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Historic Status

At one time, hunters and birders in Massachusetts believed they were seeing two separate subspecies of black ducks, Anas rubripes rubripes, the Red-legged (or Winter) Black Duck, and Anas rubripes tristis, the (Summer) Black Duck (Forbush 1925, Phillips 1920). Once the differences between these alleged subspecies were determined to in actuality be sex, age, and possibly even seasonally related rather than pertaining to genetic differences, they were correctly lumped together as representing one and the same species. Regardless of these taxonomic issues, by the 1940s life was becoming increasingly inhospitable for American Black Ducks in Massachusetts. They had successfully survived market gunning for two centuries before other human incursions on their lives set them on a downward trend. Possibly most important was the fact that half of the shallow freshwater marshes existing in Massachusetts in 1951 were lost to development by 1971. Pesticides, urbanization, and further habitat destruction would follow.

Atlas 1 Distribution

Despite these challenges, Atlas 1 found the American Black Duck to be widespread as a breeding species in Massachusetts. The western reaches of the state had fewer occupied blocks than the Connecticut River Valley where fully 50% of the region was hosting breeding American Black Ducks. The birds had greater than 70% block occupancy in the Housatonic Valley. The higher elevations of the Worcester Plateau and the Lower Worcester Plateau also had black ducks present in scattered wetlands, albeit at lower percentages of block occupancy. Concentrations were unquestionably greatest in the east, where they were present in more than 60% of Cape and Islands blocks and in more than half of all blocks in the Coastal Plains, the Bristol/Narragansett Lowlands, and even the thickly settled Boston Basin.

Atlas 2 Distribution and Change

By the time of Atlas 2 American Black Ducks emerged as a species in an unambiguous decline. Losses of breeding black ducks equaled or exceeded gains in every single region across the state. Losses were particularly noticeable in the western river valleys, because both the Housatonic and Connecticut River Valleys reported a disappearance of black ducks from nearly 50% of each ecoregion. American Black Ducks also vanished from 36% (82 blocks) of the Coastal Plains and 44% (44 blocks) of the Bristol/Narragansett Lowlands. Whatever the cause or causes of this alarming decline (hybridization with Mallards, exclusion from high-quality wetlands by Mallards, loss of habitat, and/or hunting pressure) American Black Ducks are sending a clear message.

Atlas 1 Map

Atlas 2 Map

Atlas Change Map