spectacular bird. It has a white flecked chestnut breast, yellow flanks and a black back. The hen has a white patch around the eye, white underside, brown back and sides mottled with tan and gray. Both sexes have steel blue wing patches.