Pre-Season Duck Banding on Yukon Delta National Wildlife ... YDNWR duck banding report.pdfendorsed...

USFWS, Yukon Delta NWR – Pre-Season Duck Banding on Yukon Delta NWR, 2018 1

Pre-Season Duck Banding on Yukon Delta National

Wildlife Refuge, Alaska, 2018

BRYAN L. DANIELS, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Yukon Delta National Wildlife

Refuge, P.O. Box 346, Bethel, AK 99559

SUMMARY: Banding data is used to inform the annual regulation-setting process for the duck harvest season in the Pacific Flyway, and in the Adaptive Harvest Management modeling

process. Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge is a site that contributes to a statewide goal for

the Pacific Flyway. Six waterfowl swim-in traps were active during the 2018 pre-season duck

banding efforts at Kgun Lake, Yukon Delta NWR. A total of 256 northern pintail (Anas acuta),

57 mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), and 254 American green-winged teal (Anas crecca) were

banded between 4-23 August 2018, with no banding goals being reached due to high water.

Because banding goals haven’t been reached for many years, we believed Kgun Lake was no

longer a productive enough location to continue banding efforts, so a new, more productive

location was sought out where goals could be routinely met. Unfortunately, no location was

found meeting criteria needed to move banding efforts in 2019. Pre-season waterfowl banding

continues to provide vital data to inform management decisions for mallards based on harvest

rates. (Data Submitted to BBL 11 September 2018; Report Completed October 2018)

KEYWORDS American Green-winged Teal, Bait Trapping, Banding, Kgun Lake

Mallard, Northern Pintail, Swim-in Traps, Yukon Delta NWR, Waterfowl,

INTRODUCTION

In March 1990, the Pacific Flyway Council

endorsed the Pacific Flyway Study

Committee’s banding project described in a

document titled “A Proposed 5-year

Cooperative Program for Preseason Banding

of Mallards and Pintails in the Pacific

Flyway” (Bartonek and Bales 1995). The

objective of the proposal was to “conduct

sufficient and representative summer

banding to obtain adequate band-recovery

data as a necessary element for assessing the

distribution and derivation of mallard and

pintail harvests in the Pacific Flyway.” The

project sought adequate band-recovery data

on ducks, especially mallards, pintails, and

other dabblers, as part of an assortment of

information required to estimate distribution

of duck harvests in the flyway.

Banding goals and responsibility for

providing field crews were assigned to

regions likely to contribute toward the

Pacific Flyway harvest. With the Yukon

Delta National Wildlife Refuge (YDNWR)

being identified as a major sub-arctic

breeding area for Northern pintail (Flint and

Grand 1996), the YDNWR was selected by

the Council as an important banding location

to provide a field crew. The banding quota

given to YDNWR was 900 northern pintail

(Anas acuta; 225 per age/sex class; NOPI or

pintail) and 600 mallards (Anas

platyrhynchos; 150 per age/sex class;

MALL). A memo from the Regional

Directorate in Anchorage, AK (USFWS

1990) formally charged YDNWR with

fulfilling this responsibility.

Recent trends in American green-winged


teal (Anas crecca; AGWT) population size

and distribution prompted an increased

banding effort to understand regional

contributions and demographic

characterization of harvest and survival

parameters (pers. comm. Bob Trost, former

Pacific Flyway Representative). A tertiary

goal of 300 AGWT (75 per age/sex class)

was added to YDNWR banding

responsibilities in 2012.

Banding goals and purpose for continuing

preseason duck banding on YDNWR were

reassessed in November 2015 (Appendix A).

Banding data is used to inform the annual

regulation-setting process for the duck

[harvest] season in the Pacific Flyway, and

in the Adaptive Harvest Management

modeling process; YDNWR is a site that

contributes to a statewide goal for the

Pacific Flyway. The Chief of the Population

and Habitat Assessment branch revised state

goals for mallards in 2010. Based on the

revised state goals, the Anchorage Migratory

Bird Management (MBM) office suggested

the Refuge aim for 1,000 total mallards

starting in 2015, focusing on adult male

mallards.

While the Pacific Flyway does not currently

utilize pintail banding data to directly inform

management decisions, the Harvest

Management Working Group has identified

revising the national pintail harvest strategy

to use harvest rates from band data as a

national priority. To make progress on

implementing this pintail harvest strategy,

there is a need for continued banding of

Northern pintail with a goal, similar to

mallards, of 1,000 individuals banded at

YDNWR.

In 2018, YDNWR conducted an additional

activity with the preseason banding

operation: sampling for avian influenza. As

part of a national plan for early detection of

Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI),

YDNWR worked in coordination with

United States Department of Agriculture

APHIS (Palmer, AK) to sample a small

portion of waterfowl on the Refuge.

