The Timing of Pair Formation in Harlequin Ducks
The Condor 100:551-555 © The Cooper Ornithological Society 1998
The Condor 100:551-555 © The Cooper Ornithological Society 1998
Habitat use and requirements for wintering birds has only recently received attention compared to breeding habitat use and requirements. For waterfowl, quality wintering habitat is important for not only surviving the winter period, but for courtship and pair bond formation as well. Harlequin Ducks are a small sea duck that nest on mountain streams and winter on coastal rocky shores. We have been marking a portion of the Harlequin Duck population in the Strait of Georgia with small tarsal leg bands annual ly since 1993.
J. Wildl. Manage. 44:217-219
Creches are groups containing any number of adult female(s) and duckling(s), two or more of which are parentally unrelated. Several authors have suggested that the body condition of ducks is a determining factor in parental care and that females in poor condition more readily abandon their young. In 1997 and 1998, 285 adult female Common Eiders breeding on Green Island were captured and nasal tagged. Our objective was to examine the relationship between adult female condition, using multiple measures of body size, and subsequent membership in creche.
Recent studies indicate the Pacific race of the Common Eider has declined dramatically over the past three decades throughout most of its breeding range in North America.