Winter Waterfowl Survey

Every 5 years, the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife) conducts a winter waterfowl survey of sites where people feed wild ducks and geese. While the feeding of wildlife is discouraged, there is no state law or regulation that prohibits feeding (though some municipalities do restrict or prohibit feeding) and the feeding of ducks on some sites has been going on for decades. MassWildlife's surveys were begun 35 years ago.

Because feeding locations can change from survey to survey, MassWildlife is asking the public to report sites where waterfowl are being fed in winter. Please provide the town name, specific location, date and number of ducks and/or geese seen, preferably by species. The survey period will officially run from January 7 to January 25, 2008. Feeding sites may be reported by letter to H Heusmann, MassWildlife, One Rabbit Hill Rd., Westboro, MA 01568, by phone 508-389-6321 or fax 508-389-7890 or e-mail to h.heusmann@state.ma.us.

The survey is conducted in January and includes sites in urban, suburban, and rural areas on fresh, brackish, and salt water. Feeding may be done regularly by an individual or may be in the form of handouts from various visitors. Feeding sites range from municipal parks where many visitors come to feed the ducks to ducks hanging around back yard bird feeders scavenging on spilled seed or ducks coming for handouts thrown out someone's back door. The survey is state wide.

Mallards are by far the most common duck at feeding sites and many rely on artificial feeding to survive the winter but other ducks may be observed as well. American black ducks are common and wood ducks, pintails, gadwalls, wigeons, hooded mergansers are seen. Increasingly, Canada geese occur at feeding sites, and their presence is often the impetus for towns and cities to pass bylaws prohibiting feeding.

A report on this survey compared to past years will be posted at the end of the survey.