Because avian influenza largely circulates in

waterfowl and shorebirds, this allows the

viruses to move efficiently along migratory

flyways in these birds. Occasionally, such

viruses will infect domestic land-based

poultry that generally do not result in

significant disease issues. However, some

H5 and H7 avian influenza subtypes are

highly pathogenic (HPAI) and can cause

significant disease and mortality in domestic

poultry and sometimes in wild birds

(Deliberto et al. 2015). Therefore, ongoing

sampling occurs nationwide.

The YDNWR was also asked to collect a

single primary feather from both mallard

and Northern pintail. Mark Herzog of

United States Geological Survey (USGS)-

Dixon, California requested the feathers so

that they can compare isotopes of birds

between Alaska and California.

Kgun Lake was an important molting and

stop-over location for Mallards and

Northern pintail in the early 1990’s. Since

then, fewer mallards have been caught every

year, and pintail captures have also

decreased. In addition to banding operations,

feather collection, and avian influenza

sampling at Kgun Lake in 2018, a new

location was sought out via aerial

reconnaissance to set up pre-season duck

banding operations for 2019 as a result of

the Pacific Flyways request that YDNWR

continue preseason duck banding operations.

SITE DESCRIPTION

Kgun is a large lake located approximately

85 miles NW of Bethel and 40 miles WSW

of Pilot Station, AK within the interior

portion of Yukon Delta National Wildlife

Refuge (Figure 1). Secondary water bodies


surrounding the lake consist of smaller

lakes, ponds, and sloughs that are strongly

affected by wind action and rainfall.

Primary vegetation types include dwarf

scrub habitat punctuated by graminoid

meadows, and forb and graminoid marshes

(USFWS 1988). The western edge of Kgun

Lake has been used as a duck banding

station since the 1980’s when aerial surveys

indicated high concentrations of pintail in

the area.

Reconnaissance- A new location for pre-

season banding was sought out. The new

location must have met a few key criteria to

be considered:

1) 3000 mallards/3000 pintail seen in area during reconnaissance missions

2) Must be a location where a float plane or plane on tundra tires can

land/take off easily

3) Must have an easily accessible area to establish a new camp.

4) Must be able to be maneuvered by boat during banding operations

5) Must be in an area with little to no subsistence harvest because baiting

will be occurring.

With these criteria, a few locations were

recommended by Aaron Moses and WCC

members to focus reconnaissance (Figure 1).

1) Dall Lake

2) East of Newtok along Baird Inlet

3) West of Kotlik

METHODS

See Kgun Lake SOP for detailed methods

and trap locations (T:\Biology Program

2018\Kgun_duck banding) and Kgun Corn

Purchasing SOP (T:\Waterfowl

Program\KGUN\KGUN 2016).

Trap Set Up - In 2018, five cloverleaf swim-

in waterfowl traps and one small swim-in

waterfowl trap were deployed in the

northwest region of Kgun Lake. Trap

locations were selected based on water

depth, number of birds present, historic and

current waterfowl use of an area,

accessibility, and signs of predators. Once a

location was deemed suitable, the site was

pre-baited with whole kernel corn for 1-5

days and checked daily for presence of

birds.

At each location the larger cloverleaf traps

would be “soft set” by erecting a 3-piece

metal fence enclosure (with three openings

for birds to swim into the trap), and a door

leading to a ramp and catch box with the top

of the enclosure left open so the birds could

acclimate to the new structure. The smaller

single cloverleaf trap only had a single

opening with no ramp or catch box. During

the “soft set” period the top netting was left

off both the large and small traps. If little or

no bird activity was observed, the site would

be abandoned and another location chosen.

If birds were observed near the trap area, the

trap would be “hard-set” by fixing a 2” mesh

net over the top of the enclosure, the ramp

door(s) set, and the opening(s) of the

enclosure adjusted to an optimal width for

birds to swim in while decreasing the

likelihood of escape. All traps were checked

twice per day, once in the morning and early

evening. In an attempt to understand and

mitigate predation events, a trail camera was

deployed at each trap site, programmed to

take a picture every 60 seconds and record

date, time, and trap ID of photo.

Capture – When corralling birds in the large

traps for processing, two people would

approach the trap and circle around on

opposite sides to concentrate birds in the

center and discourage escapement through

enclosure openings. Once on the far side of

the trap from the catch box, the crew would


begin to walk back to the catch box, herding

the birds, encouraging them to enter the

ramp and into the catch box. Once the birds

were past the ramp door, the hinged trap

door would be released thereby preventing

birds from backtracking into the main trap

enclosure. The birds then move up the ramp

and into the catch box where a vertical

wooden paddle would be secured to further

concentrate the birds and prevent them from

exiting back down the ramp.

For the small trap, one person would use a

dip net to retrieve the ducks, removing them

through the trap opening. The birds were

then placed in a transport crate and

transported to the boat for processing and

release.

