U.S. Dep. Agric. Tech. Bull. 643. 143pp.
Information regarding the status of common eiders Somateria mollissima breeding in the Canadian Arctic is lacking. In 1997, we surveyed five island archipelagoes in the Belcher Islands in Hudson Bay (56 00'-57 30'N, 79 30'-80 00'W) from 3 - 23 July 1997. Our results were compared with eider surveys of the same islands completed between 1985-89 using a standard protocol. This study represents the first population trend data of any common eider population breeding in the eastern Canadian Arctic. 1416 nests were found on 431 islands; most (94.1%) while the female was still incubating.
The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 (MBTA)
The Atlantic Seaduck Project is being conducted to learn more about the breeding and molting areas of seaducks in northern Canada and more about the feeding ecology of seaducks on wintering areas, especially Chesapeake Bay. Satellite telemetry is being used to track surf scoters wintering in Chesapeake Bay, Maryland, and black scoters on migrational staging areas in New Brunswick, Canada, to breeding and molting areas in northern Canada.