Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

AUSTIN, Texas --(Ammoland.com)- Weekly migratory bird hunting reports are posted from early September through early February.

North Zone Dove: Hunter participation has slowed to a crawl. More birds moved into the region with light north winds. Rains over the weekend recharged ponds and puddles. Afternoon watering holes have produced lately with the drought conditions. Lubbock and Abilene fields have produced good shoots in scouted fields. Fields near Paris and Red River County have been fair around treelines. Dallas area fields have been fair in the afternoon. The season runs through Oct. 23. Prospects are fair to good.

Central Zone Dove: Birds have been best over corn, milo and watering holes in the afternoon. Fields around San Antonio, Castroville, Hondo, Uvalde and Del Rio have been fair to good in the afternoon. Hunter participation has waned of late. Fields around Hankamer, Sealy and Waller have been fair to good. The region received much needed rain over the weekend. Dayton fields of goatweed have been good. Waco and Georgetown hunters have seen best flights in the afternoon. The season runs through Oct. 23. Prospects are fair to good.

South Zone Dove: Harlingen, Brownsville and Laredo hunters have seen mixed flights of whitewings and mourners in milo and sunflowers. Milo and sunflowers near Raymondville and Port Mansfield have been good in the afternoon. Devine hunters have scored easy limits. El Campo, Bay City, Blessing, Danevang and Palacios fields have been best in the afternoon around shredded fields and goatweed. Milo crops along the middle coast have held birds. Areas along the middle coast enjoyed as much as five inches of rain over the weekend. More whitewings have shown in fields east and west of Houston during the past two weeks. The season runs through Oct. 30. Prospects are fair to good.

Waterfowl Migration: The coastal prairie received anywhere from 2-5 inches of rain over the weekend. Many ponds that were evaporating after being pumped for teal season were recharged with “free water.” Pintails, shovelers, teal, gadwalls, wigeons and redheads are showing on the coast. More specklebellies and ducks showed with the light north winds coupled with the bright moon. The North and South zones open Nov. 5.

About:
The Mission of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, (TPWD), is to manage and conserve the natural and cultural resources of Texas and to provide hunting, fishing and outdoor recreation opportunities for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. Visit: www.tpwd.state.tx.us

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

AUSTIN, Texas --(Ammoland.com)- Weekly migratory bird hunting reports are posted from early September through early February.

West Zone Goose: Hunter participation has waned in the High Plains, though goose numbers remain strong around Amarillo. The Arctic blast this week should get geese in the mood to feed as forecasts call for several days of freezing temperatures and precipitation. Canada geese are strong over wheat and corn. The Light Goose Conservation Order begins Feb. 7, and prospects look fair around Lake Etter. Prospects are fair.

East Zone Goose: The Light Goose Conservation Order began Jan. 24 to lackluster participation. Still huntable numbers of snows on the coastal prairies, but few hunters are interested in hunting during the liberal special season. Good hunts were posted in green fields near Port Lavaca, but few outfitters are offering hunts. Pre-frontal fog early in the week allowed for solid shoots. Recent wet weather has discouraged hunters. Prospects are fair.

About:
The Mission of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, (TPWD), is to manage and conserve the natural and cultural resources of Texas and to provide hunting, fishing and outdoor recreation opportunities for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. Visit: www.tpwd.state.tx.us

Waterfowlers Urged To Keep Safety In Mind

Arkansas Game & Fish Commission

LITTLE ROCK, AR --(Ammoland.com)- Changing weather conditions have been the rule this duck season, and the final days of the 2010-11 season will be no exception.

After a season of very little rainfall, up-and-down temperatures and other weather changes, Arkansas waterfowl hunters will get a shot of almost spring-like weather over the final days of the season.

Temperatures will continue to rise throughout the weekend with highs expected to reach the lows 60s by the weekend.

Nighttime temperatures for central Arkansas are forecast to drop into the low 40s on Friday and Saturday night.

Arkansas Game and Fish Commission biologists took to the skies last week for the 2010-11 season’s final aerial waterfowl surveys. Observers counted a total of 1,786,677 ducks in the Delta with 1,311,245 mallards included in that total. In the Arkansas River valley, observers counted 60,635 ducks including 41,850 mallards. Duck numbers have fluctuated this season due to limited rainfall.

Biologists said it appeared that most ducks were scattered last week in the Delta. Thursday’s freeze-up had ducks concentrated on Friday flight. Habitat conditions and water levels in the fields looked about average as a whole. Most rivers (e.g., Bayou DeView, Cache, White, Black, St. Francis) looked well below average depths. The Cache and Bayou DeView were especially low. The low water conditions forced ducks to keep open holes in fields on Friday or continue south looking for open water.

