Preseason

[Rick]

Would think the strain put on the birds' condition apt to have continued ill effect on the breeding grounds.

[SpinnerMan]

I saw Paul link posted today that 3 of his transmittered specks and 2 mallards died within a 36 hour period across Kansas, Illinois, Arkansas, and Iowa during this storm.

Also has had more than 20 reports of dozens to thousands of dead ducks and geese.

“Likely the worst non-disease waterfowl mortally event in my lifetime.”

Makes me queasy.

I wonder if ice builds up on the transmitters.

Freezing rain, sheets of ice, that stuff is awful.

Did the reports say why? Did they get froze in? I could see a rapid drop freezing the water under them or something crazy when there's a dramatic weather shift.

[Duck Engr]

Would think the strain put on the birds' condition apt to have continued ill effect on the breeding grounds.

That’s my concern as well.

[Duck Engr]

I saw Paul link posted today that 3 of his transmittered specks and 2 mallards died within a 36 hour period across Kansas, Illinois, Arkansas, and Iowa during this storm.

Also has had more than 20 reports of dozens to thousands of dead ducks and geese.

“Likely the worst non-disease waterfowl mortally event in my lifetime.”

Makes me queasy.

I wonder if ice builds up on the transmitters.

Freezing rain, sheets of ice, that stuff is awful.

Did the reports say why? Did they get froze in? I could see a rapid drop freezing the water under them or something crazy when there's a dramatic weather shift.

Fair point about the transmitters. Don’t know if that’s an added mortality factor or not.

Pictures he showed were of birds frozen into the water they were attempting to keep open.

I can almost hear DComeaux talking to his keyboard, “hey you idiots, migrate!”

[SpinnerMan]

I saw Paul link posted today that 3 of his transmittered specks and 2 mallards died within a 36 hour period across Kansas, Illinois, Arkansas, and Iowa during this storm.

Also has had more than 20 reports of dozens to thousands of dead ducks and geese.

“Likely the worst non-disease waterfowl mortally event in my lifetime.”

Makes me queasy.

I wonder if ice builds up on the transmitters.

Freezing rain, sheets of ice, that stuff is awful.

Did the reports say why? Did they get froze in? I could see a rapid drop freezing the water under them or something crazy when there's a dramatic weather shift.

Fair point about the transmitters. Don’t know if that’s an added mortality factor or not.

Pictures he showed were of birds frozen into the water they were attempting to keep open.

I can almost hear DComeaux talking to his keyboard, “hey you idiots, migrate!”

That's what I expected. The rapid temperature drop. Most times they are so smart, but sometimes they remind us how little their brain is.

They literally just had to hop up on the ice and go to sleep and they would have been fine

[Rick]

Back when the mudhole saw a lot of poule d'eaus, we got to watch their reactions as it froze over, and they bailed in ones and twos to points unknown, as it closed in around them. All but one that kept bouncing back and forth off the edges of its ever-shrinking open hole, like a bumper car, until it nearly had him trapped before finally exercising the option of stepping onto the ice for a running takeoff. Don't know if it was trying to maintain open water, or just dumb as a stick.

(Don't think I mentioned it in my log, but we finally had a pair of poule d'eaus join our gallinules late this past season.)

[DComeaux]

I can almost hear DComeaux talking to his keyboard, “hey you idiots, migrate!”

Nature is cruel enough without mans interference, all we do is screw things up. It's tough to manage correctly with money's influence. I like that we now have this telemetry data coming in, and hopefully it's used to make determinations and decisions going forward rather than just population numbers. The dynamics in this flyway were altered.

[Duck Engr]

I don’t know if it was Paul or someone else who responded to a similar comment as yours hoping telemetry land use data would be used by the powers that be without political interference. His response was “unfortunately, there’s political interference in everything.”

We’ll see how it shakes out. I’m most interested to see the results of land use, and when they’re using it.

[Rick]

And there's a whole lot more than politics at play. Nothing we can learn from telemetry is going to slow human procreation or change the overwhelming majority of farm practices - much less what we might want to hope just a warming cycle.

[Duck Engr]

And there's a whole lot more than politics at play. Nothing we can learn from telemetry is going to slow human procreation or change the overwhelming majority of farm practices - much less what we might want to hope just a warming cycle.

That’s the unfortunate truth

[Ricky Spanish]

Topic of green butt ducks keeps coming up in the fuge.
I wonder if that's a symptom of waterfowl eating gmo grains.
I'd never seen it until around 1985 or just before and guess what...thats about when gmo got big with no till.

[DComeaux]

Nothing we can learn from telemetry is going to slow human procreation or change the overwhelming majority of farm practices - much less what we might want to hope just a warming cycle.

This is true, and all the more reason to manage differently today regardless of population numbers. This is not the time for a free for all. We just keep ripping the scab from the wound.

[Ducaholic]

Nothing we can learn from telemetry is going to slow human procreation or change the overwhelming majority of farm practices - much less what we might want to hope just a warming cycle.

This is true, and all the more reason to manage differently today regardless of population numbers. This is not the time for a free for all. We just keep ripping the scab from the wound.

