Nicolet Bird Sanctuary During the spring migration, there were nearly 500,000 snow goose ("Chen caerulescens"), or nearly all of the population of species "atlantica". It is also an important site for the migration of Canada (Branta canadensis), where more than 100,000 individuals were observed in 1998. There are also a number ("Black duck") ("Anas rubripes") and of black scoter ("Melanitta nigra"). During the autumn, there are a significant number of pintail ("Anas acuta"), small scaup ("Aythya affinis"), Scaup and golden-eye withered ("Bucephala clangula"). Ducks nesting on the site are the Aix sponsa, the nasal duck, Anas clypeata, the gill duck, Anas strepera), 'American
Lesser scaup well as seeds and other parts of aquatic plants like sedges and bulrushes (Cyperaceae), "pondweeds", widgeon-grass ("Ruppia cirrhosa"), wild celery ("Vallisneria americana") or wild rice ("Zizania"). In winter, but less so in summer, other aquatic animals—crustacean, insect and their larvae and small fishes—form an important part of their diet. It has been reported that both the lesser and the greater scaup have shifted their traditional migration routes to take advantage of the presence of the zebra mussel ("Dreissena polymorpha") in Lake Erie, which was accidentally introduced in the 1980s and has multiplied enormously. This may pose a risk to these