All shallow water habitats were frozen last week. Good numbers of ducks were spotted on large bodies of water throughout the Arkansas River Valley. Habitat conditions are still poor due to lack of rainfall. Hunters with water might expect good success this last week of the season, but the warm weather may prove a challenge.

Arkansas’s duck season ends Sunday, Jan. 30.

To assist waterfowl hunters with the latest information, the AGFC provides links to sources on waterfowl location and abundance in Arkansas and other states. The links are available at www.agfc.com/hunting/Pages/HuntingWaterfowlReport.aspx#1.

This waterfowl report provides capsule information from agency staff in all corners of Arkansas and is updated each Wednesday throughout waterfowl season. To receive the report each week on your computer, send an e-mail to arkansasoutdoors@agfc.com and type “Waterfowl Report” in the subject line.

Information on river levels can be found at: www.srh.noaa.gov/lmrfc/ or http://water.usgs.gov/realtime.html.

Sunrise/sunset tables are available at: www.usno.navy.mil/USNO/astronomical-applications/data-services/rs-one-day-us and in the Arkansas Waterfowl Regulations Guide.

This event gives birders a chance to get together and have a good time while gathering information on bird diversity and abundance in the area

West Virginia DNR

ELKINS, W.Va. – -(Ammoland.com)- Local bird enthusiasts will take to the roads and woods during the 29th annual Elkins Area Christmas Bird Count on Jan. 3, 2011.

“This event gives birders a chance to get together and have a good time while gathering information on bird diversity and abundance in the area,” said Jim Fregonara, wildlife biologist for the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources.

Participants will meet at 8 a.m. at the DNR Operations Center on Ward Road in Elkins. Both novice and experienced bird watchers are invited to take part.

The Elkins area bird count is just one of hundreds of Christmas Bird Counts that occur around the country this time of year. The aim is to tally all birds observed within a 7.5 mile radius of a given point. Over time, these annual counts can reveal trends in populations of various avian species.

On the morning of Jan. 3, birders will be grouped into teams of 2-3 observers and assigned specific routes to survey. If you live in or near Elkins, you can participate by just tallying the birds in your yard by species and reporting that information.

Anyone interested in participating in this year’s Christmas Bird Count should contact Jim Fregonara jimfregonara@wvdnr.gov or Craig Stihler craigstihler@wvdnr.gov or phone the WVDNR at 304-637-0245 for more information.

Arkansas Game & Fish Commission

LITTLE ROCK, AR –-(Ammoland.com)- Dry conditions remained in place for the opening weekend of Arkansas’s duck season, and while substantial rainfall is needed to provide abundant waterfowl habitat in the state, weather forecasts call for at least a little relief in the coming days.

Meanwhile, results from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s November aerial waterfowl surveys, which were conducted a week prior to the season opener, revealed duck abundance was about 40 percent lower than this time last year.

“That’s probably not much of a surprise to anyone,” said AGFC waterfowl program coordinator Luke Naylor. “Conditions have been extremely dry compared to last year, when there was abundant habitat as a result of record rainfall just before the season. The landscape looks very different this season.”

Aerial waterfowl surveys in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley, commonly known as the Delta, estimated total duck abundance at about 1.1 million, with roughly 181,000 mallards.

“It’s interesting to note that our observers saw about 40 percent of the ducks in the Delta on rice fields, which isn’t surprising,” Naylor said. “But what is notable is that about 20 percent were in cypress/tupelo brakes and 20 percent were in fish ponds. That includes mallards, and it’s just one more indication of the dry conditions.”

This is the second year that AGFC has used a newer and more reliable transect method to count ducks in the Delta. Pilots and biologists fly randomly selected east-west lines and count ducks through a grid drawn on the aircraft’s window. Previously, AGFC used a “cruise” method, flying over selected habitats and counting all visible waterfowl. Because of the different survey methods used prior to last year, it’s invalid to compare numbers from this year’s and last year’s surveys to results from previous years’ surveys.

In western Arkansas, where biologists continue to use cruise surveys to sample selected habitats, aerial counts revealed an estimate of roughly 30,000 ducks, including 14,000 mallards, in southwest Arkansas, and about 6,000 ducks, including less than 100 mallards, in the Arkansas River Valley. Observers reported drastically different habitat conditions in the western Arkansas survey regions. Flights over the Arkansas River Valley revealed very little flooded agricultural habitat, while southwest Arkansas flights showed some private landowners actively pumping hunting lands.

