The Waterfowl Dilemma... Drought, Disease and Drainage

by Jim Nissen, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

IT HAS BEEN estimated that North America's duck and goose populations numbered 500 million before the white man arrived. In stark contrast, fall flights in recent years have ranged as low as 30 million to as high as 120 million birds.

Why the decline in numbers? Under the pristine conditions that existed before the white man's arrival, population fluctuations were the result of natural acts such as periodic droughts. With the expansion of the original colonies NOVEMBER 1976 westward into the prairies in the 1800's, agricultural drainage and market hunting were added to natural factors as controls on the waterfowl population.

The destructiveness of wetland drainage during the past 100 years is staggering. Where there once existed approximately 127 million acres of wetlands in the United States, a 1968 study revealed that only 74.5 million acres remained. Of those remaining, only 9 million were rated as highly suitable for waterfowl. The Prairie Pothole Region of the United States, including the Dakotas, Minnesota, northwestern Iowa and eastern Montana, once totalled 74 million acres and produced about 15 million ducks each year. Drainage has reduced these wetlands to 36 million acres with an annual production of only 3 million ducks. The all-important prairie and parklands of western Canada, which in good years produce over 70 percent of the fall duck population migrating through Nebraska and the rest of the United States, escaped the early drainage frenzy. This area, known as the Prairie Pothole Region of Canada, suffered only minor losses prior to the mid 1960's. Wetlands there have since disappeared at a rate similar to that of the United States, however.

5   The Waterfowl Dilemma... The history of North America's waterfowl resource has been one of exploitation. Its future depends on how quickly we move to arrest the loss of critical wetland habitat

The last 50 years of the 19th century were the heyday of market hunting. The professional hunters, free from the limitations of hunting seasons and bag limits and utilizing such deadly devices as the punt gun and battery box, 6 were responsible for sending incredible numbers of waterfowl to the eastern markets. Initially, most of the harvested fowl were used as food. Later, accompanying sophistication of women's fashions, more and more of the birds were shot only for their plumage.

By the turn of the century, waterfowl numbers had declined to approximately one-third of the original 500 million. People became alarmed and demanded that something be done. Congress responded. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act, passed in 1918, gave the federal government the power to set seasons and limits for controlling migratory bird hunting. The act also did away with market hunting and the sale of migratory birds. The Migratory Bird Conservation Act of 1929 laid the groundwork for the present-day national wildlife refuge system by authorizing appropriations for land acquisition and habitat development. NEBRASKAland Legislation alone, however, was not enough to halt the downward trend in the continental waterfowl population. The depression and drought of the early 1930's left no money and very little water available for waterfowl use. The fall flights that once "darkened the skies" were reduced to 30 million birds.

The prairie nesting ducks have a breeding biology well attuned to the ever-changing conditions of the prairie. Most are sexually mature at one year of age, clutch sizes are normally large, most are persistent renesters, and all are relatively long-lived. These characteristics enable a population to remain stable during a prolonged dry-spell, and to virtually "explode" during the following wet years. Restricted hunting seasons imposed during the drought years of the 1930's insured an adequate breeding stock on which to base the population's recovery.

Legislation designed to acquire habitat and safeguard against future crises included passage of the Migratory Bird Hunting License (Duck Stamp) Act in 1934. This act insured a yearly supply of funds for wetland acquisition projects. The Pittman-Robertson Act of 1937 levied a tax on the sportsman's purchases of guns and ammunition. Revenue from this tax is then returned to the states on a percentage basis for use in wildlife conservation. Financed by this program, state wildlife agencies have acquired and developed, through 1974, about 1.5 million acres of waterfowl habitat. The Wetlands Loan Act (Accelerated Wetlands Acquisition Program) passed in 1961, authorized a loan from the federal treasury to speed up wetland acquisition. Originally a 7-year program, it has recently been extended to the 1980's because Congress failed at times to appropriate the required funds. Through 1974, 348,000 acres of waterfowl production areas were purchased under this program, primarily in the Dakotas, Minnesota and Montana.

A private program that has been highly beneficial to waterfowl began in the aftermath of the early 1930's. Ducks Unlimited has raised over $35 NOVEMBER 1976 million for the development and restoration of waterfowl breeding habitat in Canada since its inception in 1937. D.U.'s accomplishments: 2 million acres under reservation, 1.8 million acres under habitat management, 11,000 miles of shoreline essential to nesting waterfowl, and over 1,200 projects throughout Canada.

By 1976, the continental waterfowl population had made some promising comebacks. The fact that ducks and geese are still around in sufficient numbers to be enjoyed is reason enough to be thankful. The recovery of the wood duck from near extinction in the early 1900's has to be one of the most spectacular stories of wildlife conservation. Canada geese are more numerous now than in a long time. The combined goose populations of the Atlantic, Mississippi and Central flyways increased during the period from 1955 to 74 by 138.6 percent, 169.5 percent, and 70.6 percent, respectively. The Giant Canada goose, once thought to be extinct, was rediscovered in 1962 and has responded so well to state and federal restoration programs that limited hunting seasons are now enjoyed. The canvasback and redhead ducks have made significant recovery strides the past two years through a combination of good nesting conditions on the Canadian prairie and continued restricted hunting regulations.

Population-wise, all other species of ducks and geese are in reasonably good shape with the possible exception of the hooded merganser. In the past, research was conducted mainly on the more popular species— the mallard, Canada goose, blue-winged teal and wood duck. Recently, this practice was altered and most species are subjects of research studies. The result of this effort should be a better understanding of the population dynamics of each species, which in turn should lead to better management programs.

The continental waterfowl picture is not without its negative side, though. The central problem continues to be the decline in available habitat. Although progress has been made in saving the wetlands in the United States and Canada, such things as agricultural drainage, urban expansion and highway construction continue to off-set these gains. Furthermore, the acquisition and management programs are beginning to run into difficulties. The North Dakota Stockmen's Association went on record this past summer as opposing future land acquisition for wildlife purposes within the state. Canadian farmers, irate at the insufficient payments made to compensate for waterfowl depredations on their grain fields, are becoming increasingly anti-wildlife. In addition to draining their own wetlands, they oppose management programs on adjacent lands that would in the long run result in more losses to them.

From a continent-wide standpoint, land acquisition has recently become confined to the nesting grounds in the United States and Canada. Acquisition and the accompanying protection of vital migration stopping points and wintering areas has lagged, and is now beginning to prove detrimental to the waterfowl resource. Nebraska's Rainwater Basin is a prime example. Drainage, development, channelization and flood control projects have turned traditional wintering areas into duckless and gooseless expanses.

Disease outbreaks, once limited almost entirely to periodic epizootics of botulism, are becoming increasingly common. Avian cholera alone was responsible for 60,0(30 known waterfowl deaths in the United States in 1975. This list, by no means complete, illustrates the fact that waterfowl conservation is again approaching a crisis.

The future of North America's waterfowl resource depends on how quickly and successfully these negative factors are corrected. Without such things as an incentive program for landowners to preserve wetlands; without the continued support of waterfowl management programs; without pollution control and cleanup; without continued research on population dynamics, disease control and prevention; and without a balanced acquisition program covering the nesting grounds as well as migration and wintering areas, the future holds very little promise. Ω

7

Seasons Past

For a century, sandhill marshes have drawn hunters from all across the country

by Carl Wolfe, Wildlife Research Supervisor 8

WHEN THE NORTH wind begins its fall music through the scattered bullrush and cattails, and the sky over Nebraska's endless Sandhills shows a thin wedge of red through a line of scudding gray, long strings of moving waterfowl tell that another hunting season has begun.

For many hunters, warm recollections of seasons past have their origin in the hundreds of potholes, nameless marshes and lakes scattered over this rolling landscape of grass and marsh. For most hunters, times have changed. The countless strings of canvasback and redhead moving to the rich feeding areas of the Sandhills will never again appear. There will not be another generation of hunters that can warmly recall days of superb gunning.

Those halcyon days of duck hunting are gone now, but mute testimony of the spectacular shooting afforded by the rich Sandhills lake country can still be found—the long-rotted remains of blinds, a crumbling skeleton that once was a duck boat, a stray decoy anchor and an occasional decoy remnant.

A shallow notch on the east end of Big Alkali Lake is a natural flyway between lakes. As you walk through the blowouts there, it becomes evident that an early hunter recognized and took advantage of this pass. The bare sand behind NEBRASKAland

a natural ridge is littered with the dull brass of long-disintegrated paper shells, and spent shot is scattered over the blowout. Certainly this was just one of many areas where pass-shooting was at its very best some time in the past. Finds like this more than whet one's interest to recreate a scene that might have existed just after the turn of the century.

As a research biologist for the Game and Parks Commission, my studies and travels have taken me through many parts of the Sandhills over the past 16 years. Waterfowl and their early hunting in this region have always intrigued me, but never have I been able to take a detailed look into the past as it related to hunting. All the incidental bits of hearsay, stories, and observation of oddities that had occurred over the years seemed to beg for setting down as a story.

