Brian T. Gray

Nearctic dabbling ducks (Anatini) use varied wintering habitats. Spatial and structural variability among these may translate into differing capabilities of habitats to meet behavioral and physiological requirements of ducks. Our study was conducted on the Santee River Delta (SRD) in South Carolina, an important wintering area for dabbling ducks in the Atlantic Flyway. Our objectives were to determine (1) activities of dabbling ducks wintering on the SRD, (2) if different habitats within managed wetlands had differing functional values (intra-and interspecific), based on dabbling duck...

We determined the incidence of lead, steel, and total shot ingestion in 4 species of dabbling ducks on a major wintering area of the Atlantic Flyway. Gizzards (N = 1,771) were collected from hunter-harvested mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) , northern pintails (A. acuta), blue-winged teal (A. discors), and American greenwinged teal (A. crecca) during the 1985-86,1986-87, and 1987-88 waterfowl hunting seasons on the Santee River Estuary (SRE), South Carolina. Total shot ingestion rates were high in northern pintails (15.9%) and mallards (8.4%), and low in American green-winged teal (1.3%) and...