The first numbers are beginning to come in from the breeding grounds, and as you might expect, the picture is still cloudy for what upcoming regulations will hold come opening day.
Hello folks, and as always, welcome to Waterfowler.com.
Got the Summertime Blues? Why not escape back to the good old days? How? Dress in your finest duckery, turn down the AC and write a story from your glory days for WFC Journal. We are currently taking submissions from our members of both written material and photography. If you are interested in sharing your tales of waterfowling wonder with fellow WFC members, check out the submission guidelines link in the top of the right hand menu on the WFC home page, put on your writing cap, and tell us a story.
The next round of new VFE selections will be taking place over the next two weeks. If you are a WFC member and would like to take part in keeping your fellow waterfowlers in the know be sure to get your application in before July 10th. The OnLine VFE application is available under the Member Areas menu at the top of the page. VFEs are expected to report at least twice a month during the regular waterfowl season on the migration activity and conditions in their selected areas. But even after the last shots ring out VFEs help keep all of us here up to date on the latest news and information about all things webfooted in their home states. So, if you think you have what it takes and are willing to share your waterfowling wisdom, submit a VFE application today.
And now, on to the Breeding Ground Report.
North Dakota Game and Fish officials report that this year’s spring breeding duck index was the third highest on record. But before you start stockpiling shells and booking vacation time, there is a bit more to tell.
Although the overall duck numbers from the state survey were up, key factors for the federal survey—mallard and pond numbers—were down. The big winners from this count were redheads, gadwall and wigeon, up 51%, 44% and 39% respectively. Mallard numbers were down 9% from last year and blue wing teal numbers fell 14%, though both remained above the long-term average for this survey.
These ground surveys, conducted in early May, showed a decrease of available water from last year, down 16%.
These preliminary numbers continue to indicate wide variability in this year’s production potential. Until the final numbers are in from the USFWS surveys numbers such as these can be misleading when looking at the whole of North America’s 2004 waterfowl production. But not to worry, they at least give us all something to talk about until the federal survey results are released.