Weather conditions likely will provide at least some improvement in habitat conditions and waterfowl abundance in the coming days. The National Weather Service in North Little Rock is calling for 1 to 2 inches of rainfall across much of the state Wednesday night through Thanksgiving Day. According to the weather service, as much as 2 inches of rain fell across portions of east-central Arkansas on Monday night, including totals of 2.05 inches at the Stuttgart Municipal Airport in Prairie County and 1.70 inches at Brinkley in Monroe County.

Colder temperatures also could bring waterfowl migrations into the state. Behind the rainfall predicted for Wednesday and Thursday, cooler air will move into the state, bringing nighttime lows in the upper 20s and daytime highs in the 40s and lower 50s. Waterfowl biologists in Missouri reported seeing large movements of ducks and geese during that state’s aerial waterfowl survey flights earlier this week.

The first segment of Arkansas’s duck season closes at sunset Sunday, Nov. 28. The second segment opens Dec. 7 and continues through Jan. 17, and the third and final segment opens Jan. 22 and closes Jan. 30.

To assist waterfowl hunters with the latest information, he AGFC provides links to sources on waterfowl location and abundance in Arkansas and other states. The links are available at http://www.agfc.com/hunting/Pages/HuntingWaterfowlReport.aspx#1.

This waterfowl report provides capsule information from agency staff in all corners of Arkansas and is updated each Wednesday throughout waterfowl season. To receive the report each week on your computer, send an e-mail to arkansasoutdoors@agfc.com and type “Waterfowl Report” in the subject line.

• Information on river levels can be found at: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/lmrfc/ or http://water.usgs.gov/realtime.html.
• Sunrise/sunset tables are available at: http://www.usno.navy.mil/USNO/astronomical-applications/data-services/rs-one-day-us and in the Arkansas Waterfowl Regulations Guide.

Ohio Department Natural Resources

COLUMBUS, OH --(Ammoland.com)- COLUMBUS, OH – Ohio waterfowl hunters should have good opportunities to take some of the most popular species of waterfowl, based on the findings of biologists at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The spring pond index for the prairie pothole region of North America (Kansas to central Saskatchewan) and breeding duck surveys indicate an above average reproduction year for most duck species. Ponds are housing above average numbers and good production has been noted from most of the primary breeding range. Duck numbers are slightly lower than 2009, but they are still 21 percent above the long-term average.

Closer to home, the Upper Great Lakes states showed average habitat conditions and similar production of mallards as last year. The Upper Great Lakes are the primary breeding range for mallards harvested in Ohio. Mallards are Ohio’s number one harvested duck and can be found throughout the state.

Wood ducks, the second most important duck to Ohio hunters and the state’s number one breeding duck, appear to have had a fair production year. Late summer dry conditions may concentrate birds, but a variety of hunting locations should be available for Ohio hunters.

Canada geese are the most harvested waterfowl in Ohio and can be found in good numbers everywhere. Locally raised giant Canada geese had the fourth highest population estimate this spring and all indications are there was fair to good production across Ohio. Migrant interior populations (Southern James Bay and Mississippi Valley) of Canada geese have also had good production. With proper weather, the hunting outlook is good to very good.

With good habitat conditions, Ohio hunters will enjoy a liberal 60-day hunting season once again this year. Pintail again showed an increase in population which will allow a two-bird bag this year. Scaup showed a slight increase in population, so there will be a two-bird bag for the whole season. The canvasback population decreased slightly, but there will still be a full season in 2010.

The success of Ohio waterfowl hunters has more to do with weather conditions and choice of hunting location than available ducks. Hunters should be scouting their territories now and securing landowner permission where needed. State wildlife areas are in good condition with excellent fall food potential. Heavy rains early in the summer followed by an extended drought permitted considerable growth in moist-soil plants in many traditional wetlands. A flooding of those areas by early fall rains should provide additional waterfowl habitat. Hunters should not only check their traditional spots, but also more marginal haunts for food production and water quantity.

Details of the waterfowl and all other hunting seasons can be found in the Ohio Hunting and Trapping Regulations and in Ohio Waterfowl Hunting Seasons. Hunters can also review seasons and regulations online at wildohio.com

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources ensures a balance between wise use and protection of our natural resources for the benefit of all. Visit the ODNR Web site at www.ohiodnr.com.

