Wintering Flocks of Goldeneyes at Sewage Outfalls in the Tay Estuary

Evidence is accumulating of the increasing dependence of diving ducks for their winter feeding on the activities of man. This report illustrates the trend with Goldeneyes, the bulk of which feed in the potentially hazardous areas off sewage out falls along the eastern coast of Scotland. There are marked differences in sex ratios in the flocks at different sites, which must indicate that males and females have different feeding habits, and highlights the dangers to which breeding populations are exposed should large numbers of one sex be involved in a pollution incident.