On the Atlantic Flyway - New Hampshire Fish and Game Department

O n t h eAtlanticFlywayKeeping track of New Hampshire’s waterfowlis an international affair.One of the best parts of fall is hearing the cacophony of honking,high-flying geese as they pass overhead. Have you everwondered where that “V” of geese fly to in the fall, or where thoseducklings you watched last spring went after they hatched? NewHampshire has a wealth of waterfowl – many species of ducks andtwo populations of Canada goose migrants, as well asresident goose populations. Resident geese hatch theiryoung here and in the fall travel only as far as theyneed to in order to find open water and food (southernNew England usually works out). The migrants are long-haul flyersthat travel many miles to reach here.Highway in the SkyTwo distinct migrant waterfowl populations wing their way overNew Hampshire – the Maritime (North Atlantic Population) and theAtlantic Population. The Maritime birds breed in eastern Canada’sprovinces of Labrador and Newfoundland from June to August.Come fall, these birds travel along our coastal waters, spending thewinter on waters from Great Bay south to New Jersey. The AtlanticPopulation birds nest in far northern Canada on Ungava Bay; theytravel south through New Hampshire along theConnecticut River Valley on their way towinter quarters on the Chesapeake Bay.How do N.H. Fish and Gamebiologists keep track of thiswandering wildlife? Theyby Julie Robinson andEdward Robinsonwork with other waterfowl biologists throughout North Americato manage waterfowl species. Because of their migratory nature,ducks and geese are a shared resource, so they are managed collaborativelythroughout their range. Bird populations tend to travel thesame routes every spring and fall as they move from their breedingor wintering areas. These corridors are generallynorth to south and cross international boundaries.In order to better manage these populations, theNorth American Flyway System was developed in1951 and continues to this day. The Flyway System consists offour distinct geographic areas: Pacific, Central, Mississippi andAtlantic. Each flyway manages the waterfowl populations thattravel through it. Some waterfowl species, like scaup populations,travel across more than one flyway, so flyways will worktogether to manage them. New Hampshire is part of the AtlanticFlyway, which includes 17 states and 6 provinces along the Easternseaboard. Waterfowl biologists from state, provincial and federaljurisdictions meet annually to evaluate waterfowl populations,look at new research, review habitat needs and develop annualwaterfowl hunting regulations.How many Birds?Waterfowl management is, to some extent, a numbers game. Eachstate and province, in concert with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Serviceand the Canadian Wildlife Service, collects biological data that isused to help evaluate annual and long-term population and habitatfluctuations and needs. Fish and Game biologists conduct annualsurveys that provide data on breeding and wintering populationsof waterfowl that spend a part of their lives here in our state. Thisinformation is combined with data from other states and provinces.For example, since 1952, all Atlantic Flyway states conduct a MidwinterInventory of coastal habitats during thefirst week of January. Fish and Game biologistsSeptember/October 2009 • Wildlife Journal

HUDSONBAYAtlanticPopulationWildlife Journal • September/October 2009UNGAVABAYMaritimePopulationATLANTICOCEANThe Atlantic Flywayis made up of twopopulations: theMaritime Population(which includes GreatBay’s winter waterfowl)hugs the coast,nesting in Labrador andNewfoundland; and theAtlantic Population,which passes overNew Hampshire’sConnecticut Rivervalley en route fromthe Chesapeake Bayto breeding grounds inUngava Bay.©Larry ye / dreamstime.com