Mallard Ducklings Benefit: Photo Delta Waterfowl

Delta Waterfowl

Bismarck, ND --(Ammoland.com)- Preliminary research results from Delta Waterfowl indicates managing predators can be an effective tool in significantly increasing nest success in landscapes with limited grass nesting cover and those suffering from chronically low duck production.

Delta researchers recently finished work on eight low-grass sites located in North Dakota and Manitoba, and the results were encouraging: nest success on two predator-controlled blocks near Minnedosa, Manitoba averaged 43.3 percent, while nest success on similar sites that weren’t trapped was three percent.

Delta started trapping low-grass sites after research showed that ducks nesting in areas with an abundance of grass–like Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) fields in the U.S.–often produce at population-expanding levels without the help of predator management. But Canada has no CRP-type program, and with CRP acres being broken on the U.S. side of the breeding grounds, finding ways to increase nest-success on low-grass areas became a priority.

“The results are very encouraging,” says Delta Scientific Director Dr. Frank Rohwer, “especially in light of the chronic low duck production that is all too common across large expanses of the Canadian prairies. The Canadian ‘duck factory’ is broken. Nest success of three percent is well below what’s needed just to maintain populations. We’re exploring all possible solutions to increase duck production and we’re hopeful predator management is one of them.”

One significant change at the Canadian sites this year was reducing the size of the test areas from 36 square miles to either 25 or 16 square miles. The goal was to increase trapping intensity by focusing trapping efforts on smaller parcels of land. Researchers believe the more intense trapping activity for raccoons, skunks and fox contributed to the high nest success.

The Canadian sites are located in the “parkland” region of western Manitoba. This area, with relatively stable water conditions and a high density of breeding ducks, is a priority area for waterfowl conservation.

“Nesting ducks need relief from the growing number of small predators,” says Dr. Rohwer. “This is a system out of balance. We created it and it’s likely going to take human intervention to bring the balance back between predator and prey species.”

In North Dakota, researchers focused their efforts on sites with relatively little grass cover, less than 10 percent. Biologists have already confirmed that ducks struggle to reproduce in areas with scarce nesting cover.

Results from these areas also suggest predator management is an effective method of increasing nest success. The two-year average for nest success on North Dakota trapped blocks was 28.1 percent, compared to a success rate of 6.4 percent on the non-trapped, control sites.

Delta Waterfowl has been conducting research on predator management since 1994.

“After 17 years of research, we’re learning where and when and how it’s best to trap to increase duck production,” says Delta President Rob Olson. “While these results are preliminary and while it will take more time and evaluation to confirm that predator management will work in the parklands and areas of the Dakotas where nesting cover is scarce, we’re pleased by the results.”

Delta Waterfowl plans to continue its predator management research next year in both low-grass and parkland regions.

Delta Waterfowl Student Researchers: Photo Delta Waterfowl

About:
Delta Waterfowl provides knowledge, leaders and science-based solutions that efficiently conserve waterfowl and secure the future for waterfowl hunting. Visit: www.deltawaterfowl.org

Massive Snow Goose Flocks

Delta Waterfowl

WINNIPEG, Manitoba --(Ammoland.com)- Could a bumper crop of snow geese be in the offing for waterfowl hunters this year?

Dr. Robert “Rocky” Rockwell, a biology professor at City University of New York and one of North America’s leading authorities on snow geese, thinks so. Rockwell says the summer nesting season in the subarctic region of La Perouse Bay in northern Manitoba was “spectacular.”

“This is a huge production year,” says Rockwell, who was concerned about nesting success after last year’s dismal production. “This was the most bizarrely wet year I’ve ever seen up there. The birds nested 9 or 10 days earlier than normal, and as a result nest success was very high.”

Translation: Goose hunters are staring down the barrel of what could be a banner fall flight.

“Predicting hunting can be a fool’s errand, and I never like to do it, but the upcoming season appears to be shaping up awfully well,” says Delta Waterfowl President Rob Olson.

“My message to goose hunters is this: get ready. The migration could be packed with young-of-the-year birds.”

Rockwell agrees. He says high nest success means lots of juveniles will be making the flight south.

“We’re talking about juvenile to adult ratios of 1.5 to 1,” says Rockwell, “which means those puppies are going to be sucked right into decoy spreads. Harvest always goes up when you have a high juvenile-to-adult ratio, so I think there’s good opportunity and I think it’s going to be early, because geese are already moving south.”

