"Paper Ducks"
September 2005
The US Fish and Wildlife Service (USF&W) offered the flyways the liberal framework and once again we will have maximum ducks and maximum days. They even gave the Mississippi Flyway a Pintail everyday, a 50% increase over last year. No doubt, the ducks are everywhere!
Maybe there is some doubt about duck numbers, but I think the one thing you can count on is the number of ducks. So what's the difference between "the number of ducks" and "the duck numbers"? For those who don't see where I'm heading, "the number of ducks" refers to the number of actual ducks. "The duck numbers" refers to the figure used by the USF&W to determine the seasonal framework and that brings me to my point.
Parts of Arkansas may have another great season and parts, lately the southern part of the state, may suffer from a shortage of birds again. Arkansas is no different from other states in the sense that some parts of any given state are better than others. There is one thing you can count on no matter which state or which flyway you live in, if you visit the coffee shops, sporting goods stores or frequent waterfowl chat rooms, you will hear someone complaining and the statement will be made, "No wonder we're not having any success this season, we're hunting Paper Ducks!
I don't have dozens of degrees, but I do have more than a basic understanding of economics and the business end of waterfowl. I understand the advantages of selling ducks stamps. For that matter, license and duck stamp sales mean revenue for states, local economies and the federal government, but you will never convince me the USF&W is inflating count numbers to sell stamps and license. I simply don't believe they are lying. If I'm correct and the USF&W are providing an accurate bird count, what's going on with the ducks?
Have you considered it may not be the ducks … instead; it may be the duck hunters? A Mallard may still be a Mallard, but these aren't the Mallards your Great Granddaddy use to hunt! The days of using a round piece of wood or a glass jar dipped in a mixture of black tar and kerosene for decoys are long gone. Waterfowl are born with a basic instinct of survival, but they learn from conditioning and adapt or die!
For a good example how quick waterfowl learn, think about the spinning wing decoy. A few years ago a duck would land in a swimming pool … if you had a spinner going. It was amazing, but last season we all but quit using them here! Older ducks have adapted and yearlings are educated in record time or they don't live long enough to make it to the south. As the products we use improve, the ducks become more educated. As weather and habitat continue to change, waterfowl continue to adapt and the hunter needs to adapt with them.
At the time I am writing this piece, hurricane Katrina is long gone and most of the Mississippi flyway, from Arkansas north, didn't receive enough rainfall to matter. Today's weather report indicated Arkansas is seven inches below normal. Many of my friends to the north said they didn't hunt Blue Wing Teal because there wasn't enough water, but what does the lack of water have to do with smarter ducks?
It seems simple enough to me. Ducks can feed in dry fields, but at some point they have to have water. If there's near drought conditions and what water is available has a hunter on it … what do you think will happen? Like they've done for centuries, they will adapt. They won't do without water, but they will adapt to conditions that allow them to get the water they need. Without a significant amount of rain, I predict the ducks will do one of three things.
- Ducks will push south much sooner than normal to get away from hunting pressure in areas with water.
- Ducks will become nocturnal and head to the water after shooting hours.
- Ducks will stay on rest areas or refuges with water and no hunting pressure.
Whichever mixture of these scenarios take place, the ducks will do what they must for survival. The ducks will adapt and a good number of the ducks will return to breed next spring. The question is, will the hunters adapt as quickly?
A few years ago, we implemented a voluntary "Rest Days Program" for our hunting ground. With this program we allow all of our hunting ground to sit three days a week most weeks and hunt a maximum of 50% of our locations when we do hunt. It's not a perfect program but unlike most locations, we have kept our bag numbers well above the flyway's average. I contribute much of that success to adapting our hunting program to meet the ever-changing habits of the ducks. Simply put, we try to give them some of what they need so they will hang around longer! It may not be easy on public ground, but private clubs need to give serious consideration to adapting their programs to such needs.
I hope it rains enough so we don't find out if my predictions are correct. Without rain, there's no doubt you'll hear some hunters playing the blame game … while they hunt Paper Ducks?
Charles "HammerTime" Snapp
Email: snapps@arkmo.com
Website: www.arkansaswaterfowl.com |
