I Ducks Banded 
 
 
And Released In Manitoba 
 
 
By A. J. DALRYMPLE 
 
THE gravel highway from Por- 
  t.rage ]a Prairie to Delta is 
  familiar to many Manitobans and 
  to visitors from other parts of 
  Canada and the United States. 
  The road runs northward -for 
  about 20 miles, first through rich 
  farmlands of the famed Portage 
  plains, and then dips slightly, 
  skirting lush hay meadows. The 
  final lap is bordered by marshes 
  with yellow cane waving in the 
  breeze. 
  The motorist lets the car idle along 
  as he and members of the family ob- 
  serve the wild ducks in brilliant nuptial 
  plumage as they feed In ditch and 
  slough. Children whoop with Joy -is 
they point out the glossy blue and white 
pattern of $he Shoveller, the sleek, 
stream-lined Pintall, and the dainty 
Green-wing Teal. 
   It is springtime, and these birds have 
 arrived from their winter quarters In 
 the South . . . Florida, Louisiana and 
 the Gulf. They are so absorbed in their 
 summer house-keeping plans that they 
 pay s0gt heed to the auto. 
 The driver makes a turn to the east 
 at the village of Delta while the roar 
 of Lake Manitoba's breakers Is heard 
 above the murmur of the car. 
 . Then through clumps of willows is 
 seen the great expanse of grey-green 
 waters, and the waves rolling in upon 
 the sandy beach. Here and there are 
 fishermen's shacks, with the gear dry- 
 Ing In the sun. 
 After passing between rows of sum- 
 mer cottages, the visitor comes upon 
 several neat little buildings painted 
 grey: Back of these, on the rim of the 
 swamp, is a wire netting enclosure. It 
 is about 120 feet In length, 45 feet In 
 width and 16 feet in height. 
 To all appearances It might be thg 
 property of an up-to-date farmer who 
 has given an extra touch of neatness to 
 his poultry department. 
 Thse buildings, however, are In re- 
 ality a laboratory where wild-life ex- 
 periments have been carried out for 10 
 
 
 THE resultseof the experiments are 
    being eagerly watched by govern- 
mnt offirials of Canada and the United 
States. The work Is of exceptional in- 
terest to naturalists, wild-life conserva- 
tioa'ists and  sportsmen   of   North 
America 
  The name of this scientific laboratory 
is no more spectacular than the build- 
ings. The official title is simply the 
Delta Dick Station. 
  It started in 1932 when James F. Bell 
of Minneapolis decided that he would 
like to experiment in raising wild ducks 
in enptlvity. In his venture he had the 
permission of the Manitoba government, 
and the blessing of the authorities in 
Ottawa and Washington. 
  It might seem at first glance that It 
should hardly be necessary to obtain the 
sanction of two or three governments 
In order to gather the eggs of wild 
ducks and hatch them for scientific 
studies; but such a course is required 
because the laws of Canada and the 
United States are designed to enforce 
the protection of wild-life. 
  The eggs are gathered under author- 
ity of permits from the Manitoba gov- 
vernment, and the Dominion govern- 
ment in Ottawa, in compliance with the 
International Migratory Bird Treaty. 
The sanction therefore Is given under 
the seal of three governments. 
  That little bit of flesh and feathers 
 
 
Above is a photograph of Edward 
Ward, native Manitoban, former 
member of the R.N.W.M.P. and 
veteran of the first Great War, 
who has pioneered in studies of 
the raising of wild ducks in cap- 
   tivity for scientific purposes. 
 
T HERE are literally scores of organi- 
    zations which have been formed to 
see that so far as possible the wild 
duck gets a sporting chance all along 
the line. 
  When Mr. Bell started the hatchery 
he placed Edward Ward, native Mani- 
toban, and formerly R.N.W.M.P. officer, 
In charge. 
  When I called at the hatchery re- 
cently, I asked Mr. Ward about the 
project, and he said: 
  "Mr. Bell started the program with 
private funds, for the love of game, and 
to gain knowledge of wildlife. He chose 
the Delta marshes because tie area is 
considered one of the best duck breed- 
ing grounds In North America. 
  "In   the beginning    the  primary 
function was the hatching of wild ducks 
for study. In 1938 Mr. Bell Invited the 
American Wildlife Institute to co-oper- 
ate In the Delta studies. The invitation 
was accepted, and IL A. Hochbaum 
moved to Delta as director of research. 
At the same time Mr, Ward's son, Peter, 
assumed the responsibilities of hatch- 
ery superintendent. 
  Mr. Hochbaurm Is a graduate of Cor- 
nell Iniversity and the University of 
Wisconsin. At college he specialized in 
studies f wildlife management. After 
he was graduated he worked for four 
years with the US. National Parks 
Services. In addition to collecting data 
on wildlife and the gathering of sta- 
tistics, Mr. Hoetbaum devotes part of 
his spare time to the painting of birds. 
Some of his sketches were made at the 
Delta Duck Station. The shores of 
Lake Manitoba provide excellent op- 
portunities for artists who specialize 
In outdoor themes. 
 