Banding- Each unbanded bird, upon capture,

was fitted on the right leg with an aluminum

band issued by the Bird Banding

Laboratory. If a bird was a recapture (i.e.

already had a band upon capture), the band

number was recorded along with its age and

sex if originally banded prior to 2018.

Data collected included band number,

bander, bird status, band disposition,

species, age, how aged, sex, how sexed,

banding location, how captured, date, trap

ID, morning or evening capture, avian

influenza sample number, if a first primary

feather was collected, and additional

comments. Each bird was released once it

was banded and all data recorded.

Avian Influenza Sampling- Oral and cloacal

swab samples were obtained from 199 birds

to test for highly pathogenic avian influenza.

A gentle insertion and slight manipulation of

separate sterile cotton-tipped applicator

sticks in the mouth and cloaca were required

to obtain the samples. Both samples were

combined into one sample tube per bird,

deposited in a cryoshipper back at camp and

transported to APHIS in Palmer, AK upon

return to Bethel. Full protocol for avian

influenza sampling can be found in Wild

Bird Avian Influenza Surveillance

Procedures Manual Version 1.0 July 1,

2016.

First Primary Feather Sampling- A single

first primary feather was collected from the

right wing of 25 mallards and 25 Northern

pintail. These samples were collected by the

request of Mark Herzog at USGS- Dixon,

CA for a stable isotope study.

Reconnaissance- Reconnaissance was flown

at low levels (


inactivity. We did not observe any other

predator activity at the other locations

during the trapping period.

Banding – A total of 567 ducks were

banded, with three species of ducks

captured: NOPI, MALL, and AGWT.

A total of 256 NOPI were banded, falling

below the 29 year trapping average (Figure

3). All age and sex classes banded were

below the 250 capture goal with 56 After

Hatch Year (AHY) males, 54 AHY females,

68 Hatch Year (HY) males, and 78 HY

females (Table 1).

MALL captures were below the 29 year

average (61) at 57 birds captured and

banded (Figure 4). Mallards do not have

age/sex capture goals, as AHY male

mallards are the primary target. Of the 57

birds captured, we banded 40 AHY males, 8

AHY females, 6 HY males, 3 HY females

(Table 2).

A total of 254 AGWT were captured and

banded, falling below the 29-year banding

average of 364 (Figure 5). Only the 109

AHY males captured reached the goal of 75

or more birds per age class. Where the 18

AHY females, 65 HY males, and 62 HY

females were banded fell short of the goal

(Table 3).

Squiggly 2 trap was the most productive trap

with 147 birds banded, followed by N3

(105), then NOPI 1, NOPI 2, N2 and N1

(100, 90, 86, 39 respectively; Table 4).

Recaptures – There were 8 recaptures (2

AGWT, 5 NOPI, and 1 MALL) of birds

banded prior to 2018.

Injury, Mortality, and Depredation – One

AGWT was injured in the transport box.

The foot had slipped through the holes in the

bottom of the box at the same time is was set

down on a hard surface, severing its left

foot. The bird appeared to be in good health

otherwise and was banded and released.

All mortality was associated with one

depredation event that occurred on 17

August, 2018 (Table 5). A total of 20 birds

were killed by a mink (Neovison vison)

(Figure 6).

Avian Influenza – The 199 samples were

collected from 4 – 12 August 2018. Total

number of samples for each species

collected was 52 AGWT, 116 NOPI, and 31

MALL.

Reconnaissance- A total of 3 hours were

flown in a refuge Cessna 185 on 9 August

searching Dall and Kagalurpuk Lakes

(figure 7) at low levels to locate a new

banding location.

During the reconnaissance flight, 4000

NOPI and 1000 Greater scaup were found

on Kagalurpak Lake, and 2000 NOPI found

on the northeast section of Dall Lake.

DISCUSSION

In 2018, the number of trap days remained

similar to previous years, but traps were less

productive. We observed that it took longer

for ducks to find the bait and come regularly

to corn in 2018, which increased the amount

of days pre-baiting before setting traps. In

combination with high water at the end of

the trapping period, many of the traps were

mostly underwater and were unproductive.

We had fewer depredation events in 2018

than 2017 (1 vs 5, respectively), and

although traps were open more regularly, we

caught fewer birds after the depredation

event than in the past. Squiggly 2 trap was

closed for a full day on 17 August after the

one predation event, opened during daylight

hours on the 18th

, then reopened full time

beginning on the 19th

. However, it appeared

that the ducks had moved away from the

trap location and no more birds were


captured at this location. In 2016 and 2017,

we were able to catch birds during daylight

hours after predation events occurred.

