Artifact Ingestion in Sea Ducks Wintering at Northeastern Lake Ontario
The incidence of lead shot ingestion in waterfowl has declined in the lower Great Lakes (LGL) following the 1999 Canada-wide ban on use of toxic shot for waterfowl hunting, but few data exist on ingestion frequencies of spent shot or fishing weights for sea ducks wintering at the LGL. Artifact ingestion was evaluated in 269 Buffleheads (Bucephala albeola), 224 Common Goldeneyes (B. clangula) and 256 Long-tailed Ducks (Clangula hyemalis) collected at Lake Ontario during winter 2002-03 and 2003-04.