Mid-Winter Waterfowl Survey

In January of each year, the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, with assistance from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, conducts an aerial mid-winter waterfowl survey. The mid-winter waterfowl survey is a nationwide effort to survey waterfowl in major winter concentration areas, and occurs in all 4 flyways. In the Atlantic Flyway, the survey occurs from Maine to Florida, and is designed to determine population trends of wintering waterfowl and their distribution in the flyway. For some species, like tundra swans, it is the primary source of information on abundance or trends in the population, because they are either difficult to survey on their breeding grounds using airplanes or they nest in remote and inaccessible Arctic areas.

In North Carolina, the survey is limited primarily to coastal areas with the exception of selected locations along the lower Pee Dee River. The graphs below represent the results from the mid-winter waterfowl survey in North Carolina for selected species from 1961 to the present. When reviewing these graphs, keep in mind the following:

• The survey is coastal oriented.
• The survey counts waterfowl on “open-water” areas. Because of the difficulty in counting waterfowl in wooded habitats (beaver ponds and swamps) these areas are not surveyed well and those species preferring these habitats (wood ducks, mallards) are missed when they occur in these locations.
• Because the survey occurs only once per year in a relatively short time period, the survey provides only a “snapshot” of waterfowl numbers in the state during the winter.
• Ice conditions, when they occur, likely influence results in some years. Extensive icing conditions force waterfowl out of small, isolated wetlands into larger water bodies. When this occurs, they are more easily observed and as a result estimates can be inflated compared to most years under normal weather conditions.

2010 North Carolina Mid-Winter Waterfowl Survey Summary

The 2010 mid-winter waterfowl survey was conducted from January 4th – January 11th. During this low-level aerial survey, all waterfowl were counted in 38 discrete geographic units. This coastal oriented survey covered all major water bodies from approximately Mackay Island in Currituck County to the New River in Onslow County. Several inland lakes as well as a portion of the Yadkin/Pee Dee River system were also surveyed. With the exception of high winds on one day, weather was acceptable throughout for low level flights. Due to extended cold weather, many waterbodies, especially small to medium size creeks and shallow water areas such as portions of Currituck Sound and Lake Mattamuskeet were frozen during the survey period.

Counts of nearly all major species were up when compared to the 2009 survey. Notable increases were observed for gadwall, green-winged teal and redheads. In contrast, scaup were down 92% from last year’s record high count. This year’s scaup count was also 70% below the 60-year average and 82% below the recent 10-year average (Table 1). Although we observed increases in mallards and black ducks from 2009, both species remain well below their long-term average. Lake Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge and surrounding private areas continues to be the core area for concentrations of dabbling ducks. For example, 90% of green-winged teal, 77% of wigeon, 65% of pintails and 64% of gadwall were observed in this area. One of the most striking observations in this year’s mid-winter survey was the distribution of tundra swans. Due to extremely wet weather throughout the fall, very little winter wheat was planted in the northeastern portion of the state and what was planted appeared in very poor condition. Swans traditionally observed in fields were virtually absent in some areas, especially the Tyrrell county area. In contrast, a record high count of swans was recorded in Pamlico County and a near record high count was recorded in the Northampton and Halifax county survey area.

Survey Charts

Mallards	Green-Winged Teal	Scaup	Tundra Swans
Black Ducks	Northern Shovelers	Ring-Necked Ducks
Gadwall	Pintail	Snow Geese
Wigeon	Redhead	Canada Geese

Table 1. 2010 mid-winter waterfowl survey results for selected species.

SPECIES	2010 TOTAL	% CHANGE FROM 2009	% CHANGE FROM 10 YEAR AVERAGE	% CHANGE FROM 60 YEAR AVERAGE
Mallard	7,404	+ 56%	- 2%	- 54%
Black Duck	10,012	+ 30%	+37%	- 35%
Gadwall	23,035	+ 103%	+ 260%	+ 329%
Wigeon	19,265	+ 44%	+ 54%	+ 37%
Green-winged teal	103,294	+ 125%	+ 140%	+ 462%
Pintail	45,414	+ 45%	+ 47%	+ 56%
*All dabblers*	*208,783*	*+ 81%*	*+ 92%*	*+ 108%*
Redhead	21,965	+ 179%	+ 116%	+ 53%
Canvasback	4,918	+ 319%	+ 217%	- 69%
Scaup	9,083	- 92%	- 82%	- 70%
Ring-necked duck	22,200	- 31%	+ 58%	+ 173%
*All divers*	*63,524*	*- 63%*	*- 27%*	*- 30%*
Snow goose	47,105	+ 23%	+ 49%	+ 72%
Canada goose	21,568	+ 3%	+ 41%	- 65%
Tundra swan	70,273	- 8%	+ 1%	+ 84%
All waterfowl (including coots)	*423,112*	*- 4%*	*+ 25%*	*+ 12%*