A real clue to past conditions turned up in the form of the U.S.D.A. Bulletin numbered 794 and entitled Waterfowl and their food Plants in the Sandhill region of Nebraska. Written in 1920, this work documented much about hunting and the area during 1915 when an early biological survey was made. While most of the work was directed at evaluating waterfowl foods on the many lakes, portions of this early study looked at laws, people and waterfowl of the area, and NOVEMBER 1976 9   offered insight into waterfowl and hunting in the Sandhills.

While the tales of "classic" duck hunting are most often associated with the Eastern Shore and Chesapeake Bay country, the upper Mississippi or the Arkansas oak bottoms, few realize that a number of lakes in the Sandhills were also a mecca for thousands of hunters during the early 1900's. It wasn't uncommon to see residents of San Francisco or New York cascading off the train at Wood Lake in the north, or at Mullen or Hyannis in the south, in order to partake of some of the finest waterfowl hunting the continent had to offer. The lakes of eastern Cherry County and those of Garden and Morrill counties were usually their destination.

As in many areas of the country prior to enactment of Federal migratory bird laws in 1913, spring hunting of waterfowl was very common in the Sandhills. A number of clubhouses owned mostly by hunters from outside the region attested to the fact that spring shooting occurred regularly. Federal regulations prohibiting spring shooting were fairly well accepted, though, particularly by people who lived in the region, since they regarded the ducks as undesirable and unfit for food at that time of year. By the mid 1900's it was evident, even in Nebraska, that waterfowl numbers were declining. The Sandhills remained, however, a stronghold for both breeding and migrating birds. Land use changes were just getting underway in other parts of the state. Wetland drainage, that would eventually see the demise of the majority of high-quality waterfowl marshes of the state, didn't take the productive marshes and lakes of the Sandhills. This was grassland never meant for the plow; native grasses were the key to holding the rolling hills in place. The needs for breeding and nesting were ideally met by the vast number of lakes and marshes scattered over the region. Coupled with the ranching economy that was necessarily geared to grassland management, the Sandhills was destined to be the principal waterfowl production area of the state, as well as being a highly attractive migration stop.

In 1915, some 9 duck hunting clubs were scattered over the good lakes of eastern Cherry County. Dewey, Red Deer, Marsh, Hackberry and Molly Marsh lakes were the primary areas of club development, but other clubs undoubtedly existed. One of these, the Red Deer Hunting Club, was started in 1904. Some 72 years later, this club is still active with a membership of 32; 7 more than the original 25 members who founded it.

To help recall some of the early days of gunning in the Sandhills, I was fortunate to be assisted by Reg Woodruff of Lincoln.

Red Deer Lake first hosted Reg Woodruff in 1918. Upon talking with this soft-spoken gentleman, it was evident that his interest in waterfowl has waned little over almost six decades. The paintings of waterfowl, a wooden decoy, and the general character of his office bespoke an appreciation for a natural resource that has seen many changes over the years. With a twinkle in his eye, his voice brought back those feelings that every duck hunter, regardless of age, has indelibly etched in his mind-the physical hardship of cold-stiffened fingers, toes that have lost feeling, and the trauma of an unexpected dunking in frigid water; these are the rigors of waterfowling that every duckhunter knows. But then the twinkle misted, the voice changed pitch ever so slightly, and his spoken words began to form a verbal picture that hunters of today will never be fortunate enough to see. . . .

"Redheads and canvasback were the best ducks in those early years. They came in by droves. Wild rice and sago pondweed were abundant then, and must have been a feeding paradise to those birds. . . .

". . . We usually picked our spot on the lake the night before. In the gray pre-dawn we would head down to the beach, ready to pile in our "tippy kidney" boat and head to the blind. At first our blinds were partially submerged tanks, but these often shipped a lot of water and were hard to stabilize. The lake bottom was goulash for about 15 feet. Later we went to platform blinds. Our earlier decoys were cans and redheads—mostly Masons. Later we went to mallards, when the diver numbers began to drop. . . .

30 NEBRASKAland Remnants of those spectacular days of shooting can still be found—a crumbling skeleton that once was a duck boat, or dulled brass littering the site of an old pass-shooting blind. Some lodges, like Red Deer south of Valentine, have survived the passing of time

". . . Mallards have pretty much been our mainstay over the years, and there have been some memorable mallard hunts. Ballards Marsh was a great shooting spot—particularly for mallards. We headed out from our south landing one morning for the "lily pond" and the greenheads cooperated in every way. My partner that day could shoot either right or left-handed—and it was a good thing because it spread the hurt of the many recoils of fast shooting. We had a shoot that morning that I'll never forget. . . .

". . . But hunting wasn't the only thing that made Sandhills shooting memorable. Getting to the lakes in those early days wasn't exactly easy. The roads were only sand trails, and getting lost wasn't hard. We took off from Brewster one time in our Model "T' headed for Red Deer. Before long, it was obvious that we were a great ways from nowhere. Ending up at a lone cabin and seeing a ph^one wire, we cranked up the phone. After ringing and ringing, I gave up, started to back out, and the phone rang. Answering it, I asked the voice if they knew where we were. An answer came back, "Sure, do you know where I am?" I sure didn't, and shortly the voice said 'You're on the east part of our Ranch 54—if you follow the trail east of the house you'll come up to the main ranch house'. Well, it was hot and we set out and before long drove up to a ranch house and corral. A bunch of cowboys were sitting around, and it didn't take long to ask if anyone would be willing to take us on to Red Deer Hunting Lodge. One fellow volunteered and we began following him across the prairie. Finally, he stopped and told us that we could follow a trail on and eventually get to Red Deer. Based on our previous pathfinding ability, we weren't about to set off on our own again. With some additional bribing he consented to take us right to Red Deer. We were happy as could be when the lights of the lodge finally appeared—we would have been out there all night otherwise. As it turned out, we were on the old trail from Brewster to Wood Lake where it normally took a team of eight horses to pull through. . . .

". .. Wood Lake was quite a town in those days, as the train stopped there. The Lakeland Hotel was our usual meeting place. The team and wagon that came to meet us had long seats on each side and was often fitted out to supply a picnic as we headed across the 18 miles of sand trail to Red Deer. The many sand dunes didn't make the going real easy, and on at least one occasion we managed to tip the wagon over, losing our lunches, keg of beer and everything. ..."

The once common sounds of hundreds of whistling wings has diminished. Even the seemingly inviolate lakes and marshes of the Sandhills have changed. As is often the case, man has been the principal agent. Whereas the land itself has seen little change, the introduction of carp into many of the Sandhills lakes has brought about pronounced changes—mostly to the detriment of waterfowl. Where lush stands of submerged and semi-submerged aquatics such as reeds, rushes, pond, smart and duck weeds once formed the highly sought-after waterfowl food sources, only turbid, muddied waters now exist. As a rooter and bottom feeder, the ubiquitous carp brought about significant changes on many of the lakes. Devoid of what was once a sumptuous spread of highly prized foods, the lakes are now bypassed by migrating birds. Man, in his never-ending tampering, has brought about one more change-a change that along with other inroads on this fragile region has acted to eliminate the once productive nature of the land.

But ducks weren't the only thing that Reg Woodruff recalled. Working on the clubhouse at Red Deer in the spring, the Sandhills were abloom with the spectacular display of color that is familiar only to those who know this land . . ." the spring colors were unbelievable-just like the Painted Desert—it was a carpet of wildflowers".

And so, as with any dyed-in-the-wool duck hunter, ducks were not the only prizes stored away among life's rewarding experiences. The ice-covered lake, an unstable boat, the lost trails, sunrises, and even wildflowers are just a fraction of the puzzle pieces that have a way of fitting into place to make hunting worthwhile. For Reg Woodruff, his life has been enriched remarkably through a lifetime association with waterfowl—an association in which waterfowl have in some immeasurable way been the catalyst to a greater appreciation of a unique area during a unique time. Ω

11

Harbingers of Winter

by Jon Farrar

THE SIGHT is incredible. It is beyond comprehension or description; somehow primeval. It overwhelms the senses, stirs the emotions. The morning's heavy air is charged with a din of calls. Before me are 160,000 snow geese; they cover a small lake, finger up the dike walls and climb into the sky. The sun burns through the low-lying fog over a fringe of cottonwoods along the Missouri.

13  

It is mid November and the snow goose population has peaked.

More than a month before, the first flights had snaked their way along the Missouri to Nebraska's floodplain grainfields and wet meadows. Others followed as Dakota's open waters were locked in winter's grip. During a mild year they would string south for three months, idling their way to wintering grounds in western Louisiana and east Texas. In all, over half a million snow geese would pass down the Missouri River; more than one fourth of the continental population.

