we have been lied to

[j.r.]

I have a problem with all the publications that make money from duck hunters telling us that we have more ducks than back in the hay day . Yes D.U. and Delta waterfowl do great things for waterfowl habitat but why tell us we have all of these birds well if we stop hunting then they make no money I have been hunting since the early 80's and I see less birds every year cold hot does'nt matter I can remember seeing thousands of ducks in waves flying south everyday I have not seen waves of birds flying like that in years. I don't understand why others can't see this am I the only one who thinks this. I understand somedays we do kill birds but the next few days you don't see many birds esp mallards. I know some states do fair but I have talked to quite a few people in Arkansas and on up through the midwest along the MS river and they don't have the seasons that they used to have why because we are told the bird are out there you keep thinking that its a lie. I think they need to drop the limts back to 2 mallards no hens and to off ducks of what ever. I am no expert just a disgruntled DUCK HUNTER

[Roach]

JR,
I've been hunting ducks since the late 60's and trust me, there are more birds, mallards included, than we have had many a years.
Duck hunting isn't like going to Walmart where you expect to get what you are after every time and even a little more. In this beloved sport, we call duck hunting we are dealing with Mother Nature and she is in control...yes we pad our chances with planting crops and flooding them and it helps, but one thing you must remember, ducks get educated year after year. The ones that survive, remember NOT to go back to that spot next year where they lost Uncle Fred. There are more of us adicts that spend unimaginable amounts of money on leases, equipment, and time researching Duck South to find out where they are. We have access to the Weather Channel vs. wondering what the weather will be like this weekend. Yes duck hunting has changed, but the IMHO, the numbers are still there. I'm fortunate enough to be able to read these reports, look at the weather, and can go hunting just about any day of the season in multiple areas of MS and LA. I paid my dues growing up knocking on doors of landowners and asking permission to hunt...most let me, some didn't and I still respect that. I hunted public land for years and fought the high ballers, ski busters, and plain idiots, but that is part of it. There are a lot of guys that "hunt" ducks that don't know how to hunt ducks and when they don't kill the 4 greenheads, 1 Sprig, and 1 Can, they think someone in DU or DW is screwing them with fake numbers or piles of corn across a line the he/she doesn't have access too.
Point made is that you need not look at the number of ducks killed to determine a successful hunt. Look at the guy sitting in the blind or boat with you enjoying what God has given you an opportunity to witness; Sunrise, our beautiful surroundings, great dogs, great friends, great memories, and sunset with the hopes of seeing another sunrise.

[H20fowlkiller]

well put

[Locked Up]

I agree, very well put. I enjoy every minute hunting with my dad, brother, and close friends. Wouldn't trade it for anything, the limit of ducks is just the icing.

[j.r.]

you mean to tell me that the same weather trend has been going on since 1999 no-way I could care less about killing ducks yes I like to kill ducks but you can't tell me that you see the same amount of ducks in the air not in your decoys I am talking about high flying ducks I am telling you on a clear day all through the late 80's and early 90's you could sit on my place and see waves of ducks flying high going south all day long about like the waves of geese that I see now. I just wonder where all the birds went to then I am fixing to research the weather that we had in the 80's and 90's i'll bet you its not much of a change from the weather today.

[Duckdawg10]

i agree jr. I could care less about killing a duck. Yes it is the fun of being out there. But there are definatly less ducks in the air. Some people may say different, but in the 90s, everyone was killing ducks and you always saw tons of them flying.

[mudsucker]

Here we go again! Look at the web site of the Wildlife and fisheries for the state of Missouri and you will see where the mallards(and other ducks) are! They report on bird counts on the refuges in the state and they are reporting, on one count, 700,000 mallards alone! Until it gets to be frozen up there to drive them down, they have no need to move. N. zone of MO has been closed and I think the S. zone closed last weekend or closes this weekend so no hunting pressure. Used to be that the "freeze line" would extend down to about the MO/AR line but now it is further north and ducks have no real incentive to move south!

[merlebo05]

What I dont understand is that every other migratory bird fully migrates based on instinct, mother nature tells them its time to go south, or go north. So why do ducks not behave the same way. Are they a smarter species that tells mother nature naw we aint gonna migrate this yr becuase the weather is cooperative???

[sportsman450]

What I dont understand is that every other migratory bird fully migrates based on instinct, mother nature tells them its time to go south, or go north. So why do ducks not behave the same way.???

That would be the $64,000 question that the "It's all because of the weather." folks don't like to hear.

[Jeff]

We have more ducks where I hunt that we have had in five years, and we are WAY WAY south of you. Too bad our season is over now.

[Deltaduk]

corret me if I am wrong,but didn't MO just have a major snow /ice storm??I no it did not cover up the whole state but, I would have thought it would have given us a major push of birds.and I did not see that where I hunt.
I know there are a number of factors that attribute to the numbers of birds here now such as the helluve lot of water here now.alot of if not to many refuges,and these dang birds are just getting very smart. Hunters use to say that birds would feed at nite on a full moon.this is true,but I saw myself about 2 weeks ago, birds leaving a refuge in qutiman co right at dark. don't remember if we were in a full moon phase or not but it was cloudy as hell that afternoon.
this season has been my worst yr ever ,but I'll be back at it again next yr,Good Lord Willing

[crow]

I admit, I have no idea how many total ducks there are. What I do know is that the ducks are spead out way more than they used to be. There is way more pressure EVERYWHERE than there used to be. Farming practices have changed from what they were "back in the day." And, it costs are more every year to generally kill fewer ducks. I don't know whose "fault" it is; those are just the facts.

What I do know is that I "see" fewer ducks every year. I have always been able to ride through the delta and consistently see ducks trading about almost anytime during the day. I could usually see ducks in sheet water off the levees. I drove from Memphis down hwy 1 then onto hwy 61 and all the way down to Redwood. i say a handful of ducks in the air and almost none in a bunch of sheetwater.

I don't know if there are fewer ducks; I don't know if the flyway has changed; I don't know if I'm just old and can't see!

I just don't see as many ducks...and I have looked!

crow

[goosebruce]

6 years of 60 day seasons... water or lack of, cold or lack of, moonlite or lack of... your dealing with forces on birds that have NEVER been experienced by the ducks, or duck hunters. Ducks have always 'wised' up during the season. Now they are that way when they get here, cause they have been pounded from sept 1st on down.

If i was a duck, and I figgered out a way to not get killed, damn straight I wouldnt migrate if I wasnt forced too.

Another 5 years at this pace, the mallard will be like the snow goose, almost unhuntable.

Luckily, Im a spoonie hunter. Every since I changed my focus to bootlips, I feel better and better about my duck seasons! travis

[bodeen]

There arent as many ducks as there used to be. I have lived all over the North delta all my life. Tunica, Lula, and now Charleston. I remember there being ducks in the road ditches on the way to school. I remember my mom stopping on the side of the road between W. Helena and Marvell to let us watch thousands of ducks going into one hole.

There used to be ducks everywhere. I know there are more people hunting which leads to more hunting pressure. So why dont we see more ducks on the refuges?

I think at some point we are going to see a reduction in limits, and, possibly, in the amount of days we can hunt.

[bigwater]

the problem isn't the lack of ducks..

the problem is that ducks don't winter in ms like the use too..


why.. several different factors..