Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program: Colorado
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

The USFWS Service Regulations Committee (SRC) in 2009 requested an assessment of the harvest potential of three North American teal species; one of which was the cinnamon teal. The assessment, as envisioned by the SRC, included five areas of interest one of which was a description of the population dynamics of each species (Teal Assessment Team 2013). The cinnamon teal is one of the least studied waterfowl species in North America. Reliable, accurate demographic information is needed to determine population status and responses to harvest and habitat management. Little monitoring information is available for cinnamon teal, so as a first step to evaluating recruitment, this project is focused on estimating reproductive parameters (nest survival, hen success and fidelity, and duckling survival) and how they relate to habitat variables, in a major breeding area, Monte Vista NWR in the San Luis Valley, CO. Results will proved baseline demographic data for this population of teal, and will inform refuge managers about the effects of conditions created by refuge management and water availability on cinnamon teal. This project is a collaboration among the COCFWRU, USFWS Region 6, Migratory Birds, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, and the USFWS Monte Vista NWR.