Overall, the outlook for geese is favorable, with most goose populations experiencing good nesting conditions.
Lesser snow geese in the western Central Flyway (wintering in southeastern Colorado, New Mexico, and the Texas Panhandle) and those wintering in central and southern California should equal or exceed last years.
The number of ducks migrating south this fall is expected to be similar to last year in all regions of the country,
"After nearly a decade of drought, weve finally got some water in the ponds," said John Turner, director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "Unfortunately, many of the ponds dont have much surrounding natural vegetation that ducks need to nest and hide from predators. We need to continue efforts under the North American Waterfowl Management Plan to make sure there is secure, quality nesting cover for waterfowl."
Significant amounts of rain fell in late spring across much of the Canadian and U.S. prairies where most ducks nest. The number of ponds counted in July by survey crews was the highest on record. The rain fell too late in the season to benefit most nesting ducks, but mallards are expected to increase slightly.
Numbers of most Canada goose populations this fall are expected to be similar to last year. An exception is the southern James Bay population (formerly called the Tennessee Valley population) that winters in Kentucky, Tennessee, northern Alabama, northwestern Pennsylvania, and western North Carolina and South Carolina. This population will experience another below-average fall flight. The fall flight of giant Canada geese is expected to exceed last years.
The fall flight of greater white-fronted geese in the Pacific Flyway (wintering in Californias Central Valley) will increase slightly over recent years but remains below desired levels. The populations wintering in Louisiana and Texas will be similar in size to last year.
The fall flight of Ross geese (wintering in northern and central California, New Mexico, and along the Texas Gulf Coast) should increase over last year. Populations of Atlantic and Pacific brant and both eastern and western tundra swans are also expected to equal or exceed last years.
This year, the Fish and Wildlife Service improved the method of estimating duck numbers to take into account changes in prairie habitat conditions and improvements in waterfowl surveys. This years duck fall flight index, using the new procedures, is projected at 60 million. This is not significantly different from last years revised projection of 57 million. The fall flight index does not represent an actual count of birds, but is
a projection based on surveys of duck breeding populations and estimates of brood production. Waterfowl biologists regard the duck breeding population estimate as a more accurate and reliable figure than the fall flight index. This years duck breeding population estimate totalled 26.5 million, up 6 percent from last year but remaining 19 percent below the average from 1955-90.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 93-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses more than 530 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 66 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies. For further information about the programs and activities of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Great Lakes-Big Rivers Region, please visit our home page at: http://midwest.fws.gov
