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Show . I ing year, but has since declined rapidly", has made no estimates as to total number of ducks for j this season as compared with former years. "Such an estimate must wait until the migration south lias been completed,'' he pointed out He believes that decline in kills since the opening has been largely lar-gely due to the early freeze, which has stepped up the southward south-ward migration. wers, which will have a far-reaching far-reaching effect on future development develop-ment of the state's duck and goose refuges, Noland F. Nelson, waterfowl biologist in charge of waterfowl research for the state fish and game department, is conducting interesting studies from his readquarters at Ogden Bay The slender Utahn, who learned learn-ed his business at USAC, points , out that one of the most interest- j ing and important phases of the i study is the determination of age ratios in birds that is, the ratio between the number of young birds and old birds. "The thing we are particularly particular-ly anxious to determine is an accurate picture of the number of birds raised each season", he explained. O UTAH DUCK STUDIES ! WILL AID REFUGE DEVELOPMENT For years, the questions of j "where the duck goes" and "how many ducks are there" have posed pos-ed fascinating problems for the nation's waterfowl experts. To determine some of the ans-j To arrive at the ratio, careful J checks are made of each hunter's j kill at most of the state's six ; shooting areas. Nelson has train-, train-, ed several aids in the work, and j as he points out, "just anyone j can't tell whether a duck is a i 'grandchild' or a 'grandpa'". The age ratio for any one-season, one-season, to be of use, must be computed from the kill taken during the entire season, Nelson explained. The reason for this is that old birds and young birds do not necessarily migrate at the same time. Many species of waterfowl, Nelson said, do not migrate as far as is popularly supposed. This is particularly true of certain types typ-es of geese. "Previous studies as well as those being carried out now, in- j dicate very strongly that if we i are going to have good goose j shooting in this area we must j provide breeding areas for the I birds," Nelson said-Nelson, said-Nelson, who asserted that I "opening day shooting was prob- J ably as good as for any preced- |
