Wild Side: Where have all the waterfowl gone?
So, callers are asking “where are all the ducks and geese?”
We have been trying to find them. Right now is when we capture waterfowl and place numbered metal leg bands on them as part of a comprehensive population and harvest survey effort across the areas of the US and Canada where waterfowl reside and breed.
For Canada geese, the best time to capture them is when their broods have begun to grow their adult feathers. Adult geese begin to replace their old feathers, or molt, when their brood hatches. This means they are flightless at the same time as their goslings.
This flightless period is a great time to round up the birds; we use boats to herd them onto shore and walk them into a trap. Then we collect information on the birds, band them, and let them go again. Normally, it is not too difficult to find multiple broods in a group on any given lake. This year, though, they have been harder to find. Groups are smaller and less evident.
Ducks are a similar story. We do not take them up on shore; we approach them at night with a boat, scoop them up and band them, and put them back. We like lakes without a lot of emergent vegetation around the shore, where ducks can swim in and hide. The lakes that typically have good numbers of duck broods have visibly lower numbers; a recent call from a Rhinelander Flowage resident indicated the lowest number of ducks seen in many years.
So where are the ducks and geese? Have the numbers dropped?
Our 2013 breeding waterfowl population survey indicated statewide populations similar to last year. The numbers for the survey routes in northern Wisconsin were down slightly from last year, but you always need to be a bit cautious when looking at a single year of data. It is important to look at trends over time; they show our duck and goose populations are healthy and stable.
Remember, even though the birds are counted from a plane and again from the ground, these numbers are collected from a sample of lakes and wetlands and entered into a population model to help us generate an estimate of the population across the state. There is no way we could ever count every duck in the state (or every grouse, or deer, or bear). Robust population models that give us reliable estimates are the best tools we have to help us manage hunting seasons and populations.
This is what I think may have happened.
The influx of water from snowmelt and rain put water back in many little basins across central Wisconsin and the Northwoods. Many of these smaller basins dried out enough in the last few years that they have grown lush, green vegetation that is now partially underwater. This is really an attractive setup for waterfowl; they get to nest and raise their young in an area with plenty of protective cover and available food.
When I worked in Kansas, we would try to artificially create these conditions. We would drain marshes, tasty plants would grow, and then we would refill the marshes mid-summer. This is called moist soil management.
I think this year we had terrific moist soil conditions, and waterfowl responded. If I am right, we will see the ducks return to flowages, lakes and larger water bodies in late summer.
This year’s hatch will learn to fly soon, and as summer progresses, they will start taking practice flights to help strengthen their feathers and train their muscles. Those smaller wetlands will start to dry out, and the birds will move to areas with more water, especially those with wild rice or other wetland plants. We will be watching the water to see what happens.
Jeremy Holtz is a wildlife biologist with the Wisconsin DNR and writes a weekly column in the Star Journal. To contact him, call (715) 365-8999.
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