“It is important to remember that the Maryland survey results are ultimately pooled with results from other states to provide a measure of the distribution and population size of waterfowl wintering in the Atlantic Flyway,” said Larry Hindman, DNR’s Waterfowl Project Leader. “The survey is conducted in a coordinated manner across the Atlantic Flyway to provide information on the population size for important waterfowl species like black ducks, Atlantic brant and tundra swans.”

Despite the unusually mild weather this year, the number of recorded waterfowl was only slightly lower than last winter. Overall, higher numbers of diving ducks were counted in 2012 (125,300) compared to last winter (115,100), mainly attributed to larger numbers of scaup. In contrast, the canvasback totals this year (14,300) were much lower than last winter (46,100) and were the second lowest ever recorded.

“The decline in canvasbacks was likely related to the mild winter weather in the eastern half of the United States,” said Hindman. “However, they did arrive in the Chesapeake in greater numbers after the survey was completed.”

Survey teams counted slightly fewer Canada geese (342,600) along bay shoreline habitats compared to last year (397,700). Mild temperatures, an abundance of open water and a lack of snow in the northern portion of the Atlantic flyway caused a delay in goose migration and contributed to lower numbers of wintering Canada geese in Maryland. However, like canvasbacks, substantial numbers of Canada geese arrived in Maryland after the survey was done.

The Midwinter Waterfowl Survey has been conducted annually throughout the United States since the early 1950s. The survey provides information on long-term trends in waterfowl. Maryland’s survey data is noted below.

Species	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
Mallard	55,500	58,300	34,200	55,100	57,400
Black Duck	23,000	24,900	22,500	23,000	27,700
Gadwall	3,000	2,800	2,000	6,400	5,000
Widgeon	800	500	300	200	1,400
G-W Teal	4,600	1,400	600	600	3,700
Shoveler	600	400	100	100	200
Pintail	2,000	800	500	1,200	1,200
Total Dabblers	89,500	89,000	60,100	86,600	96,600
Redhead	11,900	12,400	3,400	4,700	4,500
Canvasback	40,100	51,300	26,400	46,100	14,300
Scaup	140,000	51,600	43,500	37,100	69,200
Ring-neck	2,100	1,700	900	1,600	1,300
Goldeneye	800	1,000	600	300	900
Bufflehead	18,400	15,900	13,700	7,800	19,800
Ruddy Duck	19,700	23,600	13,400	17,500	15,300
Total Divers	233,000	157,600	102,000	115,100	125,300
Scoters	2,900	2,900	900	200	5,100
Long-tailed Duck	400	400	200	300	800
Mergansers	4,300	8,900	10,600	7,800	2,800
Total Ducks	330,100	261,000	173,700	210,000	230,600
Brant	1,400	800	1,000	1,500	500
Snow Goose	108,000	61,200	78,600	28,200	43,400
Canada Goose	373,100	498,200	519,500	397,700	342,600
Tundra Swan	11,700	14,200	14,000	14,400	16,600
Total Waterfowl	821,500	836,900	787,100	651,800	633,700