2012 Trends Report Indicates High Duck Breeding Population Numbers
Waterfowl in Lake Bowdoin (Photo credit: USFWS Mountain Prairie ) Although breeding habitat conditions have declined from previous years, the 2012 “Trends in Duck Breeding Populations” report estimates waterfowl production in North America’s duck factory is at a record high. This year’s report estimate of 48.6 million is significantly higher than the 45.6 million birds estimated last year and 43 percent above the long-term average. This annual report summarizes information about the status of duck populations and wetland habitats collected by wildlife biologists from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife and Canadian Wildlife Service for the Waterfowl Breeding Population and Habitat Survey (Survey). The Survey samples more than two million square miles of waterfowl habitat across the United States and Canada. Highlights from the Survey in the north-central United States, south-central and northern Canada, and Alaska (the traditional survey area) include the followin...