Snow Goose Production Up

Rockwell says snow and Ross’ geese are foraging heavily on berries inland from the Hudson Bay coast. Thousands are currently south of the normal La Perouse Bay breeding range near the Broad River and are staging all the way to the Ontario/Manitoba border.

The eastern arctic is also looking good, says Dr. Jim Leafloor, a research scientist for Environment Canada who just returned from a banding program on Baffin Island.

“We’re expecting good production on Baffin, for all species, not just snows,” says Leafloor. “On South Hamption Island it’s the same deal, so the eastern arctic seems to be doing well this year.”

It’s a slightly different story in the central arctic. The migratory bird sanctuary at Karrak Lake south of Queen Maud Gulf is the breeding ground for 10 to 15 percent of the mid-continent snow goose population.

“Production of young at Karrak Lake has declined in the last four years,” says Dr. Ray Alisauskas, a research scientist with Environment Canada who’s been studying the colony since 1991. “There was later-than-average nesting due to delayed snow melt and delays in nutrient storage, stemming from reduced food availability because of very high densities of geese on subarctic feeding areas.”

While nesting productivity is down, Alisauskas says overall populations of both snow and Ross’ geese remain very high. The number of nesting geese at Karrak Lake has grown from 400,000 to more than a million in less than 10 years. A recent assessment found survival rates have not declined since 1989, even with concerted efforts to reduce the population through liberalized hunting regulations and a special spring conservation hunt.

“This harvest is showing that it’s sustainable,” says Alisauskas. “These birds are so resilient. You see video in the spring and you say, ‘Wow these birds are getting pounded quite hard,’ but when you look at the estimates of survival, they haven’t changed in the last 20 years.”

Olson says their sublime taste hasn’t changed in 20 years, either. Delta’s president isn’t a preacher, but he has become an evangelist for snow geese, which he says are among the most underrated waterfowl species for the pot. In fact, he insists they’re among the best.

“I don’t know where the propaganda started, but the myth that snow geese are inedible is just that—a myth,” he said. “I think they’re absolutely delicious—certainly not winged liver, as some have suggested— and I challenge hunters this year to prepare these succulent birds for their friends and family. They won’t be disappointed.”

Snow Goose Hunters - Get Ready

About:
Delta Waterfowl provides knowledge, leaders and science-based solutions that efficiently conserve waterfowl and secure the future for waterfowl hunting. Visit: www.deltawaterfowl.org

If the federal duck survey suggests that canvasback numbers are way down, then we can respond by reducing hunting limits.

Delta Waterfowl

Gulf Coast --(Ammoland.com)- BP’s Macondo well is capped—at least for now—and that’s welcome relief to Gulf Coast residents who are grappling with the economic, environmental and emotional fallout from the largest oil spill in U.S. history.

But serious questions remain for the millions of migratory birds that will begin descending on or through the Gulf Coast beginning this month.

“The fact is, when blue-winged teal start to show up here in August, no one knows what they’re going to find,” said Delta Waterfowl Scientific Director Dr. Frank Rohwer, who is also a professor at Louisiana State University’s School of Renewable Natural Resources.

“We’re in unchartered territory.”

Over the last several weeks, two complimentary plans have emerged to “shortstop” ducks, geese and other migratory birds from oil-contaminated portions of the Gulf Coast.

In what has been characterized as an unprecedented attempt to alter migration routes, the federal government is spending more than $20 million on “alternative habitat” in eight states to attract southward-bound birds. The Natural Resources Conservation Service—an arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture—will establish as much as 150,000 acres in states as far north as Missouri.

In addition, Ducks Unlimited recently received a $2.5 million grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. The funds are being used to “flood alternative habitats” in the rice regions of coastal Louisiana and Texas.

In the following Q&A, Dr. Rohwer weighs in on the short-stopping question, whether “hazing” birds from oil-contaminated areas is worth a try, and why he believes a season closure is a bad idea.

The federal government and others are attempting to “shortstop” ducks during the migration to keep them out of the oil in coastal Louisiana. Can this well-intentioned multi-million dollar idea work on a meaningful scale? Can such an effort impact duck distribution?

I’m quite skeptical that such a program will work to keep ducks out of coastal areas in Louisiana, where all of us are concerned about birds being exposed to oil.

Remember last year during the winter we had extraordinarily wet conditions throughout Arkansas, Mississippi, southern Missouri and northern Louisiana. Those conditions provided thousands of acres of freshly flooded habitat. Even with those extraordinary habitat conditions ducks were still using Louisiana’s coastal marshes in numbers comparable to the five-year average. So I’m doubtful that the proposed efforts can have a big impact on duck distribution.

