Common Goldeneye Breeding in the Eastern Canadian Boreal Forest: Factors Affecting Productivity Estimates

Abstract

Abstract We conducted multiple Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) aerial surveys between 1 May and 31 July 2004 and 2005 on the Peribonka River, where a new hydroelectric reservoir will be created in 2007. We also conducted single pair and brood surveys on randomly chosen 5 × 5-km plots on the River drainage basin. Objectives were to assess the validity of the impact assessment surveys of 2002, examine the variation in pair and brood numbers, and determine recruitment and habitat characteristics related to productivity. During both years, the number of indicated breeding pairs (IBPs) declined steadily through May, whereas the social index (paired males/lone males) remained stable, declining only when few IBPs were located. However, backdated number of paired and lone males from observed broods suggested that the number of pairs remained maximal and constant during a three-week period centered on the fourth week of May in 2004 and the second week of May in 2005. IBP density (IBPs/10 km of shoreline) was...