The fall journey of the snow goose is long, covering some 2,000 miles, but they advance at leisurely pace, stopping often to feed and rest. Thirty years ago, these geese probably flew direct from their staging grounds on Hudson and James bays to their wintering grounds on the Gulf Coast. Many still do, but others have changed their traditional migration pattern, stopping more frequently as waterfowl refuges and grain fields cropped up along their route.

During late September these snow geese leave their nesting grounds along the west shore of Hudson Bay, flying southwesterly across Ontario and central Manitoba to Sand Lake National Wildlife Refuge on South Dakota's northern border. Here, they feed and rest, building back fat reserves depleted during the arduous days on the breeding grounds.

By mid November, winter has moved into South Dakota's prairie and the snow geese at Sand Lake are forced south. In a direct flight, they knife across northeast Nebraska. Many stop at DeSoto Bend National Wildlife Refuge near Blair, others continue south to the Plattsmouth Waterfowl Refuge or even to northwest Missouri and the Squaw Creek Wildlife Refuge. Some may move back and forth between refuges if winter temporarily relents.

As with Sand Lake, the concentration of migrating snow geese at De Soto Bend is a recent phenomenon. Its 700-acre horseshoe lake and surrounding floodplain did not become a federal refuge until 1959. By the late 1960's and early 70's, 300,000 snow geese were stopping there during fall migration. The Plattsmouth Refuge followed a similar pattern, increasing from 500 snow geese using the area during the fall of 1959, to 80,000 in 1969 and 160,000 in 1975.

Migration flights of snow geese are staggering. They are probably the most numerous geese in the world with winter populations estimated at around two million. Commonly, they move in flocks of 100 to 1,000 birds, but when weather conditions prompt major movements, they may string together into passages of 5,000 or more. Their flocks are less organized than the precision "V's" of Canada geese, more often taking the form of irregular lines or sweeps. Their undulating flight habit has earned them the colloquial name "wavie".

Mass movements are only part of the aura surrounding snow goose migration. Their call is distinctive. They are perhaps the most vociferous of all waterfowl, calling constantly during migration, when feeding, resting and even during the night. The clamor of thousands of snows overhead or greeting new flocks to the security of a refuge is the purest expression of wildness.

14 NEBRASKAland   The snow and blue goose are actually different color phases of same species

During their stay on the Missouri River refuges, snow geese become even more gregarious, concentrating in numbers unknown to either the nesting or wintering grounds. Their behavior becomes more social, their daily habits more attuned to those of man.

At night they crowd together on the lake for safety. As ice closes in on the open water, some birds are forced to overnight on the banks, but early in the season the lake is like a living river of birds. Their numbers are incomprehensible at night. The human mind cannot grasp the meaning of so many birds illuminated on a moon-streaked lake. And, incredibly, only two thirds of the geese are visible to the eye. Interspersed among the snow geese are nearly as many blues, lost in night's shadows.

It seems as if the lake could hold no more, yet when night-flying migrants come from the north, thousands at a time, they are absorbed into the flock without noticeably swelling it. On clear nights, the calls of thousands of geese and plummeting, shadowy forms fill the sky. A confusion of noise announces that all is well; silence is often a sign of disturbance—a roving coyote along the shoreline, a low-flying jet or the buffeting of an autumn storm.

Before the dawn, a contagious excitement sweeps through the resting geese. Their calls become more frequent and intense, each feather is oiled and arranged in preparation for the day. Small groups take wing, circle overhead, calling nervously before drifting out of sight. Some birds leave for the wheatfields or corn to feed, but if the day promises to be warm, the geese may stay on the lake until mid morning. Most often there is a mass departure to feed, but early in the season, when food is near at hand, birds sometimes pour over a dike and into the fields like a marching band of outsized army ants.

Tender shoots of wheat and patches of native plants are cropped by the first arrivals in October. As winter presses down upon them and choice succulent greens are stripped, the snow geese turn to carbohydrate-rich waste grain. They are reluctant to enter unpicked fields where they are vulnerable to attack by predators, but roll over picked corn, a huge living machine of birds where individuals seemingly lose all identity.

If undisturbed, the geese sometimes spend the day in fields feeding on grain, loafing and picking at cool-season greenery. Sometime during the day they return in small flocks or family groups to the lake to drink. Occasionally, thousands wili leave the fields for water. Even before you carfkee the low-flying geese you hear their silence, the second or two before a roar of wings puts them into the sky. They barely clear the lake's dike; they fill the northern sky. Their shadows run down the bank and disappear at the water's edge like legions of lemmings marching to the sea.

Ten thousand snow geese, maybe more, splash haphazardly to the water at mid lake. Stuffy-hailed behaviorists can say what they will, these geese rejoice in the 16

NEBRASKAland water. They side-slip and careen from the sky with far more showmanship than wind conditions dictate. On the water, each follows the same ritual: first dipping their generous necks to ladle up the water and then raising the head slowly allowing it to pass down the gullet. The soft skin under the cheeks bobs with its passage. After drinking to their satisfaction, each dunks its head repeatedly, followed by a vigorous shaking to toss off the beads of water. The preening session is broken to raise up*oh powerful wings, fluff the body feathers and vigorously shake stubby tails. Some flip completely over, head and neck underwater, a plump belly and thrashing feet above the waterline. In minutes they are gone, back to the fields to feed and loaf.

Some birds may stay on the lake and its shores, selecting the side that affords shelter from the wind. Midday is an idle time for snow geese during good weather. They stand, first on one leg then the other, looking about, occasionally preening, more out of habit than necessity. Some fold their stubby legs up under the body and rest on the frozen ground, their head thrust neatly between the folded wings. They seem unconcerned, but among the thousands, hundreds are alert.

Whether on the wing, in the water or poised neatly on one leg in a wheat field, the snow goose is a distinctive bird. Until the early 1960's the "blue" and the "snow" goose were considered similar but separate species. From observations on their breeding grounds and in captivity, it has since been established that they are actually different color phases of the same species. The two color phases interbreed freely but prefer mates of their own type. Crosses of the two color phases produce young of either one type or the other and only occasionally birds of intermediate color.

The mature blue-phase snow goose has a white head, commonly stained rusty brown from feeding in iron-rich bottom soils. The feet and legs are rosy red and the bill, pink. The body is a slate-gray. The immature "blue" is drably garbed in brownish gray with a white chin patch. Its legs, feet and bill are a grayish brown. The sexes are superficially indistinguishable.

The mature snow-phase snow goose is completely

NOVEMBER 1976 17   18 white except for coal-black wing tips. The head of adult "snows" may also have a rusty tinge on the plumage behind the bill. As with the blue-phase, the feet and legs are a rosy red and the bill is pink. The adults of both color phases have a black band on either side of the bill called a "grinning patch". Immature "snows" are mostly a sooty white with dark gray wings. Their legs, feet and bill are grayish brown.

It appears that the two color phases of the snow goose have resulted from environmental selection; different weather conditions favoring each color on the nesting grounds. During short, cool summers, when nesting must take place with some snow cover, the snow-phase blends better with the land and is more successful at escaping the attention of predators. Consequently, more "snows" are hatched and return to nest the following year. Conversely, with warm summers and snowless terrain, the blue phase has the advantage and is the more successful nester. An additional factor is that the snow phase initiates nesting earlier, and during short summers is more apt to rear their young to the flight stage before winter forces migration.

Fifty years ago the blue phase was uncommon. Then, the mean temperature increased over North America and the blue phase began to increase. In 1955 it was estimated that 62 percent of all snow geese were of the blue phase. Since 1950, though, mean temperatures have been declining and the snow phase has been on the increase. By 1974 it was estimated that about 50 percent of the snow geese were of the white phase. The ratio of snow to blue goose varies from nesting colony to nesting colony. On the west shore of Hudson Bay the snow phase predominates and hence most snow geese taken by Nebraska hunters are white birds.

Probably there is little environment selection for one color phase or the other away from the nesting grounds. Hunters seem to prefer the adult snows when they have the choice, but it is the inexperienced birds that are most vulnerable to the gun. In a large flock on the wing, it is the mature snow that draws attention, but at close range, the adult blue with its distinctive markings demands most notice.

Young geese are almost always in the forefront of a feeding flock. They are more brash, less cautious than the other birds. Without caution they trickle down corn rows like water running over dry land, following the less laborious course until something catches their eye. Behind them come the adults and less adventurous young. For all their courage, though, the immature birds are often robbed of their choicest finds by more aggressive adults. Squabbles over the ownership of an ear of corn errupt, with vigorous pecking and dislodged feathers from the weaker goose's back-side the usual outcome.

In just two or three minutes, a full ear is raked clean by serrated bills. Corn hanging on the stalk is stripped with amazing efficiency, only a handful or kernels falling to the ground. During cold weather, the flocks feed frantically in the grain. The back birds constantly fly to the lead of the flock. At sunset, geese begin stringing from NEBRASKAland

the fields to the lake, those with "full bellies" going first. For 30 minutes or more, there will be an unbroken string of geese on the horizon. And then, when it is nearly too dark to see them, the remaining birds swarm to the lake, drawn on by the calls of those already on the water.

