Waterfowl Population Status, 2007
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University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln US Fish & Wildlife Publications US Fish & Wildlife Service 7-25-2007 Waterfowl Population Status, 2007 Pamela R. Garrettson U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Timothy J. Moser U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Khristi Wilkins U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usfwspubs Garrettson, Pamela R.; Moser, Timothy J.; and Wilkins, Khristi, "Waterfowl Population Status, 2007" (2007). US Fish & Wildlife Publications. 399. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usfwspubs/399 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the US Fish & Wildlife Service at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in US Fish & Wildlife Publications by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Waterfowl Population Status, 2007 WATERFOWL POPULATION STATUS, 2007 July 25, 2007 In North America the process of establishing hunting regulations for waterfowl is conducted annually. In the United States the process involves a number of scheduled meetings in which information regarding the status of waterfowl is presented to individuals within the agencies responsible for setting hunting regulations. In addition the proposed regulations are published in the Federal Register to allow public comment. This report includes the most current breeding population and production information available for waterfowl in North America and is a result of cooperative efforts by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), the Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS), various state and provincial conservation agencies, and private conservation organizations. This report is intended to aid the development of waterfowl harvest regulations in the United States for the 2007-2008 hunting season. We note that the preliminary report entitled, Trends in Breeding Duck Populations 1955- 2007, initially released on July 11, 2007, included several errors. These errors have been corrected in this report. We have also amended the Trend Report to reflect these changes, and posted a new version, now dated July 20, 2007, on the Division of Migratory Bird Management's web page (http://www.fws.gov/migratorybirds), along with a copy of this Waterfowl Status Report. ________________________________________________________________________________________ Cover: 2007-2008 Duck stamp. Ring-necked duck by Richard Clifton, winner of the 2006 Federal Duck Stamp design competition. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Waterfowl Population and Habitat Information: The information contained in this report is the result of the efforts of numerous individuals and organizations. Principal contributors include the Canadian Wildlife Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, state wildlife conservation agencies, provincial conservation agencies from Canada, and Direccion General de Conservacion Ecologica de los Recursos Naturales, Mexico. In addition, several conservation organizations, other state and federal agencies, universities, and private individuals provided information or cooperated in survey activities. Some habitat and weather information was taken from the NOAA/USDA Joint Agriculture Weather Facility (http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/index.html), Environment Canada (http://www.pnr-rpn.ec.gc.ca/index.en.html), and Waterfowl Population Surveys reports (http://migratorybirds.fws.gov/reports/reports.html). Appendix A provides a list of individuals responsible for the collection and compilation of data for the Ducks section of this report. Appendix B provides a list of individuals who were primary contacts for information included in the Geese and Swans section. We apologize for any omission of individuals from these lists, and thank all participants for their contributions. Without this combined effort, a comprehensive assessment of waterfowl populations and habitat would not be possible. Authors: This report was prepared by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Migratory Bird Management, Population and Habitat Assessment Branch. The principal authors are Pamela R. Garrettson, Timothy J. Moser, and Khristi A. Wilkins. The authors compiled information from the numerous sources to provide an assessment of the status of waterfowl populations. Report Preparation: The preparation of this report involved substantial efforts on the part of many individuals. Support for the processing of data and publication was provided by Mark C. Otto, Guthrie S. Zimmerman, Emily D. Silverman, Nathan L. Zimpfer, and John R. Sauer. Ray Bentley, John Bidwell, Dale Caswell, Carl Ferguson, Kathy Fleming, Elizabeth Huggins, Mark Koneff, Ed Mallek, Dan Nieman, Fred Roetker, John Solberg, Phil Thorpe, and James Wortham provided habitat narratives, reviewed portions of the report that addressed major breeding areas, and provided helpful comments. Robert Blohm and James Dubovsky provided helpful comments. Kathy Fleming provided the survey area map. This report should be cited as: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2007. Waterfowl population status, 2007. U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C. U.S.A. All Division of Migratory Bird Management reports are available at our home page (http://www.fws.gov/migratorybirds). Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGMENTS..................................................................................................................... 2 Status of Ducks METHODS ......................................................................................................................................... 5 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION........................................................................................................... 7 REFERENCES................................................................................................................................... 30 Status of Geese and Swans METHODS ......................................................................................................................................... 32 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION........................................................................................................... 34 Appendices Appendix A. Individuals who supplied information on the status of ducks ....................................... 48 Appendix B. Individuals who supplied information on the status of geese and swans..................... 50 Appendix C. Strata and transects of the Waterfowl Breeding Population and Habitat Survey......... 52 Appendix D. Estimated number of May ponds and standard errors in portions of Prairie and Parkland Canada and the northcentral U.S. ......................................................................... 53 Appendix E. Breeding population estimates for total ducks and mallards for states, provinces, or regions that conduct spring surveys ................................................................................. 54 Appendix F. Breeding population estimates and standard errors for 10 species of ducks from the traditional survey area ............................................................................................ 56 Appendix G. Total breeding duck estimates for the traditional survey area, in thousands.............................................................................................................................. 58 Appendix H. Breeding population estimates and 90% confidence intervals or credibility intervals For the 10 most abundant species of ducks in the eastern survey area……………………..59 Appendix I. Abundance indices for North American Canada goose populations, 1969-2007.......... 60 Appendix J. Abundance indices for light goose, greater white-fronted goose, brant, emperor goose, and tundra swan populations during 1969-2007....................................................... 61 3 List of Duck Tables Table 1. Estimated number of May ponds in portions of Prairie and Parkland Canada and the northcentral U.S. ................................................................................................................ 9 Table 2. Total duck breeding population estimates .......................................................................... 12 Table 3. Mallard breeding population estimates ............................................................................... 13 Table 4. Gadwall breeding population estimates.............................................................................. 18 Table 5. American wigeon breeding population estimates ............................................................... 18 Table 6. Green-winged teal breeding population estimates ............................................................. 19 Table 7. Blue-winged teal breeding population estimates ................................................................ 19 Table 8. Northern shoveler breeding population estimates .............................................................. 20 Table 9. Northern pintail breeding population estimates .................................................................. 20 Table 10. Redhead breeding population estimates .......................................................................... 21 Table 11. Canvasback breeding population estimates ..................................................................... 21 Table 12. Scaup (greater and lesser combined) breeding population estimates ............................. 22 Table 13. Duck breeding population estimates for the 10 most abundant