Upcoming duck season looks 'extremely good' experts say

Friday, September 16, 2011
Chris Daniel, a wildlife management biologist at the Missouri Department of Conservation's Four Rivers Conservation Area points out the identifying characteristics of a wood duck to Vernon County conservation agents Justin Fogle (seated) and Shawn Pennington and MDC employee Ray Sellars during a recent day when 220 wood ducks were banded on the northern Vernon County wildlife area.

To many hunters, the cool damp weather of fall means one thing; duck hunting. This years estimated fall flight population of 45.6 million ducks makes the outlook for the 2011 waterfowl season "extremely good," according to Chris Daniel the wildlife management biologist at the Four Rivers Conservation Area in northern Vernon County.

Daniel said, "habitat conditions look pretty good" on the Four Rivers area, minus the water of course. He did say that the food sources are there and doing well and the variety of foods will be adequate. The only thing the area needs is some rain to fill some of the pools and make flooding some of the others possible.

The Four Rivers area was dry a month ago when more than 20 Missouri Department of Conservation employees gathered to band more than 200 wood ducks. There has been little rain since then, but the water that is on the area and the sheer number of ducks this year will mean that some of them stop in Vernon County.

Duck numbers are determined by a variety of ways. Brood counts, aerial surveys of the north country breeding area, banding and other methods have shown that the numbers of several species of ducks are up significantly this year.

According to figures supplied by Daniel, blue-winged teal, gadwalls, shovelers, and redhead ducks are all doing well and their populations range from 80 to 106 percent above their long-term averages. Mallard numbers are 9 percent higher than in 2010 and 22 percent higher than their long-term average.

Pintails have increased 26 percent over 2010 and are now about even with their long-term average. Green winged teal have declined 17 percent since last year but the numbers are still 47 percent above the long-term average. Scaup and wigeon numbers are both below their long-term average. The average peak number of ducks at Four Rivers runs between 75,000 and 100,000. Last year the numbers peaked in mid-December at 150,000 ducks.

Canada geese have been on the increase or stable for many years and the other goose species are experiencing good numbers as well.

Birds come to this area, which is part of the great Mississippi Flyway from many areas to the north and move on south as far as Mexico, south and central America.

With or without water there are sure to be plenty of ducks to hunt this year. All a hunter has to do is locate a spot the birds are using.

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