Eventually, winter closes in on the Missouri River refuges, sometimes in late November, but in mild years there may be thousands of snow geese along Nebraska's eastern border until Christmas or later. Eventually they are all forced south where they fan out over the wetlands of the Gulf Coast. In the marshes, the cutting edges of the mandibles that so efficiently stripped corn from the cob in Nebraska, will tear rootstocks of aquatic plants from the shallow water.

In late February or early March the snow geese will renew their cycle, impatiently following winter's retreat up the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. Their numbers swelled by birds from the Mississippi flyway, one million snow geese will leave the Missouri River below Sioux City and fly to Sand Lake National Wildlife Refuge and then to the Devil's Lake in North Dakota and on into Manitoba. Here the snow geese wait before departing en masse for western Hudson Bay and points north. Another population of about 25,000 that winter in north-central Mexico and south-central New Mexico, will migrate to northwest Saskatchewan to nest. About 10,000 to 15,000 of those geese stop over north of Alliance in western Nebraska each spring.

Again, the snow geese are gone from Nebraska, but their passage is etched in the minds of those that watch such things. The calls of those first migrating flocks in the fall bring with them the promise of winter and stir the hidden yearnings of man. They are the harbingers of winter; our symbol of wildness lost. Ω

19

Waterfowl Controversy

Setting Goose Seasons

IN 1969 THE Nebraska goose season opened October 1 and ran without interruption through December 25. The entire state was open to goose hunting and the daily bag limit was five geese, not to include more than one whitefront and one Canada, or two Canada geese. Last year there was a split season running from Oct. 4 to December 21 with 7 days closed at the end of October. One Canada or one whitefront goose was allowed in the daily bag of five geese. A goodly portion of the Sandhills was closed to the hunting of dark geese. Designated areas in western and north-central Nebraska either opened later or closed earlier than the remainder of the state.

In six years, goose hunting got complicated. Regionally, goose hunters would like to see regulations better tailored to the migration patterns of birds passing through their area. In response, game managers have attempted to localize regulations. To further complicate the setting of goose seasons, restoration Canada geese are now wintering along the North Platte River. The result is a head-scratching problem of coming up with a goose season that is acceptable to the Missouri River snow goose hunter, the North Platte Canada goose hunter, state game biologists, Central Flyway members and federal wildlife agencies. Three of those diverse views follow.

Waterfowl Controversy

Setting Duck Seasons

TEN YEARS AGO duck season opened on October 15, closed on December 13 and hunters were allowed to shoot three ducks daily as long as they didn't have more than two wood ducks, mallards or canvas-backs. Last year there were duck hunters in the field as early as October 4 and as late as January 1. If the hunter watched what he was shooting he could come home with ten pintails, gadwall or teal. In one decade, season length has increased and bag limits have become more liberal, resulting in more complicated regulations such as special late season hunts, point system bag limits and split season. In general these special regulations have improved the duck hunter's situation during a time of declining waterfowl habitat At the same time, they have made it better for some hunters than others, depending on where they hunt and when they get their movements of ducks. Two examples and a game biologist's point of view follow.

vers maintain their balance out of the water with great difficulty, limiting their feeding opportunities and ultimately their numbers. Divers infrequently visit grain fields; the size of their populations closely parallels the supply of high quality wetiand habitat.

Puddle ducks leap vertically into flight while divers characteristically "walk" or run across the water before lifting into the air. On the water, divers ride lower than puddlers. The diver's short tail offers a good clue to identification in flight and, in many cases, their feet are visible. The wing patch on puddlers is usually iridescent and bright.

Most duck populations, but especially the canvasback and redhead, have not fared well during this century. Because of their superior table qualities, market hunters relentlessly shot the "can" and redhead until special protective regulations were imposed in the mid 1930's. Loss of nesting habitat, however, continued to contribute to their decline. Drainage of wetlands in the prairie pothole country was stepped up following World War II and the number of canvasbacks and redheads plummeted still lower. The continental canvasback population declined by 53 percent during a 20-year period from the mid 1950's to the mid 1970's in spite of being afforded complete or partial protection.

In recent years, with even more restrictive hunting regulations, both canvasbacks and redheads have made significant comebacks. In 1976, redhead populations were estimated to be up 36 percent and canvasback populations up 21 percent from the previous 20-year average. But neither species is abundant; in fact, the canvasback is the least abundant of the common ducks in North America; their population estimated at 560,000.

Four other diving ducks, the lesser scaup, ring-necked duck, common goldeneye and bufflehead, occur in Nebraska. They are most frequently encountered on large, deep lakes or reservoirs and along major rivers.

Two other tribes of ducks are represented in Nebraska by three species of mergansers and ruddy duck. The clownish little ruddy is the sole member of its subfamily in North America. Its group is commonly called the "stiff-tailed" ducks because of their habit of holding the spriggy tail at a jaunty, 45-degree angle to the water. Hunters probably know the ruddy by the colloquial name of "butterball", in reference to its fat, juicy oven quality and compact body conformation.

  Lesser scaup, pair, and hooded merganser, drake

Three species of mergansers migrate through Nebraska: the rare, red-breasted merganser, the occasional and distinctive hooded merganser, and the frequently encountered common merganser. Better known as "fish ducks", the mergansers are large streamlined birds. It is estimated that some 235,000 mergansers are in North America, of which about two-thirds are common mergansers and less than 10 percent, hooded mergansers. Some 10,000 common mergansers overwinter on Nebraska's open reservoirs and rivers. During the late 1940's, as many as 50,000 were reported on Lake McConaughy.

Several other species of ducks are known to overwinter in Nebraska. Occasional green-winged 28 teal are sighted, and some American goldeneye, at times as many as 10,000, have been reported on Lewis and Clark Lake and Lake McConaughy. The primary species of duck encountered in Nebraska during the winter months, though, is the mallard. Since 1954 an average of 230,000 have stayed along the Platte River and at some major reservoirs. A record high of 561,000 was reported in 1958.

Water, the type and amount of it, is the key to overwintering duck populations, migration patterns and waterfowl production. A survey in the late 1960's revealed that Nebraska had more than 523,000 acres of quality wetlands and other permanent water that could be utilized by waterfowl. NEBRASKAland

Over 90 percent of the state's natural marshes are located in two regions: the Rainwater Basin of south-central Nebraska and the Sandhills in north-central.

The Rainwater Basin covers some 4,200 square miles of flat to gently rolling loess plains. Over thousands of years, fine clay leached into low-lying areas, forming an impermeable "pan" that slowed water from seeping into the subsoil. The resulting wetlands and aquatic plant communities attracted ducks and other waterbirds long before white men knew of North America.

When the Rainwater Basin was initially surveyed, nearly 4,000 permanent wetlands were recorded. NOVEMBER 1976 By the late 1960's, only 18 percent remained, and of those, most had been adversely altered by drainage or siltation. Additional, unmeasured wetland destruction has occurred since 1970.

In 1960, a year of good water, when the first aerial survey of breeding ducks was made in the Rainwater Basin, over 38,000 birds were reported. During the spring of 1975, 14,385 birds were estimated when flying the same routes. Admittedly, only a part of the decline in breeding ducks can be attributed to loss of wetland habitat. However, less nesting habitat means lower duck prodution in wet years as well as dry.

29   30

Less obvious than the loss of potential breeding adults is the loss of production. While the number of breeders may remain about the same, their success in nesting and rearing broods declines as more birds are forced into less habitat. Crowding leads to nest abandonment, higher brood mortality, more predation losses and an increased incidence of disease.

In just the last decade, the composition of ducks nesting in the Rainwater Basin has changed. Redheads, scaup and pintails require large marshes for successful reproduction. Eighty to 90 percent of the broods produced in the basin are blue-winged teal, mallards, shovelers and gadwall. In 1975, fewer than one percent of the breeding ducks counted were redheads, and there were not enough diving ducks of other species to be calculated.

NEBRASKAland Gadwall, pair, and redhead, pair

The Sandhills region is Nebraska's second major wetland area. Even though it encompasses some 20,000 square miles, lakes and potholes are clustered, and much of the Sandhills is devoid of waterfowl habitat. Over 13,000 wetlands, ranging from permanent lakes to seasonally flooded meadows, occur in low valleys of the grass-covered dunes. Most Sandhills wetlands are small, often under 10 acres.

Because the Sandhills is ranching country, its wetlands have been tampered with less than those of the Rainwater Basin. Over 80 percent of those originally surveyed still remain, but their destiny is far from secure. A falling water table has followed the proliferation of center-pivot irrigation systems. To date, the effect of declining ground water has been minimal but the writing is on the wall if current trends in agriculture continue. Drawdown of a marsh can NOVEMBER 1976 have as detrimental an effect as total drainage. Desirable duck nesting and brooding habitat is lost when the fringe of aquatic vegetation surrounding a marsh is separated from the water by a ring of mudflat.

