Migrating ducks returning to important nesting areas in the north-central U.S. and southern Canadian prairies this spring were greeted by dry conditions, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services annual waterfowl survey. Although many areas received winter snow, including a late spring snowstorm in the southern portions of the survey area, the snowmelt was absorbed by the parched ground.
In the traditional survey area, known as the Prairie Pothole region, the total duck population estimate (excluding scoters, eiders, long-tailed ducks, mergansers, and wood ducks) was 32.2 million birds. This estimate is 11 percent below last year's estimate of 36.2 million birds, and similar to the 1955-2003 long-term average.
"The "duck factory" in the prairie potholes was much drier this May than last," said Service Director Steve Williams. "Unfortunately, the return of water to the short-grass prairie of southern Alberta and Saskatchewan seen last year did not continue, and habitat in these areas went from good last year to fair or poor this year. Areas east of the Great Lakes had plenty of water, and breeding conditions there were better than last year."
The Waterfowl Breeding Ground Population and Habitat Survey, the largest and most comprehensive survey of its kind in the world, samples 1.3 million square miles across the north-central United States, south-central and northern Canada, and Alaska. The survey estimates the number of ducks in the continents most important nesting grounds, commonly referred to as the traditional survey area. Many State and Canadian partners help collect the data.
Annual survey results help guide the Service in managing its waterfowl conservation programs under authority of the 1918 Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The Service works in partnership with state representatives from the four flyways - the Atlantic, Mississippi, Central and Pacific - that waterfowl and other birds use during their migrations, to establish regulatory frameworks on waterfowl hunting season lengths, dates and bag limits.