Finally, I wonder if anyone thought much about duck hunters before they initiated this plan. Suppose I’m wrong and we can shortstop ducks. It would be ironic that in a year when Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama coastal hunters will likely struggle to find places to hunt, we would make the hunting situation worse for them. For the guys north of the oil frontline — that is, the majority of Louisiana hunters — it will be especially frustrating if shortstopping works because they will see fewer ducks in their decoys this fall.

Are some ducks species faithful to the same wintering areas year after year and generation after generation?

It is the rule that migratory birds go to traditional areas to spend the winter. That also applies to most ducks. There are a few ducks, especially mallards, that stay as far north as they can until freezing weather and a lack of food push them to migrate south. That, however, is more the exception rather than the rule. We often have ducks showing up in Louisiana in August and September, long before northern weather would move birds.

In the past 25 years we have learned that some of the bay and sea ducks show remarkable homing to the exact same sites to spend the winter. That may also occur with dabbling ducks, but researchers just have not examined how precisely individual ducks return to wintering sites.

Scaup, canvasbacks and other diving ducks winter in the Gulf’s coastal bays where the current risk of oiling is most serious. Can we shortstop divers?

This is very unlikely. From what I’ve read, the incentives programs are all about flooding grain fields, especially rice and other shallow wetland habitat. That will have no impact on those three species of divers, which are probably the most at-risk species because they predominantly use those outer coastal bays where the near-shore oil has been a real problem.

Are there any other approaches that can be put in play to minimize birds coming in contact with oiled areas

Yes, the USDA and others have a long history of using disturbance techniques (often called hazing) on certain bird species to alter bird distribution.

The compelling thing about hazing is that the technique would be very focused, because we would haze birds only where there’s a problem with oil contamination. Hazing also has a record of working — we know we can disturb ducks and move them out of an area. Hazing isn’t as easy as it may sound, but it sure can work.

Hazing operations can also mobilize fairly quickly. Remember, Louisiana has a lot of out-of-work watermen, thanks to the Horizon incident, and we could use them to target sites that continue to have oil and settling ducks.

Hazing should be a priority moving forward. Its focus would be narrow because we’d only be targeting at-risk ducks in the most impacted areas

Some have discussed closing the duck season over fears of a major duck die-off in the Gulf. What’s your reaction to that idea?

Nonsense. I like the idea that hunters were the first to offer up this idea, because they really care about the long-term welfare of the resource. However, I strongly dislike this idea for three very different reasons.

First, some philosophy. It would gall me that hunters have to sacrifice because of BP’s mistakes.

Second, some biology. This idea of closing seasons or reducing limits is squarely resting on the idea that our modest harvest levels have a long-term impact on the size of duck populations. That is a very questionable. In North America we build so much safety into our hunting regulations that we stand little chance of seeing any population-level impact to even a relatively large oil kill.

Finally, some practicality. Closing or reducing seasons presupposes substantial mortality due to oil. I seriously doubt there will be much oil-related duck mortality. If I’m wrong and the Horizon oil spill does kill lots of ducks, the time to alter seasons or limits would be next year. For example, if the 2011 federal duck survey suggests that canvasback numbers are way down, then we might respond by reducing limits or having a species closure. Let’s not presuppose a problem that may never materialize.

About:
Delta Waterfowl provides knowledge, leaders and science-based solutions that efficiently conserve waterfowl and secure the future for waterfowl hunting. Visit: www.deltawaterfowl.org

June Is Canada Goose Round-Up Time

Kentucky Department Fish Wildlife

Kentucky --(Ammoland.com)- Wildlife Division staff from the Northeast, Bluegrass and Southeast regions, along with assistance from Fisheries, Administrative Services, Information and Education and some enthusiastic volunteers herded, corralled and/or tackled about 2,000 Canada geese during this summer’s banding campaign.

During the last two weeks of June each year, KDFWR staff from the various divisions work together to band birds from Kentucky’s resident Canada goose population. Often referred to as Giant Canada geese (Branta Canadensis maxima) and once thought extinct, these birds have been restored across all their former range in North America.

Banding is done during late June and early July when adult geese are flightless because of the wing molt and before this year’s young can fly. Biologists use a variety of techniques including Jon boats on Cave Run Lake, trucks, ropes and foot traffic on Minor Clark Fish Hatchery, and a combination of radio-controlled boats and kayaks on central Kentucky horse farms to herd molting adults and young geese into locations where they can be trapped and banded.