FROM the time the experiments were 
    started in 1932 the men at Delta 
Duck station worked patiently to col- 
lect information on the habits of the 
birds. Patience Is the watchword of 
the employes. In fact, Mr. Hochbaum 
says that the. job Is a "sleep-stealer": 
that is, the, members of the staff are 
up at all hours looking after old birds 
and the youngsters. 
  As is well-known, is Is difficult to 
raise wild things in captivity, and 
Messrs. Bell, Ward    and Hochbaum 
have had their ups and downs. In 1934 
they had two pairs of Canvasbacks 
nesting In an enclosure on the edge 
of Ahe swamp, eight In their natural 
surroundings., They  had     struggled 
through one difficulty and another to 
a point where they felt sure of seeing 
the twn nests nroduee vonr- n d ,Athen 
 
 
world where wild Canvasbacks are 
reared in captivity. 
   Mr. Hochbaum adds that Mr. Bell 
 and Mr. Ward have developed the tech- 
 nique for rea-ing birds in captivity to 
 such an extent that they are now con- 
 sidered authorities on the subject by 
 wildlife organizations in the United 
 States. 
 Scientists, of course, have been ac- 
 quainted with the progress made in 
 raising wild ducks in captivity. The 
 records show that at one time or an- 
 other speciments 'of most species of 
 game ducks have been raised in cap- 
 tivity. But the records show also that 
 of all ducks the Canvasback has re- 
 sisted most strongly any efforts toward 
 captive breeding. 
 This is one reason the Delta experts 
 are specializing in this work. 
   One important depantment of the 
 Delta Duck Station It tevoted to the 
 hatching of eggs in Incubators. The 
 eggs of the Canvasbacks are collected 
 in marshes by employes. 
   In explaining the collecting of eggs, 
 they told me that they take only eggs 
 from the earliest nests; and only from 
 nests which the hen has not started 
 to incubate. The collecting is confined 
 to the early part of the season because 
 this is the period when natural losses 
 of nests is greatest in the wild. On 
 several occasions, for instance, eggs 
 have been collected from areas which 
 were later ravaged by early spring 
 fires. Thus eggs which would have been 
 lost have been saved. 
 
 E GGS are taken from     hens which 
    have not started to incubate be- 
cause such hens 'frequently nest again. 
If the eggs are taken after incubation 
star-ts, hens of those nests seldom re- 
nest. 
  The employes carry the eggs to the 
hatchery, and they are placed in In- 
cubators similar to those oan a poultry 
farm. 
  When I visited the station in May 
there were about 300 eggs in the in-' 
cubators. 
  As soon as the downy ducklings peep 
from their shells they are placed In 
indoor pens. Later they are placed In 
outdoor pens until they learn to fly. 
  In July and August when the wing 
feathers have developed, the ducks are 
banded serially with numbered bands 
issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Services. The birds are then released. 
  Mr. Hochbaum      says  that birds 
handed at the Delta Duck Station have 
been shot by hunters in most of the 
Canadian provinces, and most of the 
states In the Ameýrican Union, as well- 
as Mexico and Central America. 
  Such reports are of inestimable value 
because they form    a pattern   from 
which may be determined the flyways 
of game birds, the distance they cover, 
and the location of their nesting 
grounds. 
  Then again, It has been found since 
the Delta Duck Station has been In 
operation, that some of the ducks 
raised at Delta, have grown to matur- 
ity, and are now raising families in 
North Dakota. 
  This is of interest to many persons 
because there are those who believe 
that birds invariably return to the 
place where they were hatched. This 
Is not always the case, according to 
the findings of ornithologists. 
  Mr. Hochbaum and Mr. Ward have 
Identified 12 species of wild ducks that 
make their summes homes around 
Delta. They are: Gadwall, Baldpate, 
Blue-wing   Teal,  Shoveller, Pintail, 
Mallard, Redhead, Canvasback, Lesser 
Scaup, Ruddy duck, White-wing Scoter 
and Green-wing Teal. The first nine 
of these have been raised in captivity 
at Delta. 
  No Ruddy ducks, White-wing Scoters 
or Green-wing Teal have been used for 
the basis of experiments in captivity 
 
 
The marshes at Delta, Manitoba, are considered by experts as one of the greatest
breeding grounds of 
wild ducks in North America. Delta also has the distinction of being the
only place in the world where 
Canvasbacks are raised in captivity for scientific st udies. 1he above photograph
shows captive Canvas- 
      backs near the laboratory. Their nests are hidden in the yellow cane
in the background, 
 