Nothing we do from a management perspective in terms of days afield will force more ducks southward. We can take it upon ourselves to manage what does come better if that's even possible?

As Rick said no one in the management community looks at duck farming as being bad for ducks no matter what the telemetry studies indicate. No body really cares where they do their business as long as business is good where they do it.

[DComeaux]

Nothing we do from a management perspective in terms of days afield will force more ducks southward. We can take it upon ourselves to manage what does come better if that's even possible?

That sounds so matter-of-factly.

No body really cares where they do their business as long as business is good where they do it.

They do care, but only for that one nasty word you used..

[Rick]

As Rick said no one in the management community looks at duck farming as being bad for ducks no matter what the telemetry studies indicate.

That reads like you might feel telemetry is suggesting duck farming is "bad for ducks,"(emphasis mine) when just the opposite would seem the case.

[SpinnerMan]

I don’t know if it was Paul or someone else who responded to a similar comment as yours hoping telemetry land use data would be used by the powers that be without political interference. His response was “unfortunately, there’s political interference in everything.”

It reminded of me when I ran into my Congresswoman in the airport years ago. I work at a large federal research institution in her district. I was waiting for a flight to DC. A bunch of ladies were having a discussion within earshot. When it got close to boarding time, I got up to use the facilities before we boarded. As I did, one of the women I was walking past said "It's too bad there is so much politics is science." Me being me, I interject "there has always been politics in science." It's just the unavoidable reality. Expecting to just walk on, they actually started asking me questions, what I do, where I work, ... I was happy to chat. Then her chief of staff asked if I recognized the Congresswoman. I looked at her. She did look familiar. The her COS told me who she was and handed me her card.

She wasn't a terrible Congresswoman. About as best I could hope for that represented me in Illinois. That was until shortly there after I was gerrymandered out of any representation. I'm now in one of those bridge areas where they grab just enough people like me that they want to screw out of having any representation. Now my representative is about as representative of me as I would be of PETA. Politics it's in everything. Can't complain about it. Need to overcome and make the best of it or whine about why you are getting screwed and get the worst of it.

Thinking about the problem. What is a very specific regulation that would not negatively impact too many people, especially powerful ones, that would help waterfowl hunting.

I think we are stuck in the mindset of deer hunting in PA when I was 12. For many people, doe season was still very controversial. Deer were not ubiquitous. Let alone a nuisance in places. We got there because deer had insufficient safe havens and were over harvested. Now the problem in many places is nothing but safe havens and way under harvested. While we still have public lands that are way over pressured and over harvested.

I think the same is true for duck hunters. We had too few ducks that had too few safe havens. The problem now in many places is we have plenty of ducks but they have way too many safe havens. What is needed is to spread the pressure. I think there are two things to do.

First, all federal and state refuges have open hunting for at least part of the season. A big refuge. Divide it into 4 units. Hunt each 1 day a week and rest it the other 3. Maybe Sat, Sun, Tue, Thu. 1/4th of the refuge is hunted. This does two good things. It avoids the huge concentrations of birds. Second, it gives some hunters a chance at awesome hunting.

Second, synchronize the season. Ducks are highly mobile. A bunch of different zones in different states. It's like whack-a-mole. Pressure here. Ducks move there. Pressure there. Ducks move here.

Currently, we hunt about 60 days of the possible ~130 days allowed in the Mississippi Flyway from late Sept through the end of January. In Illinois we have 4 zones with dates stretching over 100 days. And nobody is still happy.

Create 4 seasons, 15 days each and they are the same everywhere. Synchronize so they start on the nearest Saturday. But the entire flyway, the season is Sept 26-Oct 10, Oct 30-Nov 13, Dec 3-17, and Jan 6-20.

Ducks are hunted for 2 weeks. Rested for an average of 2.5 weeks. Hunted for 2 weeks.

You like early. You got it. You like late. You got it.

Winter comes early. Your good. Winter comes late. Your good.

Everybody is still unhappy. But everybody has something they want.

We don't hound the ducks relentless for 2 months straight in some places. They can't just hop across a zone line and have vast refuge space. Fix those dates and never change them.

Maybe let those north of Illinois extend their first season and drop the January season if always froze out. Other than that ducks are pressured everywhere or nowhere.

Honestly, for me that looks like the perfect duck season. Early - wood ducks and maybe some teal and other early migrants. First middle, first migrants and local mallards. Cold years, later migrants as we freeze and small waters ice over. Second middle, later migrants. Warm years, biggest push. Cold years, cooling lakes and big water. Late season, cooling lakes and big water.

No matter the weather, some of the season will be when the birds are moving through. Some of course will not.

I think the problem is that people think there is a magic 60 days of perfection FOR THEM.

This would give 12 Saturdays and 8 Sundays to hunt. Currently, a straight 60 is 8 of each. A split is 9 of each. Nearly 50% more days for those that work M-F and can only hunt the weekends.

If we reduce to 45 or 30. Just keep the start days. For 45, cut from 15 to 11 for 3 or 12 for 1. For 30 cut to 8 for 2 and 7 for 3.

Done. No more fighting about creating specials zones for me with my magical season dates. Everybody gets a piece and there are more weekends.