The water levels at Kgun Lake and

surrounding sloughs are highly influenced

by wind and rain. Overall, the water levels

were considerably higher than in recent

years (2014-2017) and continued to rise

during the month of August. Over the 25

days, we observed the water rise to the point

of almost submerging 3 of the traps (NOPI

1, NOPI 2, and N2). Photos from the game

camera set at NOPI 1 showed that the water

level rose approximately 254 mm (10

inches; five 2 inch sections of wire) from the

time the trap was set to time of removal.

Due to the high water levels, NOPI 1 was

closed the night of 16 August out of concern

that the birds could drown if water levels

rose any higher. On14 August the crew only

visited NOPI 1 and NOPI 2 during the

evening check due to heavy rains that began

while the crew was working the north traps.

The heavy rain and wind conditions made it

unsafe for boat operations to continue

checking the remainder of the traps that

morning.

Higher water allowed easier boat access to

traps, but made the traps less efficient.

Moving traps at this date (17 August) was

not possible, given constraints of amount of

corn needed to bait new areas, and not

enough time to get birds acclimated to traps

in new areas.

The Yukon Delta NWR fell well below

capture and banding goals for the two target

species: NOPI and MALL. Reasons that

capture goals were not met in 2018 could be

due to the following hypotheses:

1) In 2018, birds experienced a late hatch and molt, so many birds had

not yet made it to Kgun Lake by the

end of the trapping period. Upon

arrival to Kgun Lake, females with

young local broods were still being

seen which indicated a late hatch.

Fewer birds also concentrated in the

larger water bodies for loafing and

feeding (where traps are set), and

utilized smaller ponds and sloughs in

areas inaccessible to researchers. We

also observed a lower abundance of

NOPI at Kgun lake in 2018. Previous

years experienced an influx of adult

male NOPI towards the end of the

season after molt, which did not

occur during the trapping period in

2018.

2) Due to higher water, there was plenty of food available in flooded

vegetation that had been unflooded

the previous 3 years, and therefore

ducks were not searching for

alternate food sources (our bait).

Birds were also seen feeding and

loafing in deep water where traps

could not be set and in inaccessible

areas to researchers.

3) When the typhoon came through mid August, the water rose 254 cm, and

our traps were then set in too deep of

locations. The bait was harder to

locate by birds and entering the traps

was more difficult due to high water,

essentially making 3 of our traps

useless.

The new smaller trap (N3) proved to be a

success and was the most productive for

total birds captured (181) and second most

productive for new birds banded (105). This

was due to the ability to set the trap in high

use area and greater variability in depth and

orientation to the bank.

Over the previous 28 years, the NOPI

banding success has fluctuated, but efforts

have not met any NOPI capture goals since

2008. Banding goals for mallards has never


been met, with a decrease in banded birds

since 1992. Although it is known the Yukon

Delta is not a major mallard production area,

we have been asked to continue banding as

many as we can.

In 2018 the number of MALL banded

improved (57) but is still below the long

term average of 61 mallards banded/year.

The Refuge has never come close to its

previous goal of 600 and now 1,000

mallards. Realistic goals need to be

discussed with the Pacific Flyway to ensure

the effort YDNWR exerts is useful and

necessary to achieve banding objectives.

The tertiary goal of banding 300 AGWT

was not met, falling just short at 254 birds.

However, the goal (75) for AHY males

(109) was met for 2018. This decline from

last year’s total of 995 birds, was due to

higher water levels, trap location, and a

greater effort towards tapping more MALL

and NOPI. HY birds in particular were much

lower, which is likely due to later hatch

dates. Upon arrival at Kgun, there were

several class I (downy) and class II

(incompletely feathered; Southwick 1953)

broods of AGWT in the area.

Although the crew made a diligent effort to

ensure the safety and wellbeing of every

bird, injury can occur during trapping. One

injury occurred on 9 August at N3 trap site.

The left foot of an AGWT got caught on

transport box which caused the loss of the

foot. Given that the bird was active,

responsive and in good condition otherwise,

the band was placed on the right leg to allow

biologists to continue following the history

of this bird. The bird flew off immediately

upon release. There were no other trapping

related injuries bacause the crew learned

how to avoid the same injury from occurring

again.

There was a single depredation event at

Squiggly 2 resulting in the death of 20 birds

(19 AGWT and 1 NOPI). The birds were

found piled in the catch box on the morning

of 17 August. The physical evidence pointed

towards mink predation and review of the

camera footage confirmed mink as the

predator. Previous review of camera photos

done on 15 August did not indicate any

presence of predators up to that point. Sites

were scrutinized and selected to minimize

depredation as much as possible, while

providing proper conditions for capture

success. Cameras, regular trap checks, and

trap location selection is crucial to mitigate

against depredation.

Avian influenza samples were sent to the lab

and complete analysis has not been

conducted by APHIS. Preliminary results

showed one bird had low-pathogenic H5

strain of avian influenza. Previous years

have not detected any HPAI in our samples,

but non-highly pathogenic strains have been

detected.

