Alaskan and Canadian arctic wetlands are crucial to geese, swans and ducks. Our southern coastal states form an important wintering ground. By the early 1900s, unregulated market killing had decimated duck populations along the Atlantic seaboard. Today, waterfowl populations in the region are stable, thanks to modern law enforcement and habitat management and preservation. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service monitors waterfowl numbers.
Duck hunting is a challenging, rewarding sport.
To pursue waterfowl, today's hunter is required to buy a federal duck stamp and a Pennsylvania migratory game bird license, revenues are used to monitor waterfowl populations through surveys and to acquire wetland habitat. Many people other than hunters also enjoy waterfowl, observing and photographing these colorful, diverse birds. Canvasbacks eat seeds and other parts of pondweeds, wild celery, eelgrass, widgeongrass, other aquatic plants, mollusks and crustaceans. In Pennsylvania, the canvasback is an uncommon spring and fall migrant. It breeds in the prairie states, Rocky Mountains, Canada and Alaska.