 
H. A. Hochbaum, director of research, Delta Duck Station, is shown 
above while studying changes.in plumage of two Canvasback ducks, 
 
 
that their figures sh~wed that the suc- 
cess of the eggs hatched in incubators 
is greater than that of early nests in 
the wild. 
  This is partly due to the fact that 
eggs in incubators are not up against 
the hazards suffered by nests in the 
marshes. Grass fires, floods and pre- 
dators destroy a percentage of eggs 
 
 
  "At Delta for instance, In the spring 
flights of the past four years drakes 
have outnumbered females to the ratio 
of two to one. 
  "It is of great Importance to know 
whether or not this preponderance of 
males is natural to Canvasbacks, or if 
more hens are killed, thus bringing 
about this disparity in sex ratio. 
 
 
Illinois Natural History Survey, work- 
ing on   the  famous duck shooting 
grounds along the   Illinois river, in 
making bag studies similar to those 
at Delta. When the results are com- 
pared we hope to have significant in- 
formation on the effect of shooting. 
  "Another example of how hatch- 
erles and marsh dovetail for scientific 
labors concerns the identification of 
sex and age of ducks in eclipse plum- 
age, and also the sex of young ducks 
In their first plumage. In the fall, for 
instance, young ducks sometimes are 
almost Indistinguishable from adults. 
  "'It is necessary to carry out exten- 
sive studies on age, sex and plumage of 
ducks. When hunters' bags are being 
studied, It stands to reason that the 
services of an expert are required If 
we are to get the correct data on birds 
in obscure plumage. A technique for 
determining sex and age has been 
developed at Delta, and Is now being 
widely used in North Amerilca. 
  "In the past two or three years the 
production of ducks at the hatchery 
has been curtailed somewhat, and 
more time and effort Is being devoted 
to field and laboratory work. -We are 
also studying the rise and fall of water 
In relation to wildfowl. 
  "In addition to these things we have 
Conducted a three-year study on local 
predators in relation to nesting ducks. 
Studies have been made of the crow, 
the Franklin ground squirrel (gopher) 
and other birds and animals, 
  "We have also made a four-year 
study of the life cycle of the Canvas- 
back and the Coot. 
  "Peter Ward and Lyle ;owls co- 
operated In these studies. They are 
now In the armed forces. 
  "We get most oi our study material 
right around the buldings. Then when 
not observing birds in the wide open 
spaces, we have about 50 pairs of ducks 
in captivity; Although captive, they 
are living under nearly normal con- 
ditions because their wire enclosures 
reach out into the marsh. 
  "The majority of the birds In cap- 
tivity are Canvasbacks because we are 
specializing in studies of this species. 
  "We are Incubating 300 eggs this 
year, mostly Canvasbacks. The eggs 
incubate in about 24 days. The young 
 
 
E IGHT thousand birds have been 
    banded and set free at Delta Duck 
Station. 
  Members of the staff at Delta said 
 
 
pie. The field 
it Delta, and in 
parts   of  the 
that among the 
,es        oaly ut- 
 
 
"THUS with a heavy preponderance 
'T of drakes in spring we are never- 
theless killing more hens In autun,. 
The heavier kill of fýmales in Mani- 
toba is of little significance until we 
can find out the sex ratio of the kill 
in other parts of the shooting range. 
  "For example, supposing there are 
more drakes than hens killed in Mary- 
land or Long Island Sound; that will 
have a bearing on    the  matter. In 
other words, we aim to collect facts 
that will enable us to consider Vie 
matter as a whole, 
  "Several organizations, notably the 
 
 
  IAl photographs on this pago 
  sup plied truhthe          01W     I 
  tesy of Delta DuckStatio., 
 
 
AS we left the pens and walked back 
    toward the road, I remarked to Mr. 
Rochbaum that I had heard gossip to 
the effect that there was a high death 
rate among the Delta hatchery ducks, 
  I had been told that when the ducks 
were hatched In incubators and raised 
without benefit of the teachings of the 
mother duck. the little fellows did not 
learn to oil and waterproof their 
feathers, and that they did not learn to 
swim, and so were not well equlpped 
to take care of themselves in the wilds 
after being released. 
  Rumor said that these birds appeared 
stupid or confused after leaving the 
hatchery, and quickly became an easy 
prey to enemies., 
  Mr. Hochbaum replied: "Iheard that 
story, too. But the ducks do earnto 
fly and swim before they are released. 
And I believe the reports we receive 
showing that some ducks were shot in 
far-of plaees, and others were nesting 
 
 
THE WNNPE