Radio tracking via satellite was initiated to study the year-round movements of Golden Eagles (Aquila chrysaetos canadensis) breeding on the east coast of Hudson Bay, Quebec. In June and August 1992, six Golden Eagles (five adults and one juvenile) were marked, three ofwhich completed their year-round movements. The eagles left their breeding area in mid-to late October and migrated to known wintering areas in the eastern United States. They used different routes but each followed the same general path during fall and spring migrations, which lasted between 26 and 40 days, and 25 and 5 1 days, respectively. Eagles wintered from 93 to 135 days in areas located 1,650 to 3,000 km south of their breeding territory. In spring 1993, satellite telemetry located the eagles in their former breeding territory in late March, mid-April and early May. This study confirms previous suggestions that some breeding Golden Eagles wintering in eastern United States come from northern Quebec and describes the first successful tracking of the complete yearly migration cycle of a bird of prey.

During May 1996 and April 1997, eight harlequin duck males were captured and fitted with satellite transmitters while migrating along the shores of Forillon National Park, Québec, Canada. Another 17 males were equipped with satellite transmitters in river systems of eastern Hudson Bay, Ungava Bay and northern Labrador in June 1997 and 1998. Our objectives were to determine relationships between breeding, moulting and wintering areas, and to determine whether distinct population segments existed among harlequin ducks in eastern North America. All birds tracked from Forillon migrated to Labrador. Moulting areas were identified for six birds. Forillon males were followed to the eastern North American major wintering site in Maine. Males captured in northern Québec and Labrador migrated to moult and winter in south‐western Greenland. Our data suggest the presence of two demographically distinct population segments in eastern North America, perhaps originating from the Pleistocene glacial refuge in western Greenland and south of the Laurentide ice sheet in eastern Canada or United States.

Many sea ducks are captured during wing molt at intertidal areas; however, to study the breeding ecology of some species, researchers need to capture them on streams and rivers, which are often flowing with high water. In fast‐flowing and deep water, wading streams during net set‐up and extraction of birds is impossible to complete safely. Between 1995 and 2013, we captured 720 adult and 241 hatch‐year harlequin ducks (Histrionicus histrionicus) on 37 streams in eastern and western North America. We used a mist net extended across the stream with modified riggings that allowed above‐water retrieval of captured birds without technicians entering the stream. This method can be used across deep, fast water that is not wadable; requires equipment that is compact and easily transported; is suitable for remote areas; can be operated by a crew of 4–6 people; and has a low risk of injury to the birds. Care must be taken when using this method to capture large numbers of ducks simultaneously because it becomes difficult to keep the birds above the fast water. This capture method could be used for other ducks, and with different mesh sizes could also be used for other birds, such as American dippers (Cinclus americanus) and spotted sandpipers (Actitis macularius), at these inland locations. The mobility of this capture method means that species and individuals that are not of interest can be avoided by orienting the net to a horizontal position to allow non‐target species to pass by unhindered. © 2015 The Wildlife Society.

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