Migrating and Wintering Waterfowl

This book explores the remarkable journeys that ducks, geese, and swans undertake each year in search of suitable migratory stopover and wintering habitats. It delves into the seasonal challenges that dictate the lives of waterfowl, highlighting their mobility, evolved behaviors, and nutritional strategies that allow them to be successful in an ever-changing world. The narrative combines scientific insights with field observations, offering a detailed understanding of the remarkable adaptations of this heavily studied group of birds and the conservation efforts undertaken to ensure their sustainability.

The book discusses the major migratory routes in North America, such as the Atlantic, Mississippi, Central, and Pacific Flyways, and how waterfowl rely on diverse wetlands and anthropogenically influenced landscapes as critical habitat. The importance of these habitats for feeding and resting is emphasized, as is the growing pressure from habitat loss and climate change.

In addition, the book examines the unique behaviors of waterfowl during the non-breeding period. It shows that wintering areas are not just endpoints of migration but vital ecosystems where birds prepare for the next breeding cycle. The book also explains current conservation efforts aimed at non-breeding habitats, with a final chapter on future challenges and opportunities for waterfowl conservation.

Overall, the book serves as a thoroughly researched synthesis of our historical and contemporary understanding of waterfowl as a group of species that have captivated humans for centuries and motivated unmatched levels of conservation investment. By weaving information on movement patterns, behaviors, habitat use, nutritional requirements, survival, and management strategies to address current and future threats, it underscores the interconnectedness of landscapes and the urgent need to protect them. Readers are left with a greater appreciation for the complexity of waterfowl during the nonbreeding period and the challenges waterfowl face in an increasingly human-altered world.

Dr. Bart M. Ballard holds the C. Berdon and Rolanette Lawrence Endowed Chair in Waterfowl Research with the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. He also serves as chair of the Department of Rangeland and Wildlife Sciences. Additionally, he is a Regents Professor which is the highest honor bestowed by the Texas A&M System on faculty members for outstanding teaching, research, and service. He received a Ph.D. in Wildlife Science from Texas A&M University-Kingsville, an M.S. in Range and Wildlife Management from Texas A&I University, and a B.S. in Wildlife Biology from Iowa State University. Bart has worked for over 30 years directing research on waterfowl and waterbird ecology and management along the Texas coast and throughout North America. His research program strives to provide science-based management recommendations to land managers, and through which, also train the next generation of wildlife biologists.

Dr. Michael (Mike) G. Brasher is Senior Waterfowl Scientist for Ducks Unlimited Inc., in Memphis, Tennessee. Mike received a Ph.D. in Ecosystem Science and Management from The Ohio State University (2010), and an M.S. in Wildlife Ecology (2000) and B.S. in Wildlife and Fisheries Science (1997) from Mississippi State University. Mike served for 13 years as Biological Team Leader for the Gulf Coast Joint Venture partnership in Lafayette, Louisiana, where he helped coordinate priority waterfowl science needs and integrated contemporary findings into landscape-scale conservation planning. In his current position, Mike collaborates with DU staff and partners to strengthen the scientific foundation of DU’s conservation activities, ensuring that DU’s habitat work is focused on issues and places of greatest importance to continental waterfowl populations.

Dr. Joseph P. Fleskes worked for 40 years to improve the scientific foundation of North American waterfowl management. For the last 30, he focused on Pacific Flyway issues, providing critical guidance for the Central Valley and Intermountain West Joint Ventures and their partners. His research relating improvements in waterfowl body condition and other changes in waterfowl ecology to landscape changes was especially effective in strengthening support for habitat programs. In between earning his B.S. (1980) in Fish and Wildlife Biology and M.S. (1986) in Wildlife Ecology at Iowa State University, Joe worked with Northern Prairie and Patuxent Wildlife Research Centers studying waterfowl ecology in the Prairie-Parkland breeding and Lower Mississippi Valley wintering areas. After completing his M.S. in 1986, Joe joined the USFWS Dixon Field Station (later USGS Western Ecological Research Center). His study on San Joaquin Valley pintails earned Joe his Ph.D. at Oregon State University. Partnering with numerous organizations, Joe expanded his waterfowl program into multi-species studies of winter, spring migration, and molt ecology, avian influenza, and impacts of climate, urbanization, and water management on Central Valley habitat.