Duck Numbers Steady, Pond Count Declines

By Justin Stakes

Little Rock, AR -(AmmoLand.com)- Waterfowl numbers remain near all-time highs, despite a shift in habitat conditions in the Prairie Pothole Region of the U.S. and Canada, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s recent release of the 2016 Waterfowl Population Status.

During spring and early summer, biologists took to the skies to gauge the amount of wetlands available for waterfowl throughout their traditional breeding grounds in the Dakotas and Canadian provinces. The numbers of ponds filled by spring rains and snowmelt are directly related to the numbers of waterfowl that settle in an area. Smaller, temporary wetlands are particularly important in influencing the productivity of nesting birds. During these surveys, biologists also record the abundance of breeding waterfowl to develop an estimate of the total number of each species in the region.

In the traditional survey area, the total duck population estimate was 48.4 million birds. While slightly lower than 2015’s estimate of 49.5 million, this is still 38 percent higher than the long-term average from 1955-2015.

Mallard abundance, which holds the most attention for Arkansas hunters, was nearly identical to 2015 at 11.8 million and well above …Read the Rest

Source:: AmmoLand