Waterfowl distributions tended to stay near wintering latitudes or moved north at lesser distances compared to non‐ECE years, suggesting preparedness for spring migration was a stronger “pull” than extreme weather was a “push” pressure. In general, the ECE affected continental waterfowl population distributions however, responses were variable across species and flyways. Distributional shifts between eBird and GPS‐tagged Mallards were similar following an ECE in February 2021. To validate inferences from eBird, we compared eBird distribution changes against locational data from 362 GPS‐tagged Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) in the Mississippi Flyway. We used 14 years of eBird-a global citizen science initiative-to examine distribution changes for seven wintering waterfowl species across North America in response to recent extreme winter polar vortex disruptions. Crowd‐sourced datasets may provide opportunity to monitor species’ responses to short‐term chance phenomena such as ECEs. However, monitoring animal populations relative to ECEs is logistically challenging. Global climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of extreme climatic events (ECEs) which may be especially detrimental during late‐winter when many species are surviving on scarce resources. Waterfowl managers may be able to catch more ducks using oval traps with leads without increasing mortality of captured ducks. Trap style affected mortality rates of ducks, but overall mortality of trapped ducks was low with a rate of 1.16% in 2002, 0.32% in 2003, and 0.17% in 2004 mortality was not a major problem in our study. Trap style affected capture rates (P < 0.01, F5 = 11.23), with oval traps with 6-m leads catching more ducks than either the oval trap without leads or Benning II traps. During 2004, we tested 3 trap styles and caught 11,737 ducks. Trap style affected duck capture rates (P < 0.01, F5 = 15.16), with oval traps with 6-m lead panels catching more ducks than Benning II traps and cloverleaf traps. In 2003, we tested 3 trap styles and caught 10,849 ducks. Trap style affected capture rates (P = 0.018, F5 = 9.02), with Benning II and oval traps catching more ducks than cloverleaf and star traps.

During 2002, we evaluated 4 trap designs and caught 10,966 ducks. ABSTRACT We evaluated different trap styles and related mortality of trapped ducks (Anas spp.) for 3 field seasons as part of the United States-Canada Cooperative Waterfowl Banding Program.

Duckcapture.