Quote:
Originally Posted by cgoods17
So how can we fix this problem? what can we do to keep the future migrations to keep coming south?
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That's a difficult task, and probably impossible. You would have to manage the landscape over an entire flyway, something that will most likely
never happen.
You may be thinking "Why Not?"
Well, because there are many factors that would go into that. If you start with what is actually there, the land practices, that
MIGHT be manageable. But when you consider how much work that would require to manage millions of acres of land with millions of landowners......that's not going to happen.
The other big factor you have to look at is
Climate. You aren't going to control the climate, simple as that.
Temperatures, ice/snow cover, and availablility of food drive are the majority of the driving factors in the overall migration. Availability of food and cover will drive where the birds are locally.
I've seen rice fields north of I-10 loaded with wood ducks, mallards, and pintails because there was timber near by that they could duck into during the day. Not to mention that only about a 1/10th of an acre had been cleared to make a pond. The rest was still 2 or 3 foot tall. Good cover and feeding opportunities.
The birds are going to go where they feel safe and have food when they get down here, because they've been shot at all the way down.
BUT THEY HAVE TO GET HERE FIRST! If the weather isn't forcing them down, you won't see them.
And as far as moving seasons around, they will always base that on harvest numbers, and until there is a drastic, long term swing in the numbers (later migration, lower harvest), that will probably not change. There was the opportunity this year, but more people voted to leave it as is if I'm not mistaken.