During 3 hours of reconnaissance flying, no

location was found that met the criteria to

consider moving duck banding operations

from Kgun Lake immediately. The best

location found was Kagalurpak lake, with >

4,000 NOPI seen, >1000 Greater Scaup, and

a few mallards. The next suitable location

was on the northeast section of Dall Lake,

with 2000 NOPI seen, and a few mallards.

We propose to fly the same location in 2019

to determine if there are still birds utilizing

the area, or if they were in this location due

to higher water due to heavy rains in 2018.

There are two possible reasons mallards

were not detected during reconnaissance

flights. The first could be that we did not fly

over the lake or portion of the lake that held

mallards. As we found on Kgun Lake during

reconnaissance in 2017, birds congregate on


a certain area of the lake, and unless a flight

is conducted directly over the area, it is easy

to miss birds.

Second, reconnaissance may have been

flown too soon. As stated previously, we

believe hatch and molt occurred late. If this

were the case, many birds may have been in

cover (hiding in tall grass) during daylight

periods, which limit observer’s ability to

detect birds. If this were the case, these

cryptic birds may have simply gone

undetected if they were in the locations we

flew. From observations made at Kgun

Lake, mallards also tend to stay in the grass

and vegetation throughout the month, and so

mallards may never be seen in large

numbers in the middle of the lakes.

During the 2017 Fall Waterfowl

Conservation Committee meeting, a

representative from Kotlik recommended we

look west of Kotlik and in the Yukon

Drainage for birds, stating many ducks use

that area, with very few people hunting

ducks in the fall. In 2018, we were unable to

survey this area due to weather and plane

unavailability. In 2019, it is recommended to

survey this area aerially as well, in addition

to continuing duck banding efforts at Kgun

Lake.

MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS

Although our sample sizes are small, pre-

season waterfowl banding throughout

Alaska provides vital data to inform

management decisions based on harvest

rates of MALL.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The success of this project would not have

been possible without the hard work,

patience and willingness to get dirty of the

waterfowl crew members, Heather Johnson,

Randall Friendly, Mikaela Aroff, Jordan

Thompson and Christian Bartell. Thank you

to YDNWR staff for providing exceptional

logistic support, especially pilot Robert

Sundown for his understanding and

exceptional aviation support. Finally, thanks

to David Sinnet with USDA APHIS in

Palmer, AK for coordinating avian influenza

sample logistics including data and sample

submission to the lab, and interpreting lab

results.


LITERATURE CITED

Bartonek, J.C., and B.D. Bales. 1995. Pacific Flyway Council’s Duck Banding Projeect in the Western United

States and Western Canada: Preliminary Information From 1990-93 Bandings. April 1995.

Deliberto, T., P. Bright, J. Sleeman, S Gibbs, R. Anglin, S. Trock, and D. Styles. 2015. Early Detection and

Monitoring for Avian Influenzas of Significance in Wild Birds: A U.S. Interagency Strategic Plan. June 2015.

Flint, P.L., and J. B. Grand. 1996. Nesting Success of Northern Pintails on the coastal Yukon-Kukokwim Delta,

Alaska. The Condor 98: 54-60.

Southwick, C. 1953. A system of age classification for field studies of waterfowl broods. The Journal of

Wildlife Management 17:1-8.

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. 1988. Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge Comprehensive Conservation Plan,

Environmental Impact Assessment, Wilderness Review, and Wild River Plan. Anchorage, AK. January 1988.

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. 1990. Preseason pintail and mallard banding in Alaska - 1990.

Memo to field stations. Regional Directorate, Refuges and Wildlife, Anchorage, AK. 20 April 1990.

Wild Bird Avian Influenza Surveillance Protocol Procedures Manual. Version 1.0 July 1, 2016. Interagency

document. 44 pp.


Table 1. Total number of Northern pintail banded at Kgun Lake by age and sex from 1990-2018; data in bold green

indicate target goal of 225 banded was achieved.

Year AHY♂ AHY♀ HY♂ HY♀

Total

# % # % # % # %

1990 133 (39.3)a

99 (29.3)

61 (18.0)

45 (13.3)

338

1991 386 (25.1)

564 (36.6)

287 (18.6)

301 (19.6)

1,539b

1992 509 (33.2)

409 (26.7)

276 (18.1)

332 (21.7)

1,528c

1993 668 (48.9)

331 (24.2)

181 (13.2)

186 (13.6)

1,368d

1994 801 (56.3)

213 (15.0)

208 (14.6)

200 (14.1)

1,422

1995 311 (29.0)

290 (27.1)

200 (18.7)

270 (25.2)

1,071

1996 331 (46.2)

233 (32.5)

77 (10.8)

75 (10.5)

716

1997 217 (26.3)

