The population of ducks in North America has grown to record-breaking numbers reports the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In their just-released 2012 spring wildfowl survey, the total duck population estimates for North America (excluding scoters, eiders, long-tailed duck, mergansers, and wood ducks) was 48.6 million birds. This is a 7% increase over last year and is 43% higher than the average between 1955-2011. This upward trend really got a kick-start last year when there was so much water on the ground all spring. It provided almost ideal hatching conditions. This was followed by a very mild winter with below average precipitation. Although the conditions this spring were not as exceptional as last year, very good habitat quality persisted across the majority of the survey area. The exceptions to this were northern Quebec, northern Maine and New Brunswick where lack of rain decreased the amount of wetlands available for nesting. But even here the nesting weather was good. No late freezes, etc. Any way you look at it, the the ducks and other waterfowl have really benefitted from two years of really good conditions. The black duck, which has been heavily regulated over the past few years, has seen a nice increase in numbers. The survey revealed about 600,000 birds, which is an increase of about 11% higher than last year and similar to its long-term average. This is quite a jump given how this population has changed since 1955. It is quite amazing to watch the growth in some of the other duck populations. Mallards, for example, increased 15% above 2011 and is now 40% above the lon-term average. Green-winged teal numbers have exploded to 20% over last year and are an unbelievable 74% over average. Blue-winged teal did not exceed their tremendous growth of last year, but are now 94% over their average. Other birds like scaup, redheads, and canvasback have shown nice increase in numbers. The one down turn was the northern pintails. However, the biologists are not that concerned because these long-flying birds can overfly their intermediary stops and go directly to their northern stop. They do this when their short-stop is not ideal. We will know more about them in the fall. Looking back at the records, the last time we had good numbers was in the 1999-2000 years. There are natural cycles that are directly dependent on good breeding conditions in the spring and a lack of a severe drought in the summer and fall. What is next? The tremendous heat wave and drought that is currently gripping the midwest is bound to dry up the small farm ponds and creeks that support many of these populations. Ducks Unlimited, local, state and federal governments have all worked hard at fostering good water management and farm practices to help the habitat. Unfortunately these can only ameliorate the drastic effects high temperatures and low precipitation can have on the breeding grounds. These surveys are not perfect. They are the result of ground and air observations by trained professionals. However, they are conducted the same way each year and cover some two million square miles of waterfowl habitat encompassing the primary breeding areas of North America. They are very accurate in demonstrating long-term trends Both Canada and the United States have invested heavily in the process by which the data is collected. It has proven over time to be a very reliable process. The eastern flyway continues to be a problem area. As the nesting habitat continues to decrease over time, no amount of positive weather can make up for the lack of breeding space. We continue to gobble up those areas where wildfowl can breed and raise their young. Although we have lessened the rate of decline, we are still losing valuable wildlife real estate every year.
The population of ducks in North America has grown to record-breaking numbers reports the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In their just-released 2012 spring wildfowl survey, the total duck population estimates for North America (excluding scoters, eiders, long-tailed duck, mergansers, and wood ducks) was 48.6 million birds. This is a 7% increase over last year and is 43% higher than the average between 1955-2011. This upward trend really got a kick-start last year when there was so much water on the ground all spring. It provided almost ideal hatching conditions. This was followed by a very mild winter with below average precipitation. Although the conditions this spring were not as exceptional as last year, very good habitat quality persisted across the majority of the survey area. The exceptions to this were northern Quebec, northern Maine and New Brunswick where lack of rain decreased the amount of wetlands available for nesting. But even here the nesting weather was good. No late freezes, etc. Any way you look at it, the the ducks and other waterfowl have really benefitted from two years of really good conditions. The black duck, which has been heavily regulated over the past few years, has seen a nice increase in numbers. The survey revealed about 600,000 birds, which is an increase of about 11% higher than last year and similar to its long-term average. This is quite a jump given how this population has changed since 1955. It is quite amazing to watch the growth in some of the other duck populations. Mallards, for example, increased 15% above 2011 and is now 40% above the lon-term average. Green-winged teal numbers have exploded to 20% over last year and are an unbelievable 74% over average. Blue-winged teal did not exceed their tremendous growth of last year, but are now 94% over their average. Other birds like scaup, redheads, and canvasback have shown nice increase in numbers. The one down turn was the northern pintails. However, the biologists are not that concerned because these long-flying birds can overfly their intermediary stops and go directly to their northern stop. They do this when their short-stop is not ideal. We will know more about them in the fall. Looking back at the records, the last time we had good numbers was in the 1999-2000 years. There are natural cycles that are directly dependent on good breeding conditions in the spring and a lack of a severe drought in the summer and fall. What is next? The tremendous heat wave and drought that is currently gripping the midwest is bound to dry up the small farm ponds and creeks that support many of these populations. Ducks Unlimited, local, state and federal governments have all worked hard at fostering good water management and farm practices to help the habitat. Unfortunately these can only ameliorate the drastic effects high temperatures and low precipitation can have on the breeding grounds. These surveys are not perfect. They are the result of ground and air observations by trained professionals. However, they are conducted the same way each year and cover some two million square miles of waterfowl habitat encompassing the primary breeding areas of North America. They are very accurate in demonstrating long-term trends Both Canada and the United States have invested heavily in the process by which the data is collected. It has proven over time to be a very reliable process. The eastern flyway continues to be a problem area. As the nesting habitat continues to decrease over time, no amount of positive weather can make up for the lack of breeding space. We continue to gobble up those areas where wildfowl can breed and raise their young. Although we have lessened the rate of decline, we are still losing valuable wildlife real estate every year.