Once the birds are corralled, biologists begin the process of aging and sexing each bird before placing a uniquely coded band around the leg and releasing the bird back on site. In addition to placing new bands on birds without bands, we record the band number of other geese already wearing leg bands from previous years. Often John Brunjes and Rocky Pritchert will use this opportunity to teach new staff as well as anyone else who may be interested to learn how to age and sex a goose.

This is an excellent hands on opportunity that often leaves its participants a little greener than when they began. The information collected from over 20 years of banding resident geese allows the state’s waterfowl biologists to monitor harvest, annual survival and movements of Kentucky’s birds across the state and throughout the flyway and North America.

Over the years through banding, we have seen the importance of Kentucky’s resident Canada geese increase to the state’s waterfowl hunters. In 1990, less than 5 percent of Kentucky’s Canada goose harvest consisted of resident birds and 95 percent from populations that nested on the tundra regions of James and Hudson Bay.

Today, about 45 percent of the state’s harvest is comprised of resident birds and over 80 percent of our total harvest consists of both Kentucky resident geese and resident geese from our neighboring states and Ontario. Banding information has permitted biologists to set longer seasons for Kentucky goose hunters because of knowledge that there will be little impact on less abundant migrant Canada goose populations.

Much of this would not be possible without the annual Kentucky goose round-ups.

West Virginia’s Mid-winter Waterfowl Survey

West Virginia DNR

West Virginia --(AmmoLand.com)- Wildlife biologists counted 2,868 ducks and 7,789 Canada geese during the annual mid-winter waterfowl survey in early January, according to Steve Wilson, Waterfowl Biologist for the Wildlife Resources Section of the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources.

“The numbers of both ducks and geese were higher than 2009, with ducks up 41 percent and geese up 138 percent,” Wilson said. “The real value of this survey is analysis of long-term data across broad geographic areas, rather than annual fluctuations within individual states.”

Weather conditions during and immediately prior to the survey strongly influences waterfowl movement. When snow cover and frozen waterways force birds to move south and congregate on larger rivers and lakes that are not frozen-over, waterfowl counts in West Virginia usually increase.

Canada geese, mallards and black ducks, as usual, were the most commonly observed species in the 2010 survey. Other observed waterfowl include: canvasback, scaup, ring-necked duck, gadwall, bufflehead, goldeneye, mergansers and tundra swan. Eleven bald eagles and one golden eagle were also observed.

The survey was conducted on January, 5, 8 and 11, 2010 and included portions of the Kanawha, Ohio, Shenandoah and New rivers as well as Tygart and Bluestone Lakes.

Pintail Ducks

Maine Inland Fisheries and Wildlife

Maine - -(AmmoLand.com)- Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife conducted its annual mid-winter waterfowl survey early in January 2010 and recorded numbers identical to or lower than 10-year-average figures.

The mid-winter waterfowl survey is conducted at the same time each winter in every state in the Atlantic Flyway. MDIFW wildlife biologists Brad Allen and Kelsey Sullivan and U.S. Geological Survey biologist Dan McAuley flew with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service pilot John Bidwell for nearly 40 hours to conduct the low-level survey between January 4 and January 16.

This year, the team counted slightly more than 56,000 ducks and geese, a figure significantly lower than the latest 10-year average count of 69,000.

According to Brad Allen, leader of MDIFW’s bird group, this year’s count likely was low because of the relatively mild, ice-free coastal conditions encountered during the survey. In years when the survey is preceded by cold, harsh weather conditions, waterfowl become concentrated along the coast and are more likely to be counted. In years when the weather is mild, waterfowl are either along the coast or are dispersed in freshwater sites near the coast that remain ice free. These inland areas are not searched by the survey team.

Despite the mild conditions, a relatively good number of black ducks were recorded at 16,388 birds. This figure is nearly identical to the latest 10-year average for this species.

The most disappointing numbers recorded this year were for the sea ducks, according to Allen. Fewer than 1,000 scoters were encountered during the survey. Long-tailed duck numbers also were low at 1,253. Common eider numbers were the lowest ever recorded during mid-winter waterfowl survey flights. The survey team tallied fewer than 15,000 eiders, well below the latest 10-year average of 26,500 for this species.

