Northern ducks returning

Ronald Bock

Ronald Bock

Active member
We spent a cold rainy morning cleaning and inspecting goldeneye/bufflehead nesting boxes. Part our summer is volunteering to USFWS study of goldeneyes here in AK. Ice isn't completely out of ponds but we have quite a few boxes with hens in them. The rest of the study team and graduate students get in this week. Banding and in depth study begins. Should be a fun summer.20250503_103008.jpg20250503_100950.jpg20250503_092416.jpg
We saw hundreds of pintails, wigeon, Mallards, ringnecks today. Really big numbers of pintails which makes me very happy.
 
We had a meeting today as we wind down the breeding/tagging season. The goldeneye study was very successful after 28 years in operation. We had a record breeding season. In the Chena River drainage ( interior Alaska) we had 176 nesting boxes. Of those boxes 794 goldeneye ducklings were hatched and web tagged. Another 34 buffleheads were hatched and 6 nests still have hens on eggs (potentially 24 more ducklings). This is just tree nesting ducks. Every slough has tons of hens with ducklings ( mallards, pintails, wigeon, etc).
It is one of the most productive years we've seen in interior AK. This summer was quite an adventure.
 
Eric Taylor of USFWS was the director of the goldeneye study since 1997. This is his last year. My daughter and I presented him a Barrows as a going away/retirement gift. An incredible man who put together this very long term study and year after year crews of volunteers. Hats off to this incredible biologist. IMG_4278.jpg
 
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