©Lars christensen / dreamstime.comMallards (left) are themost common breedingduck in New Hampshire,and during the huntingseason are the mostcommon bird bagged.The numbers of Canadageese (right) continueto increase; the residentpopulation in the AtlanticFlyway hovers aroundone million birds.fly transects at low altitudes and slow speed over GreatBay, the coastline, the Hampton/Seabrook marshesand the Isles of Shoals, counting the numbers ofdifferent wintering waterfowl species they see. Since1952, biologists have counted an average of 4,600waterfowl each year during this aerial survey – about1,900 Canada geese, 1,300 black ducks, 200 mallardsand 350 scaup.The survey has seen many shifts in bird populationssince it began in 1952, fluctuations due largely tohabitat changes. For example, the number of Canadageese observed has increased from about 1,700 birdsduring the 1960s to around 2,600 in recent years.In contrast, the number of black ducks has declinedfrom an average of 2,100 during the 1960s; now theirnumbers are closer to 850. Mallards have shown alarge increase, rising from an average of just 24 toabout 500 today. Greater scaup populations havemore than tripled in the past forty years, rising from200 to around 900 in recent years.To get a more complete picture of the state’swaterfowl populations, New Hampshire waterfowlbiologists also conduct an inland waterfowl surveyin January and February. Established in 1988, theinland survey provides data on wintering mallards,black ducks and Canada geese throughout the rest ofthe state. From this work, we know that, on average,4,400 mallards and 440 black ducks winter on openfresh water throughout the state. Canada geese aremore variable. Their numbers can range from 20 to3,500, depending on the severity of the winter and theamount of snowfall we receive each year. The geesewe see on inland sites during the winter tend to befrom our resident population (not migrants).Duck FactoriesBiologists don’t just count ducks in the winter.Come spring, they are once again out in the woods andwetlands to survey breeding waterfowl populations.Breeding birds tend to return to the same wetlandseach year to nest. By surveying these areas at thesame time over many years, we are able to evaluateemerging trends.Our spring surveys are part of a much largerfederal effort to track breeding waterfowl. Since 1955,the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the CanadianWildlife Service have conducted breeding surveys inthe prairie pothole and parklands of the north-centralU.S. and Canada. These areas are considered the“duck factories” of North America. In addition, thetwo federal agencies also survey breeding habitatsfrom Ontario to eastern Canada and Maine.For the last two decades, New Hampshire hasconducted breeding population studies in concert with10 Atlantic Flyway states. Put together, this informationgives us regional statistics on waterfowl populations.Over the last 20 years, for example, mallardpopulations have remained fairly stable, while blackduck numbers have declined over time. Wood ducknumbers have increased, and Canada geese numbershave gone up significantly.Managing waterfowl species over a large landscapecan be very complex and calls for cooperation on aninternational level. The Atlantic Flyway (and the otherthree flyways) meet two times each year. One is a technicalmeeting, where state and provincial waterfowlbiologists meet with their counterparts at the federallevel to discuss survey results and research needs andpropose specific hunting regulations.10 September/October 2009 • Wildlife Journal

©richard thomas / dreamstime.com©usfws / gene niemenin photo©usfws / donna dewhurst photo ©john gill photoTo help evaluate hunting season lengths andnumber of birds to be harvested, state, federal andprovincial biologists conduct banding efforts eachyear. Banding data provides survival and distributionnumbers. Each year in the Atlantic Flyway alone,some 25,000 Canada geese and 25,000 ducks arebanded. New Hampshire bands an average of 500resident Canada geese each year and around 300ducks, which include mallards, black ducks andwood ducks. During the fall hunting season, hunterswho harvest a bird with a leg band are asked to calla 1-800 number and participate in a short survey.The information gathered from hunters is includedin the North American banding database. Mosthunters understand the importance of participatingin this survey and do not hesitate to call to report aharvested banded bird. Through this survey, we areable to estimate an annual survival rate and distributiondata. We have found that a few of our NewHampshire wood ducks have been harvested as faraway as Georgia, Tennessee and the Carolinas.Wild Goose ChaseNew Hampshire’s most concentrated bandingeffort happens in late June, when Fish and Game’s“Goose Crew” heads out throughout the state to bandgeese. This group consists of state and federal biologistsand a few volunteers; most have been helpingout since the effort began in 1991. Banding occursduring the time that Canada geese molt their flightfeathers each year (mid to late June) and are flightlessfor about 3 weeks until their new flight feathersgrow in. This coincides with the young of the yearbecoming flighted. The goose crew has become quiteproficient in their banding effort and since 1991 hasbanded some 9,600 geese!The wild goose chase begins with biologistssetting up a funnel-shaped net structure into whichthey can “herd” the geese. Because the geese cannotfly, people on shore and some in canoes work togetherto direct the geese into the funnel. Once the birds aresecure in the holding pen, they are carefully handled,banded and released. Biologists gather data on theThe population of NorthAmerican wood duck(top) has completelyrebounded, and today it isthe second most commonbreeding duck in NewHampshire. Americanblack ducks (lower left)are often seen in summerand fall on beaver ponds;they winter on Great Bay,along with greater scaup(lower right).Wildlife Journal • September/October 2009 11

