Hunters won’t have as much luck with ducks next season

Preliminary results of the 2008 Waterfowl Breeding Population and Habitat Survey were just released by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and waterfowl hunters can expect to see fewer ducks when they go afield this fall. Preliminary estimates place the overall duck population at just more than 37 million birds, a 9 percent decline from the 2007 estimate of 41.2 million birds.

The good news is the 2008 estimate remains 11 percent above the 1995 to 2007 long-term average.

Every spring, biologists — those who also happen to be pilots, anyway — take to the air and conduct surveys of the traditional waterfowl breeding grounds in the north-central and northeastern United States, south-central, eastern and northern Canada and Alaska. Covering more than 2 million acres, this is the largest survey of its kind in the world. While flying their designated transects, the biologists not only estimate waterfowl population but also assess habitat conditions.

These annual surveys provide the scientific data that guides waterfowl management programs and the setting of hunting seasons and hunting regulations. The season structure and bag limits for the 2008-09 hunting seasons will be determined when the Flyway Councils and the FWS Regulations Committee meet this month and in early August.

Based upon the 2008 survey, habitat conditions for breeding waterfowl were similar to those in 2007. However, there was a decline in the amount of water available to breeding pairs. The total pond estimate for Prairie Canada and the United States was 4.4 million ponds, 2.6 million (37 percent) fewer than the 2007 estimate of 7.0 million ponds and 10 percent below the long-term average of 4.9 million ponds.

Since ducks are classified as waterfowl, few people should be surprised to learn that water is critical to duck breeding success. When 2.6 million ponds are lost, it’s sure to have a significant impact on bird numbers, especially in areas where prolonged drought has taken its toll. And since season dates, season lengths and bag limits are based on the survey results, it is probably safe to say hunters might see some changes in waterfowl regulations this year.

“The decline in breeding habitat conditions is consistent with what Ducks Unlimited’s field biologists have reported across much of the U.S. and Canadian breeding grounds this spring,” said Dale Hamburg, chief biologist for Ducks Unlimited. “While late rains may have improved habitat for late nesting species, and for renesting and brood rearing, poor production will likely occur over key production areas, particularly the prairie grasslands of the U.S. and Canada.”

Three duck species showed an increase in numbers from last year — scaup, redheads and green-winged teal. These birds showed increases of 8 percent, 5 percent and 3 percent. Canvasback numbers, on the other hand, dropped an estimated 44 percent, from 860,000 birds to 480,000. Biologists conducting the survey also saw significant drops in northern shoveler, northern pintail and gadwall numbers.

The number of mallards is estimated at 7.7 million, just 7 percent fewer than 2007 and still above the long-term average. The only species whose populations remain below the long-term average are the American wigeon, northern pintail, canvasback and scaup.

Despite numbers showing overall duck populations still above the long-term average, Hamburg testified before the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries and Wildlife that we should be concerned about declining waterfowl numbers. He identified the loss of grassland nesting habitat, deterioration of coastal wetlands and the loss of wetlands in general as key factors in the decline of waterfowl populations.

“Changes in bird numbers and their distribution can be taken as strong signals that key environmental functions are broken. Birds serve as the proverbial ‘canary in the coal mine,’ but on a continental scale,” Hamburg said.

Doug Nielsen is an award-winning freelance writer and a conservation educator for the Nevada Department of Wildlife. His “In the Outdoors” column is published Thursday. He can be reached at doug@takinitoutside.com.