Many ducks winging their way north to Minnesota last spring arrived here early, found little water and kept flying north.
That’s the assessment from wildlife biologists after finding duck numbers way down in 2024 compared with 2023, at least in Minnesota’s prime waterfowl breeding areas.
The 2024 breeding population estimate for mallards was just 141,00 this spring, down 37% from last year and down 41% from the 10-year average.
The estimated blue-winged teal population was 160,000, up 26% from 2023 but 9% below the 10-year average and 23% below their long-term average.
The population estimate for all ducks was 445,000 ducks, 10% below the 2023 estimate, 30% below the 10-year average and 34% below the long-term average.
The population estimate of Canada geese was 106,000, 7% below last year’s estimate and 31% below the long-term average
“When ducks got here early, with an early spring and early ice-out, there wasn’t that much water on the landscape,” said Bruce Davis, Bemidji-based biologist for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources wetlands wildlife research group. “We were still in drought or abnormally dry conditions across much of Minnesota. We got a lot of rain later in April and May, a lot of flooding even. … But by then, the ducks had already gone elsewhere. We think a lot of ducks just overflew Minnesota this year to nest somewhere else.”
That means they likely went farther north, into Canada, where production can be lower.
For the ducks that did nest in Minnesota, plenty of water by late May and June should have helped spread them out and increase survival. But ducks that nest close to the water may have had their nests flooded out by rapidly rising waters through June.
“It’s a mixed bag for nesting, probably not great,” Davis said.
Davis said hunters this fall can expect to see a similar hunting season to 2023, but that weather during the season will be, as always, the key factor.
“We may see fewer ducks early with these spring survey numbers, fewer local ducks, but the migration could be great,” Davis said. “It all depends on the weather as the season progresses.”
Minnesota has been producing far fewer ducks, and far fewer duck hunters, over the past 50 years. More frequent and severe droughts combined with a loss of wetlands and grasslands where ducks breed and nest are the key factors, Davis and others note. Wetlands and grasslands are lost to agriculture and development, while invasive cattails also choke out wetlands that remain.
Efforts are underway to save and improve habitat in Minnesota, Davis said, but it’s not enough to make big changes in overall duck numbers.
“We would need some major (government) policy changes to get back the wetlands and grasslands that we need to see any serious increase in duck numbers. … I don’t know how to make that happen,” Davis said.
Hunters in Minnesota, Wisconsin and the Dakotas will see nearly the same waterfowl hunting season parameters as 2023, including season length and bag limits. If duck numbers continue to drop, however, season lengths and daily bag limits will likely be reduced in the coming years.
Minnesota’s early teal-only hunting season runs Sept. 1-5, and the early goose season begins Sept. 1. A youth waterfowl season runs Sept. 6-7. The regular waterfowl season begins Sept. 21.
For more information, check out the
Minnesota Waterfowl Hunting Regulations handbook,
available on the DNR website at dnr.state.mn.us.
Source link : http://www.bing.com/news/apiclick.aspx?ref=FexRss&aid=&tid=66c9d410e88446ca8e10748a9d07ca27&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.grandforksherald.com%2Fsports%2Fnorthland-outdoors%2Fminnesota-duck-numbers-down-again-dnr-biologists-say&c=6032575054103989278&mkt=en-us
Author :
Publish date : 2024-08-24 01:09:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.