Many factors have contributed to the overall lack of ducks in Louisiana this year and the very alarming long term decline in both ducks and geese wintering in Louisiana. That is not to mention the change in species composition/percentages in the numbers. This is some of my thoughts.
1. Major Changes in Agriculture. This is a vicious cycle and a bad long term trend from a LA hunting perspective.
a. Massive Reduction in the Number of rice acres in Louisiana. Arkansas now plants almost 4 times as much rice as Louisiana. 2012 numbers (rounded) LA - 350K Arkansas - 1.3 Million. Why fly past a buffet? You can also dump habitat loss from erosion and intrusion into this if you want. It just magnifies the issue.
b. Widespread use of Clearfield rice varieties. Now farmers can kill red rice and other moist soil plants and still grow rice which means after the rice harvest there is little to no food in our fields. Less quality on less acres.
c. Changes in Ag up the flyway. Ethanol subsidies have resulted in massive acreages that were once planted in other crops now planted in corn. These same subsidies have resulted in hundreds of thousands of CRP nesting habitat being turned into cornfields. Less nesting habitat and more available desired high energy food means less ducks and less motivation to migrate.
2. Explosion of new habitat and hunting operations in the mid continent portion of the flyway. This new habitat and/or better management for $$$ has resulted in a large population of ducks and geese that now don't need to migrate past a certain point. Mallards and geese like to feed in dry fields. As long as adequate resting/roosting habitat and food exists they won't move.
Personally I believe those are the 2 biggest factors. But I have been wrong before although I don't remember when. Wait let me ask my wife ... LMBO.
I don't buy the pressure arguments because a mallard that has never been south of Missouri doesn't know what kind of pressure is in LA unless they are a Salty Cajun member ...
. Now I'm not arguing that pressure doesn't effect the distribution of birds that do come down. I'm talking about the birds staying in the mid continent.
Just random thoughts.
Robbie aka Big Hutch