Duck numbers drop, but still above average

Spring breeding duck numbers in North Dakota are down from last year but are still well above the long-term average.

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department said the survey done in May found 3.46 million ducks, down 5.3 percent from last year. Except for a 4 percent increase in gadwalls and 19 percent more ruddy ducks, all species were down: blue-winged teal down 2 percent, mallards 9 percent, pintails 17 percent and canvasbacks 18 percent.

Overall duck numbers are still 45 percent above the long-term average of the survey, which began in 1948, the department reported.

Of greater concern is that the wetland index plunged 50 percent and is nearly 40 percent below the long-term average, the department said.

One good note is that after the survey May 9-15, rains increased and filled many wetlands needed by breeding ducks, said Mike Szymanski, department migratory game bird supervisor

North Dakota is a key duck production state, particularly for nesting blue-winged teal, mallards, gadwalls, pintails, shovelers, bluebills and redheads.

Dr. Frank Rohwer, president and chief scientist of Delta Waterfowl, said the North Dakota survey showing high duck numbers and poor wetland conditions is unusual. "Duck numbers in North Dakota are surprisingly good, which shows strong carryover from several years of good duck production," he said.

The recent rains might have arrived too late to boost duck recruitment, Rohwer said.

Ducks and drones

When it comes to finding those ducks, Delta Waterfowl thinks it has found a new, better way: drones.

In the past, researchers would walk through a meadow, or use ATVs, and drag a chain to scare out any nesting ducks. Then they had to find the nest. It worked OK on land, but not in sloughs or cattail swamps, Rohwer said.

But by flying a drone carrying a mounted thermal-imaging camera over grassland cover, he was able to pinpoint nesting ducks indicated by the camera's heat signature. It also found a small songbird's nest.

"This technique has great potential to help researchers locate duck nests in cover that is tough to search," Rohwer said. "It could make duck research more efficient."

Delta plans to refine and use the technique for ongoing duck research.

To see a video of the drone techniques, go to youtube.com/watch?v=rnHIAeAvGSA.