Other numbers recorded for waterfowl in Maine in early January 2010 were as follows:

• Mallards: 2,778
• Scaup: 232
• Goldeneyes: 7,549
• Buffleheads: 6,561
• Mergansers: 2,613
• Ruddy ducks: 107
• Harlequin ducks: 24
• Canada geese: 3,286

While Maine’s numbers were relatively low this year, the overall status of winter populations cannot be determined until Maine’s data are pooled with the other state’s numbers from Maine to Florida. Collectively, these data provide a relative index to the abundance of all waterfowl species and their distribution within the flyway.

Arkansas Duck Concentration Maps

Arkansas Game & Fish Commission

LITTLE ROCK AR --(AmmoLand.com)- Biologists with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission recently completed the first aerial waterfowl survey of the 2009-2010 duck season, marking a new era in Arkansas duck counts. AGFC has changed its aerial survey method for the Mississippi Alluvial Valley (the Delta) to more reliably estimate duck numbers in the region.

Instead of the “cruise” surveys of the past, in which biologists fly over traditional waterfowl hot spots to count ducks, AGFC will now use a “transect” method. The cruise method is inherently biased because observers can’t account for unsampled areas during each survey. While no method allows biologists to generate a number for absolute abundance, the transect method allows for more standardized sampling and more reliable counts.

The transect method entails flying a randomly selected portion of transects – west-east lines drawn across the Delta at 500-meter intervals – and counting all ducks seen along those lines and using those counts to calculate an estimate of duck numbers across the entire Delta. AGFC’s effort is part of a partnership with the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, the U.S. Geological Survey and the Lower Mississippi Valley Joint Venture to generate reliable estimates across a large portion of the Mississippi Alluvial Valley over time.

AGFC completed the November 2009 estimates earlier this week, and they seem to match much of the anecdotal observations over the past several weeks. There aren’t many mallards in the Delta right now, but observers did see good numbers of other dabbling ducks, including pintails, northern shovelers and gadwalls. Duck distribution appeared to be spotty, with large concentrations here and there across the Delta but without good numbers of ducks scattered throughout the region.

Observers were somewhat surprised by the absence of water in many areas in light of the severe flooding that occurred in late October. While many areas, especially along river corridors, remained flooded, it appeared that many farmers had allowed much of the water to drain in an attempt to salvage harvestable crops.

November population estimates for the Arkansas Delta were 124,065 mallards, 522,662 other dabbling ducks and 147,678 diving ducks for a total of 794,405 ducks. Because of the change in survey methods, these numbers should not be compared with past counts. This count should be considered the first point in a developing collection of Delta duck counts.

Population estimates for western Arkansas, which are still being conducted by the cruise method because of limited waterfowl habitat in that portion of the state, were 20,105 total ducks (5,480 mallards) in southwest Arkansas and 31,000 total ducks (11,000 mallards) in northwest Arkansas.

In addition to the recent aerial waterfowl survey data, AGFC encourages hunters to take advantage of several other new tools to track waterfowl numbers and migration.

AGFC has recently developed duck density maps. The maps, one for relative density of all ducks and the other for relative mallard density, use results from aerial surveys and spatial data models to reflect relative densities of ducks in the Delta region. While the maps are helpful, hunters should understand the maps represent relative density for a given survey period and not absolute duck numbers. For example, it’s reasonable to assume that what appears as a high-density mallard area in November will likely correspond to a lower absolute number than in early January because mallard numbers typically peak in early January. The maps are available at http://www.agfc.com/pdfs/waterfowl/Nov09DuckDensity.pdf and http://www.agfc.com/pdfs/waterfowl/Nov09MallardDensity.pdf.

Since AGFC and Mississippi waterfowl managers conduct counts using the same methods and at approximately the same times, hunters may seek additional information on Mississippi’s Web site at http://home.mdwfp.com/ContentManagement/Html/htmldownload.aspx?id=327. Combined with Arkansas’s counts, that information may provide a more complete picture of waterfowl distribution across a larger portion of the Delta.

Other tools that may be helpful for hunters include a new weather severity index developed by Mississippi State University researchers. The index is an attempt to forecast potential waterfowl migration movements based on weather data throughout the Mississippi Flyway. The index is available at http://www.cfr.msstate.edu/kennedychair/weather.asp.

The Missouri Department of Conservation, in cooperation with Arkansas and several other state and federal agencies, has developed a mallard migration map that can be viewed at http://www.mdc.mo.gov/hunt/wtrfowl/migration.php.

Information on river levels can be found at: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/lmrfc/ or http://water.usgs.gov/realtime.html. Sunrise/sunset tables are available at: http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/RS_OneDay.html and in the Arkansas Waterfowl Regulations Guide.