Why the ducks didn't reach Louisiana.

[MarshRat89]

Originally Posted by Gerenemo

I'm not attempting to make anyone mad here, and I realize we all spend alot of money on leases, boats, guns, shells etc. However when it comes to ducks and duck hunting many in this sport are "fair weather firends". When times are tough, many of our "waterfowlers" simply do not participate. At the times when our sport needs us the most, many abandon it. At minimum even if you are not going to hunt, at leaset purchase a liscense and waterfowl stamps. This will show that we still support our sport. These numbers (amount of liscened hunters) and revenues brought in from liscense and stamp sales ARE indeed monitored and counted by the state and feds. This is a portion of determining how sate and federal money is distributed to support habatit in our area, and remember waterfowl habatit supports fish, crabs, shrimp, crawfish oysters, countless birds and creatures of all kinds. Additionally, we should all belong to a waterfowl support group and it does not matter which one, Delta, DU, Wildfowl Inc or any of the other smaller orginizations as long as they are supporting waterfowl and the hunter you should be supporting them. I certainly welcome the newcomer to the sport, just don't jump on the bandwagon when it is good and get off when it isn't. I just wanted to weigh in with my 2 cents worth. Thanks for listening.

Well said sir.


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[Big Hutch]

Well said Gerenemo. If we take our balls and go home in the long run the waterfowl we all love so much are the ones that suffer.

Here's my 2 cents. I hunted with a good friend in his speck blind Saturday and Sunday in Klondike. Saturday morning we saw a constant stream of groups of extremely high ducks coming from the north ahead of the front. Probably 75% of what we saw were mallards with the rest being pintails and a few gadwalls and teal. This was non stop all morning until we left the field around 10. I asked my friend if this flight was normal and he said it was the 2nd time he had seen this flight this season. There was also only 1 day during the duck season that I saw a major movement of ducks this year. I'm not saying it didn't happen but it didn't happen while I was in the blind.

Sunday the water north of us was full of green winged teal that had not been there Saturday. We saw some high ducks but we mostly saw ducks in the low to mid ranges but we saw a lot of ducks.

My point is that the ducks we saw were clearly migrating, aka flight, ducks moving ahead of the cold front. I know that some of the ducks people are seeing are ducks coming from refuges and unhunted areas after season closed. However, I don't believe this is true especially of the mallards everybody has been seeing.

If you believe the aerial survey numbers, and I do with a +/- factor, the numbers especially mallard numbers do not back up the thesis that these "new" ducks have been here all the time. That thesis also doesn't coincide with the "late spring = late migration" theory. Late migrators are just really starting to migrate to Louisiana in my opinion. These late migrators include mallards and lesser Canada geese both of which have shown up in good numbers since the close of the Coastal Zone on January 17.

Again just my 2 cents.
Robbie aka Big Hutch

[Dogface]

Big Hutch, I wouldn't argue with you about the Mallards, they are the last ducks down. But to go out now and have your lease filled with grays, pins, spoonies, teal I think ,for the most part, they have been here a while. Pressure, pressure,pressure. They figure out ways to survive.

[Big Hutch]

Dogface,

I agree with you about the grays, spoons, and teal since those are usually early migrators and not as hardy. I do have to say that there was noted absence of green wing teal in many areas this year.

Thanks.
Robbie aka Big Hutch

[Dogface]

Yep, we killed some green wings during the 2nd split but it was spotty. Have some big groups one day then didn't see any for 3-4 days. Nothing you could count on.