183 (22.2)

195 (23.6)

231 (28.0)

826

1998 875 (57.2)

403 (26.3)

147 (9.6)

106 (6.9)

1,531

1999 641 (69.8)

150 (16.3)

60 (6.5)

67 (7.3)

918

2000 246 (20.3)

198 (16.4)

376 (31.1)

389 (32.2)

1,209

2001 751 (61.2)

370 (30.2)

53 (4.3)

53 (4.3)

1,227

2002 228 (24.4)

240 (25.7)

209 (22.3)

258 (27.6)

935

2003 35 (5.5)

77 (12.0)

251 (39.2)

278 (43.4)

641

2004 3 (0.4)

23 (3.4)

261 (38.6)

390 (57.6)

677

2005 326 (26.6)

218 (17.8)

334 (27.2)

349 (28.4)

1,227

2006 339 (35.2)

305 (31.7)

135 (14.0)

184 (19.1)

963

2007 359 (25.4)

317 (22.5)

345 (24.4)

391 (27.7)

1,412

2008 551 (41.5)

406 (30.6)

158 (11.9)

212 (16.0)

1,327

2009 176 (17.9)

192 (19.5)

317 (32.1)

301 (30.5)

988

2010 46 (34.8)

19 (14.5)

34 (26.0)

32 (24.4)

131

2011 168 (30.7)

97 (17.7)

126 (23.0)

157 (28.6)

548

2012 119 (54.1)

53 (24.1)

23 (10.5)

25 (11.4)

220

2013 88 (27.1)

74 (22.8)

84 (25.8)

79 (24.7)

325

2014 12 (3.8)

9 (2.9)

152 (48.7)

139 (44.6)

312

2015 96 (24.5)

86 (21.9)

122 (31.1)

88 (22.4)

392

2016 22 (8.7) # 70 (27.6)

47 (18.5)

114 (44.9)

254f

2017 3 (2.7)

9 (8.0)

36 (31.9)

65 (57.5)

113

2018 56 (21.9) 54 (21.1) 68 (26.6) 78 (30.5) 256

Total 8,440 (35.0) 5,638 (23.3) 4,755 (19.7) 5,317 (22.0) 24,414e

29-Year

Average 293 196 166 186 0 842

a Figures in parentheses are percentages of annual totals.

b Total includes 1 bird of unknown age and sex.

c Total includes 1 hatch year bird of unknown sex and 1 bird of unknown age and sex.

d Total includes 2 local birds of unknown sex.

e Total includes 1 hatch year bird of unknown sex, 2 local birds of unknown sex, and 2 birds of

unknown age and sex. f Total includes 1 adult of unknown sex.


Table 2. Total number of mallards banded at Kgun Lake by age and sex from 1990-2018; data in bold green indicate

target goal of 150 banded was achieved.