I think those 2 things would help keep the birds concentrating away from pressure. I think that is the biggest problem we face. Birds going nocturnal and concentrating on refuges and going stale quickly. When you got 80% of the ducks you used to in an area, but success is down far more. The problem isn't the 20% of ducks further north. It's the 80% are avoiding the pressure much more effectively. Which is also what the 20% are probably doing as well but in a different way.

[Duck Engr]

I kind of like that idea spinner man. Hadn’t considered it that way. Another thing that’ll be cool from telemetry is how many ducks/geese come down south in October then rebound north when guns start banging here. Paul had a goose 2-3 years ago that did just that. Louisiana in October. Boogied the day duck season opened and was killed in Indiana in January.

[DComeaux]

In the first part of this video Scooter is riding a beach 3 miles east of our lease. Those rocks they're placing will eventually extend south of our lease property at the beach in the very near future. I've seen first hand the land build up behind those rock walls that happened in only one year. The two hurricanes took a little back but it wasn't extreme. We can only hope for a lull in storms in the said 15 year cycle between major hurricane landfall in that area. Having 2 last year should give us 30, RIGHT?

https://www.fox8live.com/2021/02/23/signs-hope-along-louisianas-coast-despite-damaging-hurricane-season/

[Deltaman]

Gotta have Hope Dave
Glad to see that he land loss there is being addressed, and like you, pray the "canes" give the area a break, and chance to rebuild over the next few years. Thanks for sharing!

[BGkirk]

That’s cool, who’s in charge of extending the wall? Does Rockefeller have an entire rock wall between them and gulf ?


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[Ducaholic]

As Rick said no one in the management community looks at duck farming as being bad for ducks no matter what the telemetry studies indicate.

That reads like you might feel telemetry is suggesting duck farming is "bad for ducks,"(emphasis mine) when just the opposite would seem the case.

No sir. I think telemetry studies are already indicating that ducks are imprinting on specific areas year after year. It is simply survival in it's purest form.

What I was indicating is duck farming while good for the ducks is not necessarily good for the duck hunting masses as more and more ducks pile in to and stay the winter in geographical specific areas.

I also don't think waterfowl managers care so long as the duck population is on solid ground hunter satisfaction be damned.

[Ducaholic]

Nothing we do from a management perspective in terms of days afield will force more ducks southward. We can take it upon ourselves to manage what does come better if that's even possible?

That sounds so matter-of-factly.


Dave, I wish I had better news!

[DComeaux]

That’s cool, who’s in charge of extending the wall? Does Rockefeller have an entire rock wall between them and gulf ?


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If I'm not mistaken the Rockefeller coastline stretches for 20 miles total and these rocks are being installed on the furthest west section of the property. This is why I've stated in the past that a part of the refuge will eventually be a peninsula jutting out into the gulf. They will eventually have to rock the new shorelines on the east and west side when that happens.

This is from a 2019 Lake Charles TV station report on the project.

"Trosclair says the Gulf Shoreline Stabilization Project, or ME-18, has been in the works for the last few years.

Now, an $18 million partnership between the Cameron Parish Police Jury (CPPJ) and the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) aims to save our coast in Southwest Louisiana.

“Phase 1 of ME-18 consists of abut 3 miles of continuous breakwaters," Trosclair said. "With the additional money that the governor approved, and the other grant money through the parish, we will actually extend the project approximately another 3 miles which will give us a total of 6 miles of complete shoreline protection where we have experienced here recently, surveys show over 300 feet of land loss per year.”

This link takes you to the CWPPRA project page.
https://lacoast.gov/new/Projects/Info.aspx?num=ME-18

This map shows the current project area for the rock installation. Our lease is just west and slightly north of second lake. The refuge shoreline stretches another 15 miles or so east of the eastern end of the current rock project. We are at least getting some shoreline protection and I would assume they may get funding to go further east, eventually.

2002-11-538.jpg

[BGkirk]

Thanks for the info.
While I’m sure this will help out, it’s not gonna stop the wind and wave action on your place right? Without silt coming in it could still turn into a lake between the rocks and the highway


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[DComeaux]

Thanks for the info.
While I’m sure this will help out, it’s not gonna stop the wind and wave action on your place right? Without silt coming in it could still turn into a lake between the rocks and the highway


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Correct. What is needed is the fresh water diversion project that went over budget twice in the bidding process. It was rebid last month with just the offshore dredge and sand/silt pumping onto the property. I haven't checked on results of that yet.

[BGkirk]

Where’s the diversion coming from?
Mermentau?


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[DComeaux]

Where’s the diversion coming from?
Mermentau?


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Yes. As far upstream as possible. The salinity would be checked and monitored.

[Ducaholic]

Where’s the diversion coming from?
Mermentau?


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Yes. As far upstream as possible. The salinity would be checked and monitored.

A little salinity is acceptable is it not and as I understand it helps control the Salvinia.

[Rick]

I'm no botanist, but wigeon grass sure seems to like some salt.

[DComeaux]

I'm no botanist, but wigeon grass sure seems to like some salt.

It does. I doubt they'll stop all salt water from getting in there.