Waterfowl

Reports

Emperor Geese Fall Count and Proportion of Young Survey

Since 1985, flocks of emperor geese (Chen canagica) have been photographed from an airplane during fall migration at lagoons along the north side of the Alaska Peninsula. The gray head plumage of juvenile geese contrasted with the uniform white heads of older geese making it possible to count the number of young and adults on the photographs and calculate the proportion of young. In addition, an independent shoreline aerial survey counted the number of geese at each lagoon. These 2 surveys produced an annual estimate of proportion of young and total fall population size which were used to monitor annual production and estimate average survival rate. Results for these surveys are contained in the following report: Monitoring Emperor Goose Populations by Aerial Counts and the Proportion of Young-Fall 2006 (pdf)

Last Updated: September 15, 2008