American Black Duck
(Anas rubripes)

Summary

Picture of bird
© Glen Tepke (www.pbase.com/gtepke)
For additional photos and vocalizations, visit Dendroica. (Link opens in a new window.)

The American Black Duck breeds primarily in the eastern part of North America and was historically one of the most abundant duck species encountered in this region. However, the species' population declined in abundance over the middle of the last century with the most pronounced decline in the Mississippi Flyway. Causes for this decline are thought to be the result of changes in breeding and wintering habitat quality, overharvesting, and competition and hybridization with Mallards. The American Black Duck population has remained relatively stable since the 1990s, as has the harvest since 2000. The species remains one of the most sought-after waterfowl by hunters in both Canada and the United States. This species has been identified as a priority for conservation and/or stewardship in one or more Bird Conservation Region Strategies in Canada.

Designations

Main designations for the species
DesignationStatusDateSubspecies, population
IUCN (Global)Least concern2018 
Wild Species (Canada)Secure2015 
State of North America’s BirdsWatch list2016 
Bird Conservation Region StrategyPriority Species2013 

Population status

Geographic area or populationPopulation change relative to ~1970ReliabilityStatus in relation to goal
CanadaModerate DecreaseHighAt an Acceptable Level
 

Population estimate

Geographic area or populationPopulation estimate
Canada500,000 - 1,000,000 birds
 

Distribution maps

 

Migration strategy, occurrence

Short-distance migrant

Responsibility for conservation

Geographic areaResponsibility based on % of global population
CanadaHigh

General nesting period in Canada

Nesting period starts between late March and mid-May and ends between early July and mid-July, depending on the region. Before or after this period, the probability of an active nest is lower.
 

Conservation and management

Mid-Winter Waterfowl Surveys conducted by the USFWS in the Atlantic and Mississippi Flyway States, which do not cover all of the American Black Duck's wintering range, suggest that Black Duck numbers declined by half from the 1950s to the 1980s. This apparent decline in the population resulted in the implementation of restrictive harvest regulations aimed at protecting the species. Since then, winter population numbers have remained relatively stable, but only about half as many Black Ducks are counted in wintering areas in the U.S. now compared to the early 1950s. There has been a concurrent shift in the winter distribution, with an increased number of Black Ducks wintering in Canada in recent years, which could in part explain the decline observed in the mid-winter surveys (Brook et al. 2009; Robertson et al. 2017). Three factors have been hypothesized to explain the decline in the Black Duck population: habitat loss (i.e., loss of carrying capacity) caused by urban and agricultural development-on both the breeding and wintering grounds; competition with mallards, whose population size and distribution are expanding in eastern Canada; and overharvest, which has been addressed through the implementation of restrictive harvest regulations (Conroy et al. 2002).

Because of the limitations of the winter surveys, a large-scale aerial survey (the Eastern Waterfowl Breeding Ground Survey) was initiated in 1990 by the Black Duck Joint Venture to monitor Black Duck numbers on their breeding grounds (Atlantic provinces, boreal forest in Quebec, and northeastern Ontario) and improve the tracking and estimation of the Black Duck population. Data from this survey show that the population has remained relatively stable for several decades.

Management concerns for the Black Duck population prompted the CWS and the USFWS to adopt, in 2012, an International Black Duck Harvest Strategy, with the objectives of maintaining sustainable population levels and equitable access to the Black Duck resource between the two countries. This adaptive management approach is designed to identify appropriate harvest levels in both Canada and the U.S., based on harvest objectives and population levels of Black Ducks and sympatric Mallards. The desired harvest level is achieved through the selection of a pre-defined regulatory package with a pre-defined season length and bag limits. In Canada, four American Black Duck hunting regulatory packages with varying season lengths and bag limits have been developed (liberal, moderate, restrictive, and closed seasons). Harvest regulations under this strategy were first implemented in 2013-2014 under a liberal approach. Moderate levels of harvest were implemented for the hunting seasons between 2014-2017 and a liberal strategy has been proposed for the 2018-2019 and 2019-20 hunting seasons. Hunting regulations, as well as the Black Duck harvest management approach, are published annually by Environment and Climate Change Canada in the Migratory Game Bird Hunting Regulations in Canada report.

 

Bird conservation region strategies

Environment and Climate Change Canada and partners have developed Bird Conservation Region Strategies in each of Canada’s Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs). In these strategies, selected species are identified as priorities for one or more of the following reasons:

  • conservation concerns (i.e., species vulnerable due to population size, distribution, population trend, abundance, or threats)
  • stewardship responsibilities (i.e., species that typify the regional avifauna or have a large proportion of their range or population in the sub-region)
  • management concerns (i.e., species that require ongoing management because of their socio-economic importance as game species, or because of their impacts on other species or habitats)
  • other concerns (i.e., species deemed a priority by regional experts for other reasons than those listed above or because they are listed as species at risk or concern at the provincial level)

Select any of the sub-regions below to view the BCR strategy for additional details.

BCRs, marine biogeographic units, and sub-regions in which the species is listed as a priority
RegionSub-region and priority type
Atlantic Northern ForestsAtlantic Northern Forests, sub-region and priority type: Atlantic, NB -- Other
Atlantic Northern ForestsAtlantic Northern Forests, sub-region and priority type: Atlantic, NS -- Other
Atlantic Northern ForestsAtlantic Northern Forests, sub-region and priority type: Atlantic, PE -- Other
Atlantic Northern ForestsAtlantic Northern Forests, sub-region and priority type: Quebec -- Other
Boreal Hardwood TransitionBoreal Hardwood Transition, sub-region and priority type: Ontario and Manitoba -- Conservation
Boreal Hardwood TransitionBoreal Hardwood Transition, sub-region and priority type: Quebec -- Other
Boreal Softwood ShieldBoreal Softwood Shield, sub-region and priority type: Atlantic, NL -- Other
Boreal Softwood ShieldBoreal Softwood Shield, sub-region and priority type: Ontario -- Conservation
Boreal Softwood ShieldBoreal Softwood Shield, sub-region and priority type: Quebec -- Other
Gulf of St. LawrenceGulf of St. Lawrence, sub-region and priority type: Atlantic, NB -- Other
Gulf of St. LawrenceGulf of St. Lawrence, sub-region and priority type: Atlantic, NL -- Other
Gulf of St. LawrenceGulf of St. Lawrence, sub-region and priority type: Atlantic, NS -- Other
Gulf of St. LawrenceGulf of St. Lawrence, sub-region and priority type: Atlantic, PE -- Other
Lower Great Lakes/St. Lawrence PlainLower Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Plain, sub-region and priority type: Ontario -- Conservation
Lower Great Lakes/St. Lawrence PlainLower Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Plain, sub-region and priority type: Quebec -- Other
Newfoundland and Labrador Shelves Newfoundland and Labrador Shelves , sub-region and priority type: Atlantic, NL -- Other
Scotian ShelfScotian Shelf, sub-region and priority type: Atlantic, NB -- Other
Scotian ShelfScotian Shelf, sub-region and priority type: Atlantic, NS -- Other
Taiga Shield and Hudson PlainsTaiga Shield and Hudson Plains, sub-region and priority type: Atlantic, NL -- Other
Taiga Shield and Hudson PlainsTaiga Shield and Hudson Plains, sub-region and priority type: Ontario -- Conservation
Taiga Shield and Hudson PlainsTaiga Shield and Hudson Plains, sub-region and priority type: Prairie and Northern -- Conservation
Taiga Shield and Hudson PlainsTaiga Shield and Hudson Plains, sub-region and priority type: Quebec -- Other
 

References