With the aid of a funnelshapednet, flightlessgeese are rounded upby the Fish and Game“goose crew” in June.Banding does not hurtthe birds.birds’ age, sex and thenumber of young in abrood. A fair numberof previously bandedbirds are recapturedeach year, with someshowing up for 5-7years. The oldest todate was a 16-yearoldfemale that wasbanded as a juvenile!Banding doesnot hurt the birdsand is an easy wayto get importantstatistics on our goosepopulation. NewHampshire’s bandingdata helped providethe documentationneeded to supportthe establishmentof the September resident Canada goose season innorthern New England.Other banding efforts focuson mallards, black ducks and wood ducks. Biologistsuse a variety of capture methods, including confusiontraps, rocket nets and wood duck boxes (female woodducks are banded as they incubate their eggs).©nhfg / julie robinson photo©nhfg / julie robinson photoThe Habitat ConnectionSurveys and banding efforts are important, butgood waterfowl habitat is just as vital. Waterfowlhunters have championed the effort to expand waterfowlhabitat through the purchase of federal andstate duck stamps. This money has been used overthe years to purchase and manage waterfowl habitatthroughout North America. Here in New Hampshire,16 grants have been awarded through a competitiveprocess with other states. These grants have protected125,000 acres of wetland and upland buffer habitat.Fish and Game has been acquiring waterfowl habitatsince the late 1940s. However, it wasn’t until 1983,when the duck stamp was established, that revenueswere dedicated solely for waterfowl habitat managementand requisition. A total of 4,236 acres of waterfowlhabitat has been acquired through this program,and today Fish and Game owns and manages 52Waterfowl Management Areas, which include nearly10,000 acres of habitat.Fish and Game works with many other dedicatedwaterfowl conservation organizations that are criticalpartners. The N.H. Waterfowl Association helpedcomplete five projects to protect 56 acres of habitat.Ducks Unlimited has worked with Fish and Game toacquire 913 acres of key habitat through eight projects.Many of these wetland habitats are managed throughwater level control and all have actively managedwood duck nest boxes. Fish and Game biologists havemaintained some 300 nest boxes throughout the statesince the 1940s.One of the crowning jewels of the waterfowlconservation project has been the Great Bay ResourceProtection Partnership, a coalition of public andprivate conservation groups working together toconserve critical habitats. This partnership worked forthe past 15 years to secure over 5,300 acres of importantwetland habitats with adjacent upland buffersthroughout the Great Bay watershed. These lands areespecially important in the face of an ever-increasinghuman population throughout the Great Bay area andthe importance of the estuary’s waterfowl breedingand wintering grounds.So the next time you watch a “V” of geese fly by orare lucky enough to see a mother duck with her ducklings,remember that many dedicated individuals andgroups are working together to make New Hampshirea great place for ducks and geese...and youJulie Robinson is a wildlife biologist and SmallGame Project Leader for N.H. Fish and Game. EdRobinson is Fish and Game’s Waterfowl Biologist.12 September/October 2009 • Wildlife Journal