The Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) Québec Nunavik Great Whale (Grande Baleine) Waterfowl Survey used helicopters to survey breeding waterfowl on 25 10x10 km (100 km²) in 1991 during both the nesting and rearing periods on square plots located within the Great Whale River wetland complex, a heterogeneous network of inland lakes, ponds, and river-associated wetlands distributed across the Grande rivière de la Baleine watershed in Northern Québec and Nunavik. The survey targeted three main species (Canada Goose, Black Scoter and Surf Scoter) but recorded observations of 25 waterfowl species in total. The primary goal of the survey was to model the habitat associations of the three target species, combining observational data with habitat characterization using remote sensing, and subsequently to assess the reproductive potential of these three species over a larger area. Complete bilingual metadata including detailed survey design, protocols and data dictionaries is available in downloadable files.

The Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) Prince Edward Island Waterfowl Survey used helicopters to survey breeding waterfowl on square 2x2 km (4 km²) plots in 2016 on Prince Edward Island (PE). The objective of the survey was to establish baseline information about breeding season abundances and distributions of waterfowl on PE, and also to inform the design of potential future surveys in the province. Complete bilingual metadata including detailed survey design, survey protocols and data dictionaries is available in downloadable files.

The Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) Québec Boréale Waterfowl Survey used helicopters to annually survey breeding waterfowl over five years from 1985-1989 on 10x10 km (100 km²) plots located within the Chibougamau region of Québec, a boreal zone at the heart of the American Black Duck's breeding range. The goals of the QCBO100 were to assess the impact of new hunting restrictions for the American Black Duck and to act as a pilot survey to help establish a standardized helicopter-based breeding pair survey for the Black Duck Joint Venture (BDJV) across the American Black Duck’s range. Similar pilot surveys were carried out in Ontario, the Maritimes, and on the island of Newfoundland, using different survey protocols in terms of plot size, selection, and survey frequency, providing an opportunity to compare result quality and cost. For further details and comparisons among these pilot surveys, see Ross et al. (2017). Complete bilingual metadata including detailed survey design, protocols and data dictionaries is available in downloadable files. Ross, R.K., Bateman, M.C. and Bordage, D. 2017. Experimental Helicopter-based Waterfowl Breeding Pair Surveys in Eastern Canada,1985–1989. Pages 83 – 94 in Bordage, D., Bateman, M.C., Ross, R.K. and Lepage, C. (editors). Helicopter-based waterfowl breeding pair survey in eastern Canada and related studies. Black Duck Joint Venture Special Publication. 236 pp.

The Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) Northern Ontario Waterfowl Survey used helicopters to survey breeding waterfowl from 1980-2008 on square 4 km² plots located within Northern Ontario. The goals of the survey were to collect quantitative information on breeding waterfowl in this region given its contribution to continental waterfowl populations and to obtain a better understanding of waterfowl distribution in Northern Ontario. Similar pilot surveys were carried out in Ontario, the Maritimes, and on the island of Newfoundland, using different survey protocols in terms of plot size, selection, and survey frequency, providing an opportunity to compare result quality and cost. For further details and comparisons among these pilot surveys, see Ross et al. (2017). Complete bilingual metadata including detailed survey design, protocols and data dictionaries is available in downloadable files. Ross, R.K., Bateman, M.C. and Bordage, D. 2017. Experimental Helicopter-based Waterfowl Breeding Pair Surveys in Eastern Canada,1985–1989. Pages 83 – 94 in Bordage, D., Bateman, M.C., Ross, R.K. and Lepage, C. (editors). Helicopter-based waterfowl breeding pair survey in eastern Canada and related studies. Black Duck Joint Venture Special Publication. 236 pp.

The Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS), as commissioned by the Department of National Defense (DND), conducted the Labrador DND Waterfowl Survey using helicopters to survey breeding waterfowl in eight years between 1994-2004 on fourteen 10x10 km (100 km²) plots located in Labrador. The objective of the survey was to assess the effects of jet overflights in the DND low-level flight training area in Labrador on breeding waterfowl densities. The survey design included a subset of plots designated as control plots with no history of overflights and experimental plots that were subjected to high frequency, low (generally <500m above ground level) overflights (>4 per day). Earlier analyses based on the three control plots (DND-9, DND-10 WL-15) and three experimental plots (DND-1, DND-3, DND-8) surveyed from 1995-1998 showed high densities of Canada Goose and American Black Duck on the high frequency plots compared to the control plots, suggesting these species can use habitat that is subjected to frequent low-level jet overflights (Bateman et al. 1999). This is the first publication of the complete survey dataset including all plots, years and species. Complete bilingual metadata including detailed survey protocols and data dictionaries is available in downloadable files. Bateman, M.C., Hicks, A.H., & Bowes, S.M. 1999. Assessment of Breeding Waterfowl Populations in the Labrador Low Level Flight Training Area. Environmental Mitigation Program Supporting Military Flight Activity in Goose Bay, Labrador. Canadian Wildlife Service Report. https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2023/eccc/cw66/CW66-1045-1999-eng.pdf

The Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) Québec Lowlands Survey (Suivi des basses-terres) uses helicopters to annually survey breeding waterfowl on square 2x2 km (4 km²) plots located in three lowland areas in Southern Québec (St. Lawrence, Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean and Abitibi-Temiscamingue) within the breeding range of early nesters such as the American Black Duck, Mallard, Canada Goose and Wood Duck. The main goal of the survey is to generate reliable indices for trends of all waterfowl species with similar breeding phenology nesting within the Québec lowlands, i.e. annual indices should provide estimates of the population with a coefficient of variation (CV) of 10%, and population trend should detect a 10% decline over a period of 5 years with 90% confidence. A more specific goal is to monitor relative trends of American Black Duck and Mallard, given their competition for habitat in this region of Québec. Complete bilingual metadata including detailed survey design, protocols and data dictionaries is available in downloadable files.

The Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) Québec BCR7 Scoter and Late Nester Survey used helicopters to survey late nesting waterfowl on 5x5 km (25 km²) plots in the Québec portion of Bird Conservation Region 7 (BCR7) in 2014. BCR7 extends across much of the Canadian shield and spans eight provinces and territories. In Québec, BCR7 is the largest of the BCRs, representing 37% of the province’s territory and spanning from Hudson Bay and James Bay in the west to the Labrador border in the east. This region represents the transition from boreal to arctic habitats, bordered by boreal forests to the south and treeless tundra to the north. The main goal of the QCB725 was to fill a monitoring gap for sea ducks and other late nesters on the taiga in Québec, and in particular scoters (genus Melanitta), as most traditional waterfowl surveys do not cover their breeding range or late nesting phenology. Complete bilingual metadata including detailed survey design, protocols and data dictionaries is available in downloadable files.

The Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) Atlantic Agricultural Waterfowl Survey (ATLAG4) used helicopters to survey breeding waterfowl on square 2x2 km (4 km²) plots in agricultural areas in the Maritime Provinces (New Brunswick (NB), Nova Scotia (NS) and Prince Edward Island (PE) from 2008-2013. The survey was delivered in partnership with Ducks Unlimited Canda (DUC) and as part of the Eastern Habitat Joint Venture (EHJV) program. The objective of the survey was to establish baseline information about breeding season abundances and distributions of waterfowl in agricultural areas in the Maritimes, which were previously under-represented in other waterfowl surveys in the region. Complete bilingual metadata including detailed survey design, survey protocols, and data dictionaries is available in downloadable files.

The Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) Northern Canada Scoter Survey used helicopters to survey breeding scoters in 5x5 km (25 km²) plots in six study areas across Northern Canada in the Northwest Territories (NT), Manitoba (MN) and Québec (QC) from 2017-2019. Populations of North American breeding scoters appeared to be in decline, albeit with a large degree of uncertainty around population size estimates and trends due to challenges related to surveying this group of sea ducks. The main goal of the survey was to address the major monitoring gap for scoters in Canada, as most traditional waterfowl surveys do not cover their breeding range or late nesting phenology. In addition to targeting three species of scoter, the survey targeted other sea duck species including scaup, mergansers and Long-tailed Ducks. Complete bilingual metadata including detailed survey design, protocols and data dictionaries is available in downloadable files. Note: A version of this dataset was published January 2025 (Record Name: Scoter Experimental Surveys, NT, MB, QC, 2017-2019 / Inventaires Expérimentaux de Macreuses, NT, MB, QC, 2017-2019, Identifier: 9cddead7-1dc8-4379-afc5-0275b7449bd5). This published version includes the same observation and plot data as the previous version but also includes more detailed survey conditions data, and has been formatted to the schema of QWAC-QSC (Quantifying Waterfowl Across Canada database - Base de données sur la Quantification de la Sauvagine au Canada). See the parent record for "Waterfowl Surveys in Canada" (Identifier: 0af7faf5-495c-4074-9cf6-7dc12e6bfe3f) for more information.