Spring surveys indicate a decline in the number of breeding ducks in the Sandhills, too. During the late 1950's and early 1960's, estimates ranged between 99,000 and 176,000 annually. Since 1972, estimates have fallen between 62,000 and 91,000. As in the Rainwater Basin, many factors, in addition to habitat loss, are at work. The last three years have been drought years for the Sandhills; water and breeding ducks have understandably been in short supply. But even in the wet years of 1972 and 1973, fewer ducks were present during May than during the driest years in the late 1950's.

As in the Rainwater Basin, blue-winged teal, mallards, gadwall and shovelers are the most common nesters. The Sandhills' deep-water lakes still support some nesting divers. Redhead and canvasback are the primary species, accounting for something less than 5 percent of the annual production. Some years, ruddy ducks occur in significant numbers, occasionally making up as much as 12 percent of the spring "breeding duck" count.

Water availability is just as critical to migrating ducks as it is to nesting ducks. Rainwater Basin hunters know all too well that marshes covered with cracked mud do not attract or hold ducks in the fall. The success of a duck season can hinge on the amount of snow cover the preceding winter and rainfall during spring and summer. Ice-up time can also determine if Basin and Sandhill hunters have any shooting when the big flights of mallards come.

Strangely enough, the success that Nebraska duck hunters have in the fall has very little to do with nesting success in the state's marshes the preceding spring. An insignificant percentage of ducks taken by Nebraska hunters are produced locally. Most Nebraska-reared ducks are shot by hunters to the south. Even more surprising is band return information, indicating that most Nebraska bluewings shot during hunting season are taken in southwest Minnesota and southeastern South Dakota. Apparently, most local bluewings fly northeast once they reach flight stage, and later migrate south with the approach of winter.

Even though most Nebraska-grown ducks are shot elsewhere, our harvest is made up of largely the same species. Mallard and blue-winged teal are most frequently taken. Greenwings, gadwalls, pintails and wigeons account for most of the remaining duck harvest. To a large extent, the composition of the harvest is a reflection of species abundance in the Central Flyway. The number of diving ducks shot by Nebraskans is generally small and localized around reservoirs and along the Missouri River.

To a certain extent, duck harvest corresponds to migration patterns, or build-up in the case of over-wintering birds. Duck migration has two peaks in Nebraska, one in October and the other in November. Traditionally, hunters have their best success the opening two weekends, well into the first migration period under most season's regulations. Hunter interest wanes after that and the 31  

duck harvest begins a measured decline until the end of the season. The beginning of the second migration peak is also a time of good hunting success, but fewer hunters are in the field to take advantage of it.

As a rule, hunters in the Sandhills and Rainwater Basin have their best success during early to mid October. The push of November ducks, mostly mallards, is enjoyed by a smaller number of river hunters. Late season mallard shooting along the Platte River is often outstanding but is utilized by a small percentage of the state's waterfowl hunters, primarily due to limited access. During any given year, hunting success depends on weather patterns that trigger migration and affect its progression, and on the availability of open water.

But waterfowl in general and ducks, in particular are more than "breeding index" figures, harvest records or subjects for taxonomic classification. They are capable of arousing man's deepest emotions, be he a hunter waiting to decoy mallards in the fall or an observer behind a pair of binoculars. Unfortunately, emotions do not lend themselves to statistical summaries or computer readouts, and cannot compete with economics for analysis. Ironically, this may be waterfowls' undoing; tor when the value of a marsh is weighed against a cornfield or hay meadow, they always lose. Ω

32 NEBRASKAland 33

Waterfowl -Mortality- How They Die

by Jim Hurt, Bio-Enforcement Officer

EACH DAY DUCKS and geese die of diseases and from accidents. Unless mass die-offs occur, most waterfowl mortality goes unnoticed by man. Sick birds separate from the flock and seek concealment. As they become weaker, they crawl out of the water and hide in dense aquatic cover along the shoreline. The toll of disease is usually not visible because predators pick off the weak birds before they die, and scavengers quickly erase any sign of a dead bird within a few hours or days. When disease reaches epidemic proportions, birds die faster than predators and scavengers can clean them up. This is the point when we become aware and concerned.

Many natural and unnatural agents lead to waterfowl mortality. Predators have little effect on a healthy waterfowl population. Some eggs and young birds are lost to predators, but under normal conditions it is insignificant. A few accidents occur, such as hitting power lines, becoming entangled in fishing line or plastic six-pack holders, or swallowing pop-top tabs. Oil spills also account for the loss of some birds each year, but disease is by far the most important non-hunting mortality.

Band recovery data indicates that about 50 percent of all ducks die each year. During the past 20 years, the continental breeding population of ducks has averaged about 40 million. Assuming these 40 million ducks produce 40 million young, we should go into the fall hunting season with about 80 million birds. The average yearly kill in the United States is about 10.7 million ducks. An additional 3.5 million are taken in Canada. Crippling loss is about 20 percent. Hunters therefore remove some 20 million ducks, which is about 50 percent of the number that die during the year. The other half, or 20 million, die from disease, predation and accidents.

Usually, diseases in wildlife are self limiting due to relatively small, widely scattered populations that have previously established natural immunity. It is when animals or birds are crowded and when other stress is involved that the chances of an outbreak are the greatest. Diseases of waterfowl that frequently reach epidemic proportions and kill thousands of birds are fowl cholera, lead poisoning, botulism and duck virus enteritis (DVE). In Nebraska we have had considerable 34

first-hand experience with fowl cholera. During the spring of 1975 some 20,000 waterfowl were lost to this disease in the basins of south-central Nebraska. An additional 7,500 were lost to this disease in the same area during the spring of 1976. More than 6,000 white-fronted geese died in the two outbreaks.

It is virtually impossible to eradicate wildlife diseases; the best we can hope to do is control them and minimize losses. A significant contributing factor in recent fowl cholera outbreaks in Nebraska has been stress from overcrowding, a situation resulting from the reduction of wetlands along traditional spring migration routes.

Lead poisoning is considered the greatest non-hunting source of mortality in North American waterfowl. Lead poisoning occurs when the birds swallow lead pellets while feeding on the bottoms of lakes and marshes. As the shot pellet comes to rest in the gizzard of the bird, the surface of the pellet is eroded and dissolved away through grinding action of the gizzard and chemical action of the digestive juices. The lead then undergoes further chemical change as it moves through the intestine. Some of the lead compounds are then absorbed by the bloodstream through the intestinal walls, and apparently damage the liver and kidneys. The lead also appears to have a direct harmful effect on the muscles of the digestive tract. Usually, ducks dying from lead poisoning are very thin and have a green-stained vent. A bird may weigh only one-half of its normal amount before it dies.

The number of birds using an area, the amount of shot present, the availability of shot to feeding birds, the characteristic feeding habits of the birds and the type and amount of feed available are all factors that influence the occurrence of lead poisoning outbreaks.

Experiments have clearly shown that lead is highly toxic to waterfowl. A single ingested shot pellet is likely to have a harmful effect on a bird and may cause its death. It has also been demonstrated that as the number of shot pellets ingested increases, so does the mortality rate.

In one recent study, 36,145 waterfowl gizzards from numerous areas in the United States were inspected. The gizzards were taken from birds shot during the open season. Lead shot was NEBRASKAland found in 6.7 percent of all duck gizzards; 6.8 percent in mallards and a somewhat higher percentage in bay diving ducks. It was also found that 65 percent of those containing shot held one pellet, 15 percent two pellets, and only 7 percent had more than six pellets. On the basis of this study, it was conservatively concluded that 2 to 3 percent of the fall and winter waterfowl population, or 1.5 to 2.5 million birds, die from lead poisoning each year.

Do we have a lead poisoning problem in Nebraska? The answer to this is yes and no. Some of the basins, marshes and smaller ponds are real "hot spots" for lead poisoning, but such areas as the Platte River with its shifting, sandy bottom are not a problem. It has been estimated that as much as 1,000 pounds of shot is deposited by hunters on an opening day in one public waterfowl-hunting marsh in South-central Nebraska. The availability of shot for birds to ingest in such an area would be quite high.

We can expect the restriction of lead shot on some of these areas in the near future. The use of steel shot will be required in the fall of 1978 in some problem areas.

Botulism is another major mortality factor among waterfowl in North America. The greatest mortality from this disease occurs in the western states and Canadian provinces. Nebraska has experienced periodic waterfowl mortality due to botulism, but losses are usually not high due to small concentrations of birds during the summer when the disease occurs. Botulism is a bacterial poisoning resulting from the ingestion of a potent toxin that is produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. It is a toxic, not an infectious, process since the bacterium doesn't invade the living tissues of the victim.

