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Waterfowl

Environmental Setting Ecological and Natural Resource Values of Humbug Marsh Habitat Description Fisheries Special Species Waterfowl Birds Other Birds and Notable Species Observed at Humbug Links to other reports on Humbug Humbug Home

Source: Dr. Bruce Manny, U.S. Geological Survey Humbug Marsh has been an important area for duck hunting by local sportsmen for generations. For a time it was managed as duck habitat and a hunt club for executives of the nearby steel plant. The lower Detroit River and its wild celery beds are magnet for hundreds of thousands of driving ducks each year, including canvasbacks, redheads, buffleheads, and scaup. This area has been nominated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a focus area for enhancement and protection of fish and wildlife, especially waterfowl. Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Lake St. Clair, the Detroit River and Lake Erie are traditional migration routes for waterfowl, marsh birds, wading birds, neotropicals and raptors. The St. John's Marsh through western Lake Erie habitats, of which the Detroit River is a part, are within an area identified by the North American Waterfowl Management Plan as one of six priority habitats in need of immediate protection or restoration in order to secure the future of waterfowl. This area is heavily utilized by migratory waterfowl, including but not limited to canvasback (Aythya vallisneria), redheads (A. americana), greater scaup (A. marila) lesser scaup (A. affinis), mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), blue-winged teal (A. discors), green-winged teal (A. crecca), black duck (A. rubripes), pintail (A. acuta), and bufflehead (Bucephala albeola). Historically and presently the marshes of the Detroit River are important spring, fall and winter staging, feeding and resting areas for waterfowl, especially canvasbacks, redheads and scaups. The shallow water and abundant submergent vegetation provides an important food source for both diving and puddle ducks. Canvasback, in particular, are strongly dependent on wild celery, such as that found at this site, as a food source essential to provide energy during migration (Edsall et al. 1988, p.65). The macroinvertebrates, crustaceans and mollusks likely supported within these wetlands are also important food sources. The emergent and shoreline habitats also provide nesting and brood cover for ducks and shorebirds. The shallow water areas of the site are utilized as feeding habitat by wading birds such as great egrets (Casmerodius albas), great blue herons (Ardea herodias) and black-crowned night herons (Nycticorax nycticorax). The upland habitats especially on the island provide a stopover site for a variety of neotropical migrants. Finally, the area also likely provides feeding areas, breeding habitat and shelter for a variety of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and insects. Biodiversity of bird species and insect life in and around the site is estimated to be the highest of any location studied thus far in the Detroit River. The site contains all habitat types and vegetative species that are of value to the 31 species of waterfowl (Prince et al. 1992); 17 species of raptors (Holiday Beach Migration Observatory 1997a), over 49 species of non-raptors, including Caspian terns (Hydroprogne caspia), lesser yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes), and swallows, and 20 species of dragonflies (Holiday Beach Migration Observatory 1997b; Manny 1998b). All of the above-mentioned species use Great Lakes coastal wetlands during their annual migration through southwestern Ontario and southeast Michigan. Most, if not all of these have been observed or harvested in or near the site (Holiday Beach Migration Observatory 1998). References: Edsall, T., B.A. Manny, and C.N. Raphael. 1988. The St. Clair River and Lake St. Clair, Michigan: an ecological profile. U.S. Fish and Wildl. Serv. Biol. Rep. 85 (7.3) 130 pp. Holiday Beach Migration Observatory. 1997a. 26th Hawkwatch Season Almanac for November 1997. Holiday Beach Migration Observatory, Essex Region Conservation Authority, Essex, Ontario, Canada N8M 1Y6. Holiday Beach Migration Observatory. 1997b. 26th Hawkwatch Season Almanac for October 1997. Holiday Beach Migration Observatory, Essex Region Conservation Authority, Essex, Ontario, Canada N8M 1Y6. Holiday Beach Migration Observatory. 1998. ERCA Internet Success, Hawkwatchers access web page. The Northwind, Winter 1998, Volume 13, No. 1. 32 pp. Manny, B.A. 1998b. Results of electrofishing at six sites in Humbug Marsh on September 2, 1998. U.S. Geological Survey, Great Lakes Science Center, Ann Arbor, MI. Open File Report. 12 pp. Prince, H.H., P.I. Padding, & R.W. Knapton. 1992. Waterfowl use of the Laurentian Great Lakes. J. Great Lakes Res. 18:673-699.

 

Region 3, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1 Federal Drive BHW Federal Building Fort Snelling, MN 55111 E-Mail Us! R3 External Affairs

Dr. John H. Hartig, Refuge Manager Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge Large Lakes Research Station 9311 Groh Road Grosse Ile, MI 48138 Phone: 734-692-7608 Fax: 734-692-7603 E-mail: john_hartig@fws.gov

 

Last updated: July 9, 2008

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