For the nonhunter—and many avid outdoorsmen prefer to watch rather than
shoot—this guide to waterfowl can provide enjoyment beyond the simple
pleasure of seeing ducks and geese. Most of us remember seeing some
“oldtimer” identify flights or singles or rafts of birds at what seemed
impossible distances. The ability to do this does not really stem from
some mystic communion with the birds. Rather, through such a booklet as
this the waterfowling layman can develop the same powers in himself. For
the cost of a little concentrated effort he can gain great personal
satisfaction and the increased understanding that comes from resolving
“ducks” into the wide variety of individual species they really are.
Further, some knowledge of waterfowl distribution, annual abundance and
the approximate source and destination of the ducks and geese he hunts,
will often help the waterfowler understand the overall picture of
waterfowl management. For both administrative and biological purposes of
waterfowl management, the United States is divided into four flyways—the
Atlantic, the Mississippi, the Pacific, and the one for which this
booklet is written, the Central. Each flyway has its own segment of the
waterfowl population, subject to different conditions and pressures than
the populations of other flyways, and therefore is administered as a
separate unit. In general this is a sound premise, but it must not be
considered too rigid. Since the flyway principle is in part an
administrative device, it is important principally in fall and winter
when most North American waterfowl are within the United States. As the
wintering populations begin to move northward in the spring, many
species disperse throughout the nesting grounds of the northern states
and Canada. Much overlapping of the populations from various flyways in
which the birds wintered occurs.