Breeding Duck Use of a Sewage Marsh in Arizona

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Abstract
An agreement between federal, state and local government agencies in Arizona resulted in the creation in 1979 of a 19.0-ha marsh, Pintail Lake, to provide waterfowl habitat from municipal sewage. The use of Pintail Lake by breeding ducks was studied 1980-82. Numbers of duck nests, most of which were on islands, increased dramatically throughout the 3 yr of study; 43, 193 and 380. Nest success on the islands (93.5%) was exceptionally high, as were, in 1982, breeding pair densities (9.9/ha of water surface), nest densities on the islands (300.0/ha), and production of ducklings (148.4/ha of water surface). The large population of breeding ducks probably developed from their attraction both to islands with dense nesting cover and to an abundance of aquatic invertebrates, and from homing of many adult and 1st-year hens. The Pintail Lake project demonstrated that the use of sewage to create wildlife habitat is a practical management technique.