FreeLists / tn-bird / [TN-Bird] The Rest of the Story - Scaup

[OLCOOT1@xxxxxxx]

"Bluebill by any other name still a scaup"
http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/home_and_garden/article/0,1426,MCA_523_533
8298,00.html
By Van Harris 
February 9, 2007
VAN WRITES:"Lesser scaup is the most numerous diving duck species in North  
America. Its population seems to be holding fairly steady. Greater scaup have  
shown slow but steady decreases over the last 50 years, especially in their  
traditional Atlantic Coast wintering area."  
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>.                                 >                                     >    
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"This is not to say that greater scaup do not occur in the Mid-South. There  
are a miniscule number of Tennessee records, with only a handful of those from 
 West Tennessee. ".............................
 
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>>
 
I've been counting, ID ing and sending in reports on scaup for a few years  
at the request of some of their researchers so here is..................
The Rest of the Story as Paul Harvey would say..............
 
USFW
The smaller lesser scaup primarily uses the Mississippi Flyway whereas the  
greater scaup uses both the Mississippi and Atlantic Flyways. These species  
remain the most abundant diving ducks in North America, but their populations  
have been â??taking a diveâ?? since the late 1970s. With an estimated 3.73 
million 
 breeding scaup in 2003, the birds are 29% below their long-term average of 
5.28  million. It is the fourth lowest estimate on record since breeding duck 
surveys  began in 1955.

Mississippi State University -
"Bluebills remain the most abundant diving duck in North America," said  
Richard M. Kaminski, waterfowl/wetland ecologist and professor in MSU's 
wildlife  
and fisheries department. "Since the late 1970s, however, their populations 
have  been 'diving.'" 
 
Canadian -Ducks Unlimited 
Winnipeg MB, April 26 - Waterfowl biologists with a  U.S.-based research 
project are urging Canadians to report sightings of  specially marked scaup 
during 
this year's spring migration to better understand  why this duck species has 
suffered serious population declines in recent  decades. These ducks breed 
primarily in the boreal forest and their continental  breeding season 
populations 
have declined by about 40 per cent, reaching  historic lows while populations 
of other common North American waterfowl species  have stabilized or 
increased. 
From the AUK 
The continental scaup population (Lesser [Aythya affinis] and Greater [A.  
marila] combined) has declined markedly since 1978. One hypothesis for the  
population decline states that reproductive success has decreased because 
female  
scaup are arriving on breeding areas in poorer body condition than they did  
historically (i.e. spring condition hypothesis) 
From Birds of America - by LSU 
Numbers using migration routes in Mississippi River valley and river valleys  
of Illinois and Indiana have declined (_Bellrose et al. 1979_ 
(http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/BNA/account/Lesser_Scaup/DEMOGRAPHY_AND_POPULATIONS.html#Lesser_
Scaup_DEMOGRAPHY_AND_POPULATIONS_POPULATION_STATUS_DEFAULT) , _Mumford and 
Keller 1984_ 
(http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/BNA/account/Lesser_Scaup/DEMOGRAPHY_AND_POPULATIONS.html#Lesser_Scaup_DEMOGRAPHY_AND_POPULATIONS_POPULATION_STATUS_D
EFAULT) , _Korschgen 1989_ 
(http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/BNA/account/Lesser_Scaup/DEMOGRAPHY_AND_POPULATIONS.html#Lesser_Scaup_DEMOGRAPHY_AND_POPULATIONS_PO
PULATION_STATUS_DEFAULT) ). On Pool 19 on Mississippi River in se.  Iowa, 
numbers have declined from historic peak of >500,000 in late 1960s (_Thornburg 
1973_ 
(http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/BNA/account/Lesser_Scaup/DEMOGRAPHY_AND_POPULATIONS.html#Lesser_Scaup_DEMOGRAPHY_AND_POPULATIONS_POPULATION_STATUS_DEFAULT)
 ) to 150,000â??200,000 in 1980s (_Korschgen 1989_ (http://bna.
birds.cornell.edu/BNA/account/Lesser_Scaup/DEMOGRAPHY_AND_POPULATIONS.html#Lesser_Scaup_DEMOGRA
PHY_AND_POPULATIONS_POPULATION_STATUS_DEFAULT) ) to 1997 estimates of <20,000 
(S. P.  Havera pers. comm.). 
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> 
On any given winter day in west TN, with time and a scope, you can find  
upwards of a hundred Greater Scaup, at Reelfoot, Memphis or on the TN River at  
Pickwick or Pace Point. By far the easiest viewing, where these birds can  be 
found closer and in numbers for study, would be TVA Lake at Ensley  Bottoms in 
Memphis. Dozens of Greater spend the day here mixed in with  hundreds to 
thousands of Lesser Scaup. (I counted 55 there today 2/10/07)  
The Greater Scaup ID can be confusing at first but with study and time, I've  
taught hundreds of birders these ID points and had them picking the birds out 
in  short order. As anything else the more effort and time spent, the better 
your  results and some come to the realization faster than others.  
I'd be glad to assist anyone in identifying these birds on just about any  
weekend in the winter, just drop me a line. I'm sure Mike Todd in TN or Gene  
Knight in MS would make the same offer if they were available at the time of  
your request. Try these photos for a quick over view of the ID challenge, click 
 
"next" to go through the slides and you can change the sizes of the image to 
fit  your screen by clicking on the sizes offered below the text: 
_http://www.pbase.com/image/26212936_ (http://www.pbase.com/image/26212936)  


 (http://w/) Good  Birding !!!

Jeff R. Wilson / TLBA
6298 Memphis-Arlington  Road
Bartlett, TN 38135



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