Sights of Early Morning Paddling – Waterfowl Brood Surveys

By Wildlife Biologist Carl Tugend

There are about 150 species of waterfowl worldwide, with 34 of these species utilizing habitats in Maine, including dabbling ducks, diving ducks, sea ducks, and geese species. The species present in Maine provide opportunities for the state to help preserve unique waterfowl habitats and also allow for sport hunting of most of these species. However, looking back a few decades North America saw a large decline in waterfowl, and in Maine we have seen declines in black ducks, wood ducks, and goldeneyes. These declines called for alterations to our waterfowl management strategies, which now brings us to discuss some of the ways we manage these species in the State of Maine.

The State of Maine developed a waterfowl management plan which spans from 2006 to 2021. Most of the populations of our waterfowl’s species are classified as species we would like to maintain at the population levels we estimated in 2006. The department however, would like to increase the Black Duck breeding population and reduce the Hooded Merganser breeding population. One key way we can successfully reach some of these population goals is through our summer brood surveys. These surveys involve the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife staff venturing out in kayaks or canoes just before sunrise and paddling in waterfowl habitats throughout the state.

These surveys help us to monitor our breeding populations of waterfowl and coupled with our harvest reports and our waterfowl banding efforts enable our biologists to get accurate population estimates for all 34 species in the state of Maine. These estimates then allow us to better understand whether the populations of these species are increasing or decreasing and helps us make informed management decisions allowing us to alter our approach to curve the populations one way or another.

One of the best aspects of conducting these early morning brood surveys, outside of the data we obtain for our waterfowl species, is that we get to paddle these waterbodies with minimal to no human distractions and can really connect with the Maine outdoors. The vast array of songbirds that we have the pleasure of hearing and seeing along with the other wildlife we get to encounter during these surveys make for an extraordinary outing.

By using a kayak or canoe it allows for almost silent movement, which allows for minimal disturbance of deer, moose, and other Maine wildlife species who may be utilizing this area for water resources, food resources, or breeding opportunities.

During these surveys we have been able to see does with their newly birthed fawns utilizing the grassland along the edge of some of these water bodies. We have also seen moose cows and bulls coming into these shorelines to eat aquatic plants.  We have seen numerous breeding song birds and raptors either building nests or tending to their hungry chicks. We have encountered breeding pairs of loons guarding their nests and young. In addition to these species we also encounter a vast array of reptile and amphibian species along with numerous invertebrates. All of these observations and encounters give our biologists insight into how important these unique habitats are and how they are utilized by many of our state’s species.