Duck numbers on the rise Return to Waterfowl Outfitters Unlimited
Regulations for hunting season still in the works

July 18, 2007, 10:34PM

By SHANNON TOMPKINS
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle

Texas waterfowlers almost certainly will see another liberal duck season later this year, thanks to surveys indicating increased numbers of ducks on northern nesting grounds and generally good (wet) habitat conditions in crucial production regions.

But exactly what regulatory frameworks — season length, bag limits — federal waterfowl managers will ordain for the 2007-08 hunting season won't come for a couple of weeks.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Regulations Committee (SRC) is scheduled to meet Aug. 1-2 to fashion a frameworks package for the late-season migratory game bird seasons, including ducks and geese.

Odds are very good the SRC will propose continuing the "liberal" duck season frameworks — long seasons, generous bag limits — under which Texas has operated for more than a decade.

But there are issues that could trigger some discussion and maybe even some minor modifications in waterfowl regulations.

Overall, duck numbers are up this year. The spring breeding population survey, conducted annually since 1955, indicates the population index of the 10 most populous duck species jumped about 14 percent this year, to 41.2 million birds compared with 36.2 million in 2006.

That estimate of 41.2 million ducks is the highest since 2000 and not far off the all-time highest population estimate of 43.8 million in 1999.

Teal thriving

A half-dozen of the 10 surveyed duck species are at or near record breeding populations. Redheads, shovelers and canvasbacks set records for breeding populations this year, with green-winged teal, blue-winged teal and gadwall near record levels.

"That you have those ducks at or near record breeding populations tells you that habitat conditions were good across a wide range of habitats," said Dave Morrison, waterfowl program leader for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

Bluewings and shovelers prefer similar prairie habitats for nesting.

Redheads and canvasbacks prefer another wetland type — generally larger prairie wetlands where the birds nest on islands or other "over water" areas.

And greenwing teal nest mostly in the boreal forests north of the prairie region.

Data from this spring's surveys of the heart of mid-continent duck nesting areas support the view that habitat conditions are good over a large area.

Aerial "pond counts" — estimates of the number of wetlands along survey transects — indicate the number of wetlands in prairie regions of Canada and the north-central United States were up 15 percent from this past year and 44 percent above the long-term average.

Scaup, pintail sagging

The only less-than-encouraging news from the duck factory involves scaup and pintail, two ducks that have seen their populations slide significantly the past couple of decades.

The spring survey indicates pintail numbers fell slightly (down 2 percent from 2006) and are 19 percent below the long-term average.

Scaup breeding population was estimated to have increased slightly (up 6 percent from 2006) but remains 33 percent below the long-term average.

Pintail and scaup are the only two of the 10 major duck species with breeding populations estimated below the long-term average. And they are the two species that could generate the most discussion at the upcoming SRC meeting.

Current waterfowl management protocols indicate duck populations and other factors (habitat conditions, overall harvest rates, juvenile/adult harvest rates, etc.) justify the "liberal" duck hunting regulations package for the coming season.

For most of Texas, that would mean a 74-day regular duck season (the same as this past year) and a continuation of the five-duck "Hunter's Choice" daily bag limit.

This would be the second season for Texas (and half of the other states in the Central Flyway) to operate under the Hunter's Choice bag limit.

Under Hunter's Choice, waterfowlers are allowed to take as many as five ducks per day, with several restrictions on species whose harvest managers wanted to restrict.

This past season, only one of the five ducks in the bag could be a mallard hen, mottled (or dusky) duck, canvasback or pintail — hunters could take only one of those four, not one of each.

Limiting hunters to taking only one duck from that group of four was designed to allow season-long hunting of pintails and canvasback, two species whose harvest managers wanted to restrict.

Prior to Hunter's Choice, the daily duck limit under the liberal federal frameworks was six ducks per day over a 74-day season, but pintails and canvasbacks are legal only for 39 days of that season.

Texas is among half the states in the Central Flyway in which Hunter's Choice was imposed as part of a three-year project to see if it was as effective as the season-within-a-season rules in limiting harvest of certain species.

With pintail numbers still hovering far below long-term average but holding fairly steady, it's almost certain they will again be included in the Hunter's Choice package.

Whether scaup will join that group of ducks with a one-bird aggregate limit under Hunter's Choice could be a point of discussion at the SRC meeting.

More restrictions possible

Currently, Central Flyway waterfowlers are restricted to taking no more than two scaup per day over the length of the duck season.

Federal waterfowl managers are considering further restrictions in scaup harvest in response to the scaup population decline.

And while federal waterfowl managers have agreed to wait until next year to set a scaup harvest management plan, they reserved the option of imposing tighter bag limits for the coming hunting season.

Further restriction of the scaup limit could throw a curve to Hunter's Choice. If scaup are added to the group of one-per-day ducks, it could skew the harvest data managers are hoping to collect through the Hunter's Choice program.

Chances are, however, that federal waterfowl managers will opt for status quo on duck bag limits — at least this year.