Satellite Tracking	Birds	Land Animals	Marine Animals	Fish	Internet Resources

Despite centuries of observation, we certainly don't know everything there is to know about all of the birds on Earth. An example is a duck known as Barrow's Goldeneye, which winters in southern Canada along the St. Lawrence River. Where does it go in summer?

In fact, 2,000-4,000 Barrow's Goldeneye ducks -- almost the entire population of this duck in eastern North America -- flock to Quebec each fall and winter. Ornithologists want to know where they nest in spring and summer.

One problem for biologists is a Barrow's Goldeneye female is hard to tell apart from a female Common Goldeneye. During the breeding season, the Barrow's Goldeneye female's orange beak turns blackish like the beak of the female Common Goldeneye. To differentiate, observers have to look closely at the shape of the head and beak and the coloring of the upper body and wings.

Laying Eggs in Tree Holes

Barrow's Goldeneye is an arboreal duck. That means it lays its eggs in a hole in a tree. That protects eggs and babies from predators. Sometimes, goldeneyes will lay their eggs in a tree a mile or two from a lake. Just a few hours after hatching,the mother duck will lead the fledglings from the nest to the lake.

The population of Barrow's Goldeneyes wintering in Quebec may have gone down by 35 percent in the past 15 years. To learn more about this endangered species, Canadian Wildlife Service biologists in 1998 fitted eleven Barrow's Goldeneye drakes with satellite tracking transmitters.

They captured the male birds along the St. Lawrence River in southern Quebec. The biologists attached radios in harnesses to the ducks, which then were released to be tracked daily from the Wildlife Service office.

The ornithologists hope the satellite tracking will reveal the breeding and molting sites for Barrow's Goldeneye ducks.

SOURCES: Canadian Wildlife Service, Quebec Region, Ottawa Region, and Atlantic Region, Heritage Canada Parks Canada, QuebecOiseaux, Union quebecoise pour la rehabilitation des oiseaux de proie (UQROP), the U.S.Fish and Wildlife Service, and Space Satellite Handbook.

Satellite Tracking

Birds

Land Animals

Marine Animals

Fish

Internet Resources

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