Duck virus enteritis (DVE) is an acute, contagious disease of ducks, geese and swans. DVE is caused by a virus that belongs to the same group of viruses responsible for herpes or cold sores, in man. The first major outbreak of the disease in a wild population occurred at Lake Andes National Wildlife Refuge in South Dakota in January of 1973. Total mortality was estimated at over 40,000 ducks. As of yet, DVE has not been recorded in Nebraska. The virus is now present in the wild waterfowl population, and under the "right" conditions will probably NOVEMBER 1976 show up again.

The natural elements, such as unusual weather, can also result in significant waterfowl mortality. A severe late winter storm in Nebraska's south-central basins accounted for over 2,500 waterfowl deaths in 1976. On the night of March 11, the temperature dropped to near zero with winds of over 60 miles per hour. Ducks and geese caught on very shallow water were actually frozen in place before they had*a chance to escape. Many died on the spot, frozen in the ice. Those less fortunate were left alive but frozen in the shallow water. In an attempt to free themselves, many beat their wings on the ice until they bled. Mother nature is not always kind.

Most waterfowl mortality, especially diseases, can be directly traced to lack of habitat. As more and more habitat is destroyed, birds are forced to crowd into smaller areas. Crowding causes stress, and birds become more susceptible to diseases that formerly were of little significance. Once disease is introduced into a crowded, stressed flock, it sweeps through the population, claiming thousands.

In recent years, many of Nebraska's wetlands have been drained or destroyed. Where once there were hundreds of basins for nesting and migrating waterfowl, today, only a handful remain. When habitat declines, the number of animals depending on it must also decline. Disease is one of the vectors that crops waterfowl populations. It is nature's way of restoring a balance between wildlife and their habitat. In the final analysis, tomorrow's waterfowl are determined by the wetlands we preserve today. Ω

35

Return to the Platte

Each spring Canada geese and whitefronts push the season north, arriving on the Platte River in central Nebraska as early as mid February

by Jon Farrar  

SANDHILL CRANES usher spring into the Platte Valley, but it is Canada and white-fronted geese that advance into winter's retreat. As early as mid February, small groups of Canadas have pushed their northward migration into Nebraska. Pioneering flocks of whitefronts are only a few days behind and by March, dark geese are common on the "big bend" of the Platte River and open-water marshes of the Rainwater Basin. Late-season blizzards may temporarily force them south, but when they peak during the third week of March, 120,000 to 160,000 whitefronts and twice as many Canada geese will be in south-central Nebraska.

Over 150 miles of frozen, shallow-water lakes between the Platte River and the Missouri River of South Dakota acts as a seasonal barrier to migrating geese, holding them back until spring has crept north of Nebraska's border. In the fall, we hardly see these whitefronts and only a few of the Canadas as they usually stopover in the Dakotas and then hop to wintering grounds on the Gulf Coast of Louisiana and east Texas, and into the interior of Mexico.

The Canada geese that gather in south-central Nebraska each spring are almost entirely of the "tall grass prairie populations," one of six populations that pass through our state. Each population has distinct nesting grounds, wintering areas, staging areas and migration patterns. Richardson's and giant Canada geese occur in this population but most are five to six-pound "lessers."

Traditionally, tall grass Canada geese overwintered on the Gulf Coast, but substantial numbers have been terminating their fall migration farther north in recent years. From two waterfowl refuges in Oklahoma, they advanced into southern Kansas, then northern Kansas and two years ago 5,000 to 18,000 remained on the Missouri River in South Dakota through the first week of January. Whitefronts seem to be following a similar trend, delaying their southward migration each year. Two years ago a small number stayed on the Platte into December.

38  

During their stay in Nebraska, most geese concentrate in a triangle formed by Johnson Reservoir on the west, Holdrege on the south and Kearney on the east. Each year more Canadas and whitefronts are reported in Hall, Hamilton and Buffalo counties, indicating an eastward shift. Marshes in the Rainwater Basin, primarily those in Clay and Fillmore counties, draw thousands of birds after ice-out, especially during wet years.

Though greatly outnumbering the ubiquitous sandhill cranes that hop about grainfields in their courtship dance, or mill on thermal updrafts over the river, the geese are far less conspicuous. Like the cranes, whitefronts and Canadas pack into sandbar and shallow-water roosts on the Platte River each night after sundown. Shallow necks and mud flats provide roost sites on the rainwater basins.

As with the sandhill cranes, geese are fastidious when it comes to the choice of roosts. They require a broad channel with infrequent vegetation on the sandbars and channels. Even though they are more exposed to the season's rigors in open locations, they are less vulnerable to attack by predators or hunters in the fall.

Sections of the Platte River utilized by geese seem to have one common feature-relatively little alteration by man. Periodic high water is needed to scour the channels free of trees and willows. Reduction of water flow on the Platte River, due to irrigation drawdown or impoundment, could make it unsuitable for geese as well as other waterfowl.

Every day is different for the geese; weather changes, food sources are depleted, water levels vary and the birds' temperament changes as the season stirs them to continue migration. In general, though, the geese leave their night roost early, often before dawn, when just a hint of light is on the horizon. Some 40 birds are more eager to feed than others and string out to the grainfields before the mass of geese lifts above the haze of cotton woods that fringe the river. Until mid morning they'll pick through the snow-crushed corn and milo for fallen grain and emerging greenery.

Geese on the rainwater basins seem to move in more stable flocks than the river birds that trickle in irregular and loosely organized groups between the fields and water. During the late morning and into the afternoon, geese return to the Platte, most to loaf and preen, but some only to drink before returning to the fields. High winds, driving rain or snow may keep geese on the river later, in the fields longer or move them back to their roosts earlier.

By the fourth week in March, some geese begin to leave the Platte River and the Rainwater Basin. Just as they were first to arrive, Canada geese are the first to move north. Some whitefronts will also move early with the NEBRASKAland Canadas but they have a greater tendency to depart en masse. Often, half of the whitefronts will leave in one day and perhaps all except a few stragglers will follow them the next morning.

The mass movement of geese is impressive. Experienced observers say the geese are especially noisy, gabbling constantly the day before. They may go through their feed routine, but only out of habit. By evening, during the night or early the next morning, they will be gone. Occasionally they'll swing south as if going to feed, suddenly swing north, cross the Platte and chase spring into South Dakota and finally Canada.

Their stay in Nebraska was brief by most measures and caused little comment. Only a few noted the seasonal change that came with their passage. They're world travelers, and only tary awhile. Were they of our own kind, we would strain to hear the stories they tell, and greet them on their return to the Platte.

NOVEMBER 1976 41

Honker Homecoming

by Ken Bouc

FEW sights touch the soul of the outdoor minded more than a grey Nebraska sky filled with fall flights of waterfowl. And, of all the kinds of birds in the air, none stirs more interest and excitement than the giant Canada goose.

To hunters, the 10 to 12-pound bruisers are more than mere geese. They represent the ultimate trophy of Nebraska waterfowling, a bird to remember and tell about long after the season is over. To the bird watcher, one of these big honkers rates a special note in a field diary. Even those not normally attuned to the outdoors and wildlife look up in awe from their earthbound tasks at the approach of these majestic honkers.

This big goose, Branta canadensis maxima to the biologist, is the king of the autumn skies. He is a bird with historic Nebraska roots, and his story in this state is a blend of a tragic past laced with guarded optimism for the future.

At one time, the giant Canada goose nested throughout much of Nebraska's Sandhills region, but civilization, the struggling settlers' need for game, and the big bird's low-flying habits soon eliminated him from the Nebraska scene.

Seeing the big Canada's Sandhills habitat still present many decades later, the Game and Parks Commission began an attempt to re-establish a wild nesting population in 1970. More than 2,200 goslings raised at the Commission's Sacramento Wildlife Management Area at Wilcox have been released at selected sites in the Sandhills since then.

Source of geese for the stocking effort is a captive flock of some 100 breeding pairs of adult geese mostly of the

42 NEBRASKAland maxima strain. A good share of the birds came from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service flocks in the Dakotas.

The captive geese lay eggs in nesting structures at Sacramento. Their first clutch is removed and hatched in incubators, while the parents lay and hatch another batch. In this way, production of goslings is doubled each year.

Goslings are raised to about seven weeks of age at the Sacramento facility. They are then transported and released on Sandhills lakes. At that age, they are still a couple of weeks away from free flight, so they have no choice but to hang around in that general area. In those two weeks, and throughout the rest of their first summer, the young Canadas adopt the area as home, returning there to nest when they reach maturity at three years of age.

Only birds from the first few years of stocking are old enough to reproduce, but biologists have found evidence of natural reproduction at all release sites that should have birds of breeding age. This natural reproduction is encouraging, but it by no means guarantees success of the program.

There's more to establishing wildlife populations than simply stocking a few specimens. In order to be successful, such new populations must reach a "threshold"; that is, a sufficient number so that reproduction offsets natural mortality each year with a few birds to spare. Then, that population will gradually expand to fill available habitat.

If stocking is stopped short of the threshold, the stocked birds will decline and soon disappear from the scene. But, if stocking continues to the point that it gets the population over the hump, then it may succeed.