Year AHY♂ AHY♀ HY♂ HY♀ Local ♂ Local ♀

Total # % # % # % # % # % # %

1992 169 (83.7) 18 (8.9) 5 (2.5) 10 (5.0) 0 - 0 - 202

1993 123 (78.8) 7 (4.5) 7 (4.5) 19 (12.2) 0 - 0 - 156

1994 165 (71.1) 22 (9.5) 5 (2.2) 11 (4.7) 12 (5.2) 17 (7.3) 232

1995 86 (82.7) 9 (8.7) 5 (4.8) 4 (3.8) 0 - 0 - 104

1996 146 (88.0) 16 (9.6) 3 (1.8) 1 (0.6) 0 - 0 - 166

1997 21 (52.5) 10 (25.0) 0 - 9 (22.5) 0 - 0 - 40

1998 15 (93.8) 1 (6.30) 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 16

1999 36 (75.0) 6 (12.5) 1 (2.1) 0 - 4 (8.3) 1 (2.1) 48

2000 32 (68.1) 1 (2.1) 12 (25.5) 2 (4.3) 0 - 0 - 47

2001 42 (95.5) 2 (4.5) 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 44

2002 3 (60.0) 1 (20.0) 0 - 1 (20.0) 0 - 0 - 5

2003 1 (16.7) 2 (33.3) 1 (16.7) 2 (33.3) 0 - 0 - 6

2004 4 (12.9) 4 (12.9) 13 (41.9) 10 (32.2) 0 - 0 - 31

2005 27 (75.0) 2 (5.6) 5 (13.9) 2 (5.6) 0 - 0 - 36

2006 18 (69.2) 2 (7.7) 1 (3.8) 0 - 2 (7.7) 3 (11.5) 26

2007 86 (64.2) 17 (12.7) 16 (11.9) 10 (7.5) 3 (2.2) 2 (1.5) 134

2008 72 (79.1) 11 (12.1) 5 (5.5) 3 (3.3) 0 - 0 - 91

2009 30 (83.3) 4 (11.1) 1 (2.8) 1 (2.8) 0 - 0 - 36

2010 1 (100) 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 1

2011 41 (83.6) 4 (8.2) 0 - 0 - 2 (4.1) 2 (4.1) 49

2012 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0

2013 11 (84.6) 1 (7.7) 1 (7.7) 0 - 0 - 0 - 13

2014 0 - 0 - 0 - 1 (100) 0 - 0 - 1

2015 8 (33.3) 2 (8.3) 8 (33.3) 2 (8.3) 2 (8.3) 1 (4.2) 24

2016 21 (42.0) 9 (18.0) 9 (18.0) 5 (10.0) 2 (4.0) 4 (8.0) 50

2017 28 (70.0) 5 (12.5) 5 (12.5) 2 (5.0) 0 - 0 - 40

2018 40 (70.2) 8 (14.0) 5 (8.8) 1 (1.8) 1 (1.8) 2 (3.5) 57

Total 1,226 (75.4) 164 (9.4) 108 (5.9) 96 (5.8) 28 (1.7) 32 (1.7) 1,655

27-Year

Average 45 6 4 4 1 1 61 a Total includes one bird of unknown age and sex


Table 3. Total number of American green-winged teal banded at Kgun Lake by age and sex from 1990-2018; data in

bold green indicate target goal of 75 banded was achieved.

Year AHY♂ AHY♀ HY♂ HY♀

Total # % # % # % # %

1990 21 (16.5) 62 (48.8) 26 (20.5) 18 (14.2) 127

1991 3 (50.0) 3 (50.0) 0 - 0 - 9a

1992 17 (31.5) 35 (64.8) 2 (3.7) 0 - 54

1993 1 (14.3) 6 (85.7) 0 - 0 - 7

1994 45 (95.7) 1 (2.1) 0 - 1 (2.1) 48b

1995 5 (83.3) 0 - 0 - 1 (16.7) 6

1996 9 (81.8) 0 - 1 (9.1) 1 (9.1) 11

1997 103 (29.6) 20 (5.7) 145 (41.7) 80 (23.0) 348

1998 43 (33.9) 20 (15.7) 49 (38.6) 15 (11.8) 127

1999 65 (40.9) 10 (6.3) 46 (28.9) 38 (23.9) 159

2000 209 (21.0) 65 (6.5) 382 (38.4) 339 (34.1) 995

2001 68 (81.0) 10 (11.9) 4 (4.8) 2 (2.4) 84

2002 36 (34.6) 14 (13.5) 23 (22.1) 31 (29.8) 104

2003 75 (13.7) 22 (4.0) 249 (45.4) 203 (37.0) 549

2004 81 (9.1) 37 (4.2) 464 (52.1) 309 (34.7) 891

2005 283 (39.7) 72 (10.1) 189 (26.5) 169 (23.7) 713

2006 306 (56.7) 66 (12.2) 94 (17.4) 74 (13.7) 540

2007 271 (40.2) 74 (11.0) 185 (27.4) 144 (21.4) 674

2008 187 (55.5) 48 (14.2) 59 (17.5) 43 (12.8) 337

2009 106 (30.4) 36 (10.3) 129 (37.0) 78 (22.3) 349

2010 234 (38.0) 90 (14.6) 153 (24.8) 136 (22.1) 616

2011 538 (61.5) 96 (11.0) 148 (16.9) 93 (10.6) 875

2012 11 (10.7) 22 (21.4) 34 (33.0) 36 (35.0) 103

2013 48 (14.1) 59 (17.4) 113 (33.2) 119 (35.0) 340c

2014 0 0.0 0 - 30 (51.7) 28 (48.3) 58

2015 93 (23.1) 65 (16.1) 137 (34.0) 108 (26.8) 403

2016 56 (8.7) 58 (9.0) 265 (41.2) 264 (41.0) 643

2017 74 (6.6) 67 (6.0) 479 (42.5) 499 (44.4) 1,120e

2018 109 (42.9) 18 (7.1) 65 (25.6) 62 (24.4) 254

Total 3,097 (29.4) 1,076 (10.2) 3,471 (33.0) 2,891 (27.5) 10,530d

29-Year

Average 107 37 120 100 364

a Total includes 3 adults of unknown sex.

b Total includes 1 adult of unknown sex.

c Total includes 1 bird of unknown age and

sex.

d Total includes 4 adults of unknown sex, 1 bird of unknown age and sex, and 1 hatch year of unknown sex

e Total includes 1 hatch year of unknown sex


Table 4: Pre-season banding trap success by species and trap location of 6 swim-in traps at Kgun Lake on the Yukon

Delta National Wildlife Refuge from 31 September - 24 August, 2018.

