We used satellite-tracked transmitters in 2001 and 2003 to document the timing, location, and extent of molt migrations by female Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) affiliated with the Atlantic Flyway Resident Population (AFRP) of Canada Geese that breed in the temperate region of eastern North America. Twenty-seven adult females were captured during the nesting period in late May and fitted with a satellite transmitter mounted either on a plastic neck collar or backpack harness. Nests of 24 birds were destroyed late in incubation to prevent renesting and ensure nest failure; three females did not have nests. Twelve of the 27 birds (44%) made a northward migration to molt in northern Quebec, Canada: seven to the eastern coast of Hudson Bay (58°12'N, 76°60'W), three to lowland areas east of James Bay (53°30'N, 79°02'W), and two to interior locations south of Ungava Bay (55°54'N, 68°24'W). Molt migrants were present in northern Quebec from June to September, a period that coincides with breeding ground aerial surveys and banding operations conducted for Atlantic Population (AP) Canada Geese that breed in this same region of northern Quebec. With >1 million AFRP geese estimated in the Atlantic Flyway, the potential exists for substantial numbers of yearling, sub-adult, and nest-failed or non-breeding adults to molt migrate to northern breeding areas and bias efforts to survey and mark AP geese. Within AFRP breeding areas, many local flocks have reached nuisance levels. We hypothesized that by inducing molt migration in breeding adults, through destruction of nests late in incubation, we would lessen recruitment, reduce numbers of summer resident adults with young, and increase adult mortality from hunting. However, molt migration behavior was not uniform throughout our study area. Molt migrants were from rural areas in New York, Pennsylvania, and Vermont, whereas marked birds that did not make molt migrations were from more coastal regions of the flyway. The 14 birds that did not make a molt migration remained within 60 km of their banding site. A genetic comparison of these two groups revealed no detectable differences. We conclude that failure to undergo a molt migration is likely attributed to the historical origin of captive-reared birds of mixed subspecies that comprise AFRP flocks in the eastern regions of the flyway and the availability of quality local habitat, distinct from brood-rearing areas, for molting.

Dramatic changes in wintering distributions of Canada geese (Branta canadensis) have occurred over the past 50 years in eastern North America. Declines in numbers of subarctic-nesting geese wintering in southern states, and increases in numbers wintering in northern regions, have resulted in a northern shift in winter distributions. In contrast, numbers of temperate-nesting geese have increased throughout eastern North America. Management efforts to control overabundant temperate-nesting flocks have included the establishment of special early harvest seasons in September. However, the effect of early seasons on survival and harvest of subarctic-nesting populations has not been documented. Understanding the timing of migration movements and the fidelity of subarctic-nesting flocks to terminal winter refuges in the Southeast also is necessary to design early harvest seasons that target temperate-nesting flocks and protect subarctic-nesting populations. We used recoveries of marked geese to estimate survival and harvest rates before and after implementation of early harvest seasons within the Mississippi Flyway during 1976-1999. In addition, we used observations of neck-banded geese from the Southern James Bay Population (SJBP) to evaluate the hypothesis that subarctic-nesting geese arriving prior to mid-December on several key terminal winter refuges in the Southeast (early arriving migrants) were more likely to return to those refuges in subsequent years than were migrants arriving after mid-December (late arriving migrants). September seasons during 1987-1994 were a minor source of mortality for subarctic-nesting populations and accounted for <10% of their annual harvest mortality. The effectiveness of early seasons for increasing mortality of temperatenesting flocks varied among the states we examined and was tempered by concurrent changes in state-specific harvest regulations during the regular harvest season. For SJBP Canada geese, annual fidelity to southeastern refuges was 10% higher for early arrivers than for late arriving geese. However, in any given year only 47-57% of the surviving geese were expected to return to the refuges the following year. Although early arriving migrants had higher survival and higher return probabilities than did late arriving migrants or geese that failed to return, numbers of geese wintering on southeastern refuges likely declined because <60% of the surviving geese affiliated with the refuges would return in a given year and because of lower survival for geese that did not return to the refuges. JOURNAL OF WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT 69(4):1494-1507; 2005

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