The big question Game and Parks Commission biologists must answer soon is whether or not the threshold number can be reached. Perhaps natural mortality and habitat limitations will cause the population to decline once stocking is discontinued, no matter how many birds have been released. The stocking program will eventually have to be stopped. But when? Next year? In three years? Perhaps five?

The biologists have been looking at population projections in the form of mathematical computer models that reflect sucessful and unsuccessful restoration flocks. These models give biologists a pretty good idea of what population levels to expect at different times during the program. Mortality and reproduction rates are unknown factors and are difficult to determine in a program such as this. By using the modeling technique, their rates can be found by simply determining population levels at different times during the project.

So far, the data from Nebraska's Sandhills flock fall in the grey area between a successful population and an unsuccessful one. The models also suggest that, if it is ever to be reached at all, the threshold should be achieved in no more than four years.

Decisions on the future of the project must be made soon. If the project is retained, still other decisions must be made.

NOVEMBER 1976

Should artificial nesting structures be provided for the restoration geese? Canadas adapt to them very well, and they reduce losses to predators.

So far, nesting birds in the restoration flocks have had to make do with natural locations such as muskrat houses, yet they have done fairly well. But, if the population needs a little extra boost to make it over the hump, perhaps a switch to platforms might do the trick.

Once the population begins to increase on its own, how long will it need the sanctuary of the Sandhills area that was closed to dark goose hunting at the beginning of the project? Mortality is certainly the factor keeping the lid on an expanding population, so hunting is obviously out of the question for a time. But, for how long?

And, should hunting begin, how will it be regulated? It's pretty certain that the Sandhills goose restoration flock will not be able to stand the same pressure that the smaller northern geese can take. Should there be a limited number of special permits for these birds, as is the case for wild turkeys? Or, perhaps, just a few days of goose hunting in the Sandhills restoration area each year? Or, perhaps a season bag limit of one or two birds per hunter?

Of course, none of these other decisions will be necessary if the restoration project turns out to be a failure, or if the Commission decides that failure is imminent and calls an early halt. The Game and Parks Commission must first answer the critical question: "Is it possible to reach the population threshold, and do the odds favoring success justify continuing the effort?"

Nebraska will eventually have to stop releasing birds, either because the population threshold has been reached and success is on the way, or because the project is headed for failure. Cost is an important consideration, since money devoted to the goose project could be used in other wildlife programs.

An unpopular aspect of the goose restoration effort has been restrictions of hunting opportunity in parts of Nebraska in order to protect migrating restoration birds. These regulations were meant to protect restoration flocks established or being established in states and provinces to the north.

The only restriction resulting directly from Nebraska's restoration effort is the closure of the Sandhills area where the birds have been released. Little if any hunting opportunity was lost, since there were few geese there before the project began.

Like much of wildlife management, the goose restoration effort is something of a gamble. We're betting perhaps 10 years of work, a fair amount of money, and some minor restrictions in hunting. The jackpot holds promise of a new population of Canadas that will provide trophy goose hunting and incalculable esthetic value.

But, the winning hand is still one or two cards away. The biologists and the Commission must look at the odds for success and decide. Do we fold now, or do we bet a few more years of work and money to play out the hand?

