Has the drought affected duck populations?

Do they do any annual assessment similar to the pheasant roadside count? I know saw a couple sloughs that had a ton of ducks on it, but don’t have any reference on what a regular year looks like.

BigWerm wrote:

Do they do any annual assessment similar to the pheasant roadside count?

I don’t think they do a statewide/regional count like they do for pheasants. But I know that there is a North American population assessment done annually by the US Fish & Wildlife. I don’t think they did one in 2020 because of the pandemic and they haven’t released the one for 2021 yet. Its quite long, 78 pages. Obviously a continental assessment may not be much help in terms of local duck populations, so take it with a grain of salt.

https://www.fws.gov/migratorybirds/pdf/surveys-and-data/Population-status/Waterfowl/WaterfowlPopulationStatusReport19.pdf

North Dakota: https://www.ducks.org/press-room/north-dakota-waterfowl-populations-down-due-to-severe-drought

Dang. That DU article was from back in early June. Carryover from the dry winter I guess. Not good news for duck hunting this fall, but we’ll see.

Delta Waterfowl had a quick conditions report video last week. Not a great outlook for the prairies, but it is what it is.

Thanks for posting. Kinda what I was afraid of, not good. Just hope it’s wet next winter/spring to fill back up those potholes.

In South Central MN the duck population seems way down.

Unfortunately, if you see water levels are lower at any given wetlands, it’s pretty much a given that critters can easily access nesting sites. Earlier this spring I saw many small groups of goslings. Instead of 7 to 12, I was seeing 3 to 5.

The other side of the equation is the growing population of critters. With such low $$$$ for pelts, I’m seeing more coon, possum, skunks then ever before

Earlier this spring I saw many small groups of goslings. Instead of 7 to 12, I was seeing 3 to 5.

X2 in most areas I’ve scouted was 2 to 5 Gosling’s.

What drought? We had almost 5″ of rain total two weeks ago, and last week’s rain gage total was 5 3/4″. Grass was so long when I got back home the other week, I had to put the bagger on our zero turn, and we have over 3 acres to cut. My son lives just south of Milwaukee, and their yards are totally burned out and dormant.

Musky Ed wrote:

rain total two weeks ago,

Wrong time frame to compare to. Breeding and nesting was months ago. Up until a few weeks ago, we were almost 10” behind on rain

This pond by me usually has 4 to 5 nesting geese. This year nearly non existent. Critters got them all. This pic was today, normal water height is about 2” below metal frame

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Fall flight numbers will be down. No way around that. I’d actually prefer 1 more year of drought after this one to ensure good vegetation takes root where water levels have dropped. That way if the water does return, there’s ample improvement in water quality, food availability, and bug/invertebrate habitat for the ducks. Also, I’d much rather throw huge silhouette spreads out on sandbars and mudflats rather than hike floaters into waist deep water.