scaup

[LonglakeSD9]

any1 have ne idea why the populatin numbers for scaup ''AKA'' bluebills has been decreasing?? kinda weird

[Duckbuster612]

Sure anint decreasing on LI...last year there were thousands of them at the end of the season.
I think there tearin a lot of the boreal forest down in Alsaka or some BS. There was a nice article in DU about it

[johnch]

I went to a duck hunters seminare this summer put on by the DU, ODNR and the Fed's on the decline of Scaup

Best guess by the experts is Zebera mussels the ducks are eating on there way back north to nest
The birds are getting to their nesting areas in poor shape

The Zebera Mussels store selenium
Hydrogen selenide (H2Se) and other selenium compounds are extremely toxic, and resemble arsenic in their physiological reactions

This is cause as far as they can tell
They are doing a bunch of testing of Scaup before and after they pass thru the great lakes
As Lake Erie , Maumee and Sandusky bay are loaded with Zebera Mussels along with the other great lakes
And the Scaup eat them as they pass thru both ways

John