Food Habits of Sea Ducks in the Atlantic Maritimes and Chesapeake Bay

Numbers of scoters (black, surf, and white-winged) and long-tailed ducks wintering in the Maritime provinces of Canada and the Chesapeake Bay (MD and VA, USA) have noticeably declined in recent years. Common goldeneye populations have also declined, but bufflehead populations have increased in numbers. Changes in the location of these seaduck populations have also been observed and have given managers new concerns.One aspect of this large study dealing with seaducks determines the food habits of seaducks and the habitat being used by wintering ducks in the Maritimes and Chesapeake Bay areas of the Atlantic coast.