43

Public Hunting Areas in Nebraska's Rainwater Basin

Under the Federal Wetlands Acquisition Program, thousands of permanent wetlands have been acquired in south-central Nebraska. These Waterfowl Production Areas help to replenish duck populations each spring and are open to waterfowl hunting in the fall. 44 NEBRASKAland Nearest Town Directions Acres CLAY COUNTY 1 Harvard Marsh Harvard 4 miles west 1,485 2 Theesen Lagoon Glenvil .5 miles north 80 3 Glenvil Basin Glenvil 2.5 miles south, 2 east, .5 north 120 4 Massie Lagoon Clay Center 3 miles south 853 5 Harms Lagoon Clay Center 2 miles east, 3 south 60 6 Moger Marshes Clay Center 3 miles east, 2.5 south 155 7 Smith Lagoon Clay Center 6 miles south, 3.5 east 397 8 Green Acres Clay Center 6 miles east, 4 south 43 9 Eckhardt Lagoon Clay Center 8 miles east, 4 south 174 10 Hansen Lagoon Sutton 10 miles south 320 11 Lange Lagoon Sutton 2 miles south, .5 east 160 FILLMORE COUNTY 12 Wilkins Lagoon Grafton 1 mile south, 1 east 530 13 Morphy Marsh Grafton .5 miles west, 1 south 90 14 Rauscher Lagoon Grafton 2 miles south, 3 west, .5 south 251 15 Rolland Lagoon Sutton 1.5 miles east, 1.5 south 129 16 Krause Lagoon Shickley 3 miles west, 3 north 300 17 Mallard Haven Shickley 2 miles north 927 FRANKLIN COUNTY 18 Quadhamer Marsh Hildreth 3 miles west, 1 south 590 19 Ritterbush Marsh Hildreth 5 miles south 81 20 Macon Lakes Macon .5 mile south 964 GOSPER COUNTY 21 Elley Lagoon Bertrand 2 miles west, 2.5 south 60 22 Peterson Basin Bertrand 3 mi es south 1,154 23 Victor Lake Bertrand 4.5 miles north, .5 west 238 KEARNEY COUNTY 24 Lindau Lagoon Axtell 6 miles south, 4 east, .5 north 152 25 Bluestem Marsh Axtell 1 mile south, 3 east, 2 south 77 26 Gleason Lagoon Minden 4 miles south, 4 west 569 27 Clark Lagoon Wilcox 6 miles east, 1 north 451 28 Frerichs Lagoon Wilcox 2 miles east, .5 north 47 29 Killdeer Basin Wilcox 3 miles east, 1.5 north 38 30 Prairie Dog Marsh Wilcox 2 miles north, 2 east 813 31 Youngson Lagoon Norman 6 miles south, 1 east 183 32 Jensen Lagoon Norman 6 miles south, 3 east 465 PHELPS COUNTY 33 Atlanta Marsh Atlanta .5 mile north 1,115 34 Jones Marsh Atlanta 2 miles east, 2 north 166 35 Cottonwood Marsh Bertrand 1 mile north, 2 east 240 YORK COUNTY 36 County Line Marsh Fairmont 4 miles north, 2.5 east 240 37 Sininger Lagoon McCool Junction 2 miles south, 3 east 160 38 Waco Basin Waco 1 mile north, .5 west 159 NOVEMBER 1976 45   Public Waterfowl Hunting Areas SOUTHWEST Area Location Water (acres) River Frontage (miles) Facilities Remarks Boxelder Canyon 3 S, 2V4 W Maxwell 11 none Access limited some jump shooting, generally poor Enders 5 E, 41/2 S Imperial 1,707 none Refuge from middle to upper portion. Temporary blinds allowed. Good duck hunting, especially on river above refuge. Fair goose hunting at times. Over decoys or pass shooting. Moderate hunting pressure through season Some shooting on river after lake freeze up Hayes Center Lake 12 NE Hayes Center 40 Primitive camping Small, possible early teal shooting. Temporary blinds allowed Medicine Creek Reservoir 7 NW Cambridge 1,768 none Fair duck hunting. Mostly puddle ducks. Temporary blinds. Shallow upper end best Red Willow Reservoir 10 N McCook 1,628 none Fair duck hunting. Similar to Medicine Creek Sacramento-Wilcox 2.5 W Wilcox 700 Primitive camping Excellent duck hunting in wet years. Closed to goose hunting. State-owned blinds offered on first-come, first-served basis. Mostly puddlers, good until freeze up. Heavy demand for blinds during wet years. Water available on satelite areas for duck hunting Harlan County Reservoir Republican City 13,468 Full facilities Portions of shoreline open to waterfowl hunting. Blind sites awarded in late summer or early fall drawing. Hunting pressure parallels duck flights, heaviest late in season. Mostly puddle ducks, primarily mallards. Some opportunity for geese, occasionally taken pass shooting on dam NORTHEAST Area Location Water (acres) River Frontage (miles) Facilities Remarks Lewis & Clark Lake Niobrara to Yankton, S.D. 31,000 Over 30 miles All services near dam Entire south shoreline open to hunting except 4 miles of refuge near Santee. Access by water only except at Brazile Creek Bazile Creek 2 E of Niobrara 300 7 none One of best public waterfowl hunting areas in Nebraska. Mostly puddle ducks in marsh, divers and puddlers on river. Occasional geese on river. Marsh can be hunted in waders. Heavy hunting pressure first weekends Lake Yankton Below Gavin's Point Dam Vi to Va All services near dam Old river bed. State line through middle but can hunt from boat throughout if not anchored or on north shore. Best to stay on south side. Good late-season mallard shooting Wood Duck 3 SW of Stanton 47 1 Va none River as well as marsh hunting in old oxbows. Mostly puddle ducks. Temporary blinds permitted. Freezes up early 46 INTERSTATE Area Location "Water (acres)" River Frontage Miles Facilities Remarks Loch Linda Alda Interchange, 1N, 2E, .5S, 1.5E 20 5 Primitiive camping Close to Platte River Temporary blinds. Marshy lake. Puddle ducks. Light hunting pressure Bassway Strip 4S Minden Interchange 90 7 Primitiive camping Three lakes, excellent river frontage. Fair to good on puddle ducks, mostly mallards. Moderate pressure Temporary blinds Coot Shallows Odessa Interchange, ,7N,1.7W,.1S 13 Primitiive camping Marshy lake. Fair duck hunting Blue Hole SW quadrant Elm Creek Interchange 37 2 Primitiive camping Good duck hunting area. River frontage for mallard shooting Sandy Channel 1.3 S Elm Creek Interchange 47 0.5 Primitiive camping Series of old sandpits. Mostly jump shooting but opportunity for hunting over decoys. Divers and puddle ducks Dogwood Overton Interchange, 1.5 N, 5 W, 1S 5 1.5 Primitiive camping Mostly jump shooting, opportunity for hunting over decoys from shoreline vegetation. Mostly puddlers Fremont Slough North Platte Interchange, 1.5 S, 4.8 E, .3N, .1 E, .2N 30 Primitiive camping Mostly puddlers by jump shooting but opportunity for hunting over decoys. Temporary blinds allowed Other Interstate Lakes Primitiive camping Twenty-nine other interstate lakes are open to public waterfowl hunting but offer only fair to poor opportunity. Maps showing locations are available NEBRASKAland SOUTHEAST Area Location "Water (acres)" River Frontage Miles Facilities Remarks Alexandria 2 E, 1 S Alexandria 5 Primitive camping on wildlife area. Full facilities on nearby recreation area Early hunting over decoys on small marsh. Occasional jump shooting on intermittent creek. Temporary blinds allowed Mostly puddlers, only moderate hunting pressure Pawnee Prairie 8 S, 1 E Burchard Variable Primitive camping Numerous scattered ponds. Early shooting on teal and occasional mallard. Mostly jump shooting. Temporary blinds allowed but generally not needed; heavy shoreline vegetation. Moderate hunting pressure Smartweed Marsh 2 W, 21/4 S Edgar Variable Primitive camping Rainwater Basin type hunting. Waterfowl hunting dependant on rainfall. Mostly puddle ducks. Temporary blinds allowed but generally not required Plattsmouth Waterfowl Management Area 1 N, Y% E Plattsmouth 50 No Camping Controlled hunting area, primarily for snow geese. Blinds and decoys for snow geese. Blinds and decoys available during late summer drawing. For information write Refuge Manager, Box 525, Plattsmouth, Nebraska Salt Valley Lakes South and west of Lincoln Over 3,500 Most facilities available on all lakes Conestoga, Stagecoach, Twin Lakes and portion of south arm of Branched Oak closed to hunting. Nine lakes open to waterfowl hunting. Generally open water through duck season. Temporary blinds of native material allowed. Killdeer, Hedgefield and Tealmostly puddle ducks. Divers and puddlers on other lakes. Occasional opportunity for geese. Hunting pressure heavy on weekends, light during week. Separate brochure available NOVEMBER 1976 PANHANDLE Area Location Water (acres) River Frontage (miles) Facilities Remarks Bridgeport Recreation Area Bridgeport, U.S. 26 or 385 70 Approximately Va mile Camping, water, fireplaces, and sanitary facilities Series of old sandpits. Light hunting pressure. Mostly jump shooting. Some riverfront open to hunting Smith Lake 23SRushville 222 Camping water, fireplaces and sanitary facilities Early shooting before freeze-up. Temporary blinds allowed; most hunters use standing vegetation. Some pass shooting. Mostly puddle ducks but good variety. Occasional Canada geese. Hunting pressure fairly heavy opening weekends, light midweek Box Butte Reservoir 9V2 N Hemingford 1,600 Camping, water, fireplaces, sanitary facilities and shelter houses Occasionally low water due to irrigation draw-down. Puddlers, divers and occasional geese. Blinds allowed. Pass shooting on upper end. Moderate hunting pressure. Generally fair waterfowl hunting, can be good SANDHILLS Area Location Water (acres) River Frontage (miles) Facilities Remarks Sherman Reservoir 4 E, 1 N Loup City 2,845 Most facilities, no special trailer parking, showers or cabins Open water most of duck season. Little or no vegetation on shoreline. Lake nearly filled by mid fall. Temporary blinds allowed. Big-water hunting, primarily divers Goose Lake 23 S, 4 E O'Neill 300 Primitive camping Lots of shoreline with heavy semi-aquatic vegetation. Temporary blinds allowed but generally not necessary. Pass shooting from shoreline or over decoys. Variety of species. Fair hunting pressure first weekends South Twin Lake 22 S Johnstown 60 Primitive camping Very often dry, some ducks during wet years American Game Association Marsh 2 E, 22 S Johnstown 120 Primitive camping Fair duck hunting some years Rat and Beaver 29 S, 6 W Valentine 38 None Only a narrow strip between the two lakes is public land. Most of the 202 acres are on north shore. Some late season mallard shooting. Ducks quickly move off these lakes and onto Valentine Refuge Ballards Marsh 20 S Valentine 600 Primitive camping Generally good numbers of ducks but hunters must be willing to work for them. There are several sites on north shore where boat can be put in. Small open-water areas in heavy semi-aquatic vegetation. Dog desirable for retrieving birds. Not much hunting pressure Big Alkali Lake 16S,4W, 1 S Valentine 842 Primitive camping Open-water hunting. Some vegetation along shoreline. Temporary blinds allowed. Pass shooting and over decoys. Little pressure 47   Commercial Goose Facilities Name, Address and Phone Fee Meals Lodging Processing No. of Blinds Guns per Blind Remarks Day Season Bill Tallman Steel pit blinds, gas heated; best goose hunting, first part 1003 So. 16th of season to November 1; duck shooting best from October Tekamah, Ne. 68061 $15 $200 7 5 5 to end of season; during 1975, bagged 200 snows and blues, (402) 374-2874 occasional Canada and white-fronted geese, average 500 ducks per year Ralph Kohler Sunken steel blinds, gas heat, on lake fed by well; October Tekamah, Ne. 68061 $15 $200 6 5 offers best goose hunting; duck hunting best about October 20 to November (402) 374-2747 Bill Hardy Concrete blinds with gas heat and lights; underground Fort Calhoun, Ne. 68023 room where meals are served; located on flooded field near R.R. 1 $10 $150 4 5-8 DeSoto Refuge; mid-October to mid-November best time for geese; (402) 426-6271 ducks good anytime; during 1971, bagged 180 snows and blues, 27 Canadas, 11 whitefronts, 750 ducks Ray Kopecky Season membership only, steel pit blinds, gas grills and heat; 14604 Walnut Grove Driver $350 4 6 18-acre lake; field and water decoy sets; October and early November best Omaha, Ne. 68137 for geese; mid-October through mid-December good for ducks; (402) 895-4100 during 1975 bagged 337 snows and blues, 32 Canadas, 11 whitefronts and 586 ducks Beaver Nielsen Season membership only; limit 25 members per year; mem-hprc allnwpd to brine two Box 9 $350 2 4 euests oer vear heated sfppl nit blinds on Missouri River backwater, 304 acres of private property; Blair, Ne. 68008 decoys and dogs furnished; early October good for geese; November 25 prime time for mallards; (402) 426-4111 during 1975 averaged four hunters per day and bagged 67 geese, 797 ducks (over 500 mallards) George O. Rishling Heated pits; 400 to 500 decoys, each pit with their own spread; 236 No. Chadron $10 $400 7 3-8 can take 40 hunters per day; 3 8-man pits, 1 4-man pit and 4 3-man pits; Chadron, Ne. 69337 best hunting from November 11 to end of season; last year kill 51 Canada geese (308) 778-5611 Victor Santero Heated wood blinds with sliding covers; transportation to Box 284 $10 3 4-6 field provided; best goose hunting from November 15 to Lewellen, Ne. 69147 December 15 (308) 778-5531 Orville Miller Pit blinds located near refuge, propane heated; November 15 through end of season best for geese, 515 West L $10 $100 5 4 especially in December; Occasionally shoot ducks when goose hunting slow; Ogallala, Ne. 69153 in 1975 bagged 40 geese; records on ducks not available (308) 284-4426 Gary Oldfield Blinds on sand bar in Missouri River; hunting on lake may 1604 11th St. $15 3 4-6 be available, goose bunting best in October; November gooa for ducKs, Auburn, Ne. 68305 during iv/b bagged 31 snows and blues; 14 Canadas 2 whitefronts ahnnt arm Hii (402) 274-3565 Information is listed as supplied by commercial operators. Its publication is meant as a service to hunters, and shoulu not be interpreted as an endorsement by NEBRASKAland or the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. 48 NEBRASKAland