Summary totals for newly banded and same-year recaptures by trap site and species, 2018

Trap AGWT NOPI MALL Recap (AGWT) Recap (NOPI) Recap (MALL)

Total Banded

by Trap

N1 11 28 0 0 0 0 39

N2 11 55 20 0 25 6 117

N3 84 17 4 68 8 0 181

NOPI1 5 85 10 1 20 3 124

NOPI2 1 66 23 0 16 1 107

SQUIGGLY2 142 5 0 21 1 0 169

Total 254 256 57 90 70 10 737

Table 5. Mortality event by species and trap location during 2018 pre-season duck banding at Kgun Lake, Yukon Delta

National Wildlife Refuge.

Mortality, 2017

Date Trap ID # AGWT # NOPI Cause

17-Aug SQUIGGLY2 19 1 Mink


Figure 1: Location of Kgun Lake in relation to Bethel and Pilot Station, Alaska.


Figure 2. Location of the six trap sites in relation to field camp during pre-season duck banding at Kgun Lake, August

2018.


Figure 3. Kgun Lake 2018 banding results of Northern pintail. Dashed lines display 29-year capture averages.

Figure 4. Kgun Lake 2018 banding results of Mallards. Dashed lines display 27-year capture averages.

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800

1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018

Tota

l No

rth

ern

Pin

tail

Ban

de

d

Year

0

50

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150

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1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018

Tota

l Mal

lard

s B

and

ed

Year


Figure 5. Kgun Lake 2018 banding results of American green-wing teal. Dashed lines display 29-year capture

averages.

Figure 6. Image of an American mink (Neovison vison) in the Squiggly 2 trap from the camera on 17 August 2018.

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018

Nu

mb

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WT

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d

Year


Figure 7: General track locations of duck reconnaissance flights flown on 7 August, 2018. Flags and waypoint numbers

denote concentrations of ducks.


Appendix A. Email from Julian Fischer (Migratory Bird Management Office) updating the banding quotas for northern pintail, mallard, and cackling goose in November 2015.

Re: duck banding 1 message

Fischer, Julian

To: "Sowl, Kristine"

Hi Kristine.

Mon, Nov 2, 2015 at 4:33 PM

Banding data is used to inform the annual regulation-setting process for the duck

season in the Pacific Flyway. The Yukon Delta is one site that contributes to a statewide

goal for the Pacific Flyway. The banding data is used in the Adaptive Harvest

Management modeling process which uses both banding data and aerial survey data to

establish duck hunting frameworks each year. In 2014 the Pacific Flyway did not meet its

banding goals (largely due to the fact that Minto Flats was so flooded that banding was

not possible) which created problems, and some guesswork for selection of harvest regs

resulted that year.

Until the Continental Banding Needs Assessment is complete the national migratory bird

program continues to operate under the minimum banding goals for mallards described in

the memo from the Chief of the Population and Habitat Assessment branch in 2010 which

updated the goals of the 1989 Continental Banding Needs Assessment document using

contemporary data and the methods described in the 1989 document. The goal in the

1989 document was 2000 mallards statewide split evenly among four groups: 500 adult

males, 500 adult females, 500 juvenile males, 500 juvenile females. The 2010 document

revised statewide goals to 1000 adult males, 1000 adult females, 2000 juvenile males and

2000, juvenile females. These are ambitious goals that can only be achieved if efforts are

being conducted and many sites, Kgun Lake on the Yukon Delta being one of those sites.

Specific goals for that site are not specified in the continental banding needs assessment. I

don't have any reports from the refuge that describe annual goals for Kgun, or actual

success, but I'm sure they are in your files somewhere.

Pintail band data is not currently used to directly inform a management decision, but there

is considerable interest in revising the national pintail harvest strategy to use harvest rates

from band data instead of total harvest from HIP. This has been identified as a national

priority by the Harvest Management Working Group. To make progress on implementing

this, there is a need for continued banding of pintails opportunistically along with mallard

banding, with a goal similar to mallards. Chris Nicolai summarized pintail banding data from

Kgun in a JWM article and reported that on average over 1,11O pintails were banded each

year between 1990 and 2001, so it is clear that the YDNWR can make a huge contribution

towards these goals.

With regards to cackling Canada geese, we need sufficient banding data to be able to

evaluate harvest rates and distribution of harvest should cackler numbers become an issue.

We otherwise don't have any harvest data for this subspecies (population). Also, the Pacific

Flyway Council's management plan for this population is in the process of being revised, and

there is an ongoing SOM process to sort out management objectives and ltematives. I am

not sure if this will involve banding or not, but seems that the discussion coylEtoe had at that

time. I believe the refuge has had a goal of 500 total cacklers each year. Actual numbers

between 2002 and 2009 ranged from 100- 700, averaging around 350.

So summary, I think the refuge should aim

for 1000 pintails, 1000 Mallards

Julian
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]

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