04-15-2008, 12:10 AM
In January, biologists from MassWildlife's offices fanned out across the state to sites where people feed waterfowl. The biologists were participating in the 2008 Waterfowl Feeding Survey. This survey has been conducted by the agency every 5 years since 1973. Feeding site reports from the public were also gathered. Because most of the waterfowl associated with these sites are mallards, this survey has been dubbed the "Park Mallard Survey". This year, 12,681 mallards, 422 black ducks, and 1,768 Canada geese were counted on 160 sites, down from 15,244 mallards, 1,583 black ducks, and 3,361 Canada geese on 193 sites counted in 2003. This is well below the 20,659 mallards, 2,504 black ducks and 5,110 Canada geese counted at 224 sites in 1993.
Over time, Park Mallard Survey trends showed that wintering mallard populations increased during the 1970s and "˜80s, peaking at over 20,000 mallards on the 1993 survey. Canada geese, which were so few in number at feeding sites when the survey began that they were not even counted until the 1983 survey, began to increase. By 1993 over 5000 Canada geese were recorded at feeding sites. This created a problem for the mallards. Because geese spend more time on land than mallards, visitors to parks and other sites where people feed waterfowl encountered increased amounts of goose "droppings". Towns began posting "No feeding" signs at some spots and discontinued official feeding programs. The larger geese also competed directly with the mallards for handouts, with each goose consuming as much food as several mallards.
H. Heusmann, MassWildlife Waterfowl Biologist, first noted a decline in the numbers of mallards wintering at feeding spots on the 1998 survey, while the number of Canada geese increased. That decline in mallard numbers continued on the 2003 survey, though by then goose numbers were also declining as less feeding was taking place. What is uncertain is if the Massachusetts mallard population is decreasing or just being redistributed. Mallard numbers in the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Midwinter Waterfowl Inventory, a separate, coastal oriented survey, have gradually increased from a few hundred birds in the 1970s to over 5,000 last year. These results suggest some mallards that typically overwinter on freshwater sites are learning to spend the cold season on coastal saltwater areas. Spring breeding surveys also show little evidence of a decline in breeding mallards in Massachusetts.
During banding studies done on park mallards during 1971-1976, agency biologists discovered that a third of winter banded Massachusetts park ducks were migrants from western and northern areas. "It could be that these birds may no longer find Massachusetts parks an inviting place to overwinter," speculates Heusmann. "In addition to official bans on feeding waterfowl, sometimes backed up by fines, it appears to be less socially acceptable to feed waterfowl. Concerns about Bird Flu, skyrocketing grain prices, and children of the Baby Boomers having pretty much grown up and moved on may also be involved in the cessation of artificial feeding."
Over time, Park Mallard Survey trends showed that wintering mallard populations increased during the 1970s and "˜80s, peaking at over 20,000 mallards on the 1993 survey. Canada geese, which were so few in number at feeding sites when the survey began that they were not even counted until the 1983 survey, began to increase. By 1993 over 5000 Canada geese were recorded at feeding sites. This created a problem for the mallards. Because geese spend more time on land than mallards, visitors to parks and other sites where people feed waterfowl encountered increased amounts of goose "droppings". Towns began posting "No feeding" signs at some spots and discontinued official feeding programs. The larger geese also competed directly with the mallards for handouts, with each goose consuming as much food as several mallards.
H. Heusmann, MassWildlife Waterfowl Biologist, first noted a decline in the numbers of mallards wintering at feeding spots on the 1998 survey, while the number of Canada geese increased. That decline in mallard numbers continued on the 2003 survey, though by then goose numbers were also declining as less feeding was taking place. What is uncertain is if the Massachusetts mallard population is decreasing or just being redistributed. Mallard numbers in the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Midwinter Waterfowl Inventory, a separate, coastal oriented survey, have gradually increased from a few hundred birds in the 1970s to over 5,000 last year. These results suggest some mallards that typically overwinter on freshwater sites are learning to spend the cold season on coastal saltwater areas. Spring breeding surveys also show little evidence of a decline in breeding mallards in Massachusetts.
During banding studies done on park mallards during 1971-1976, agency biologists discovered that a third of winter banded Massachusetts park ducks were migrants from western and northern areas. "It could be that these birds may no longer find Massachusetts parks an inviting place to overwinter," speculates Heusmann. "In addition to official bans on feeding waterfowl, sometimes backed up by fines, it appears to be less socially acceptable to feed waterfowl. Concerns about Bird Flu, skyrocketing grain prices, and children of the Baby Boomers having pretty much grown up and moved on may also be involved in the cessation of artificial feeding."