Preseason

[DComeaux]

Just saw the first report and picture of bluewing in Arkansas today.

Blake and I went down to the camp Saturday to clean out the fridge and tidy up a bit. There's a 10 hour power outage scheduled for this Friday to cut the entire power system over to the new and much improved power grid. Our power was coming from multiple large generators stationed just up the road from us for three or four, maybe 5 years now. outages were frequent. It's been this way since Hurricane Laura.

The water at the lease is stable but higher than I'd like to see it. No sign of vegetation (SAV) in the pounds in the front that we could see. Randall my former landlord dropped out of this lease. We'll be alone on this property this year, or share some with the landowners family... Not sure yet.
Social media has ruined the Rockefeller refuge. Traffic counters for the entrances to the refuge estimated 29,868 entries during the months of April, May, and June. I've not had the courage to tackle these crowds yet, especially after almost being swamped last year by a ski boat, of all things, while I was trying to get back to the landing. The boat traffic was ridiculous that day. Most didn't have a clue where they were going or how to operate a boat. Most of what I'll call regulars from years past are staying away. Fights at the weirs are being reported and responded to by game wardens. It's turned into a real Sh#@ show.

[Darren]

Hate to hear of what's come of our refuges where there's just so much pressure/traffic.

[Rick]

During my circa '90s Capt. Rick phase, I'd arranged to meet a Lafayette near-shore party at Grand Chenier Park and was surprised to find the parking lot jam-packed. Seemed the Louisiana Sportsman had just printed an article titled "The Forgotten Coast" by some spot-burner named Hall. Dumb ass. Don't want to even think about today's crowd.

[DComeaux]

First good look at what this "SUPER" El Nino may bring to us this winter.

[Darren]

Could bring more events of cold colliding with wet, so interesting weather down here.

[DComeaux]

Liberal seasons are going to keep taking bigger bites out of the dwindling population. I think our "U.S. "waterfowl managers" have lost their way.

790993379_1427887122535518_7429189524840613182_n.jpeg

[Darren]

Liberal seasons are going to keep taking bigger bites out of the dwindling population. I think our "U.S. "waterfowl managers" have lost their way.

790993379_1427887122535518_7429189524840613182_n.jpeg

My money is on the higher pond count rebounding the breeding ducks to be counted in May 2027, bookmark this forecast. Given the pond count from a year ago was down almost 20% year over year from 2024, hard to believe anyone could see this BPOP being up for puddlers.

You don't hunt the BPOP, you hunt what they are able to make with the habitat provided.

[Darren]

Liberal seasons are going to keep taking bigger bites out of the dwindling population. I think our "U.S. "waterfowl managers" have lost their way.

But Delta says:

https://deltawaterfowl.org/whats-new/hu ... the-guilt/


Shoot the drakes

“Mallards, for instance, have a surplus of males compared to females. Because they are monogamous in nature, those extra drakes that do not find a mate often disrupt pair bonds or compete for resources without contributing to reproduction.”

So, taking more drakes may actually ease pressure on females during the high-stress breeding season.
“Harvest of males at current levels, or even if we increased it twofold, would have no impact and might have a positive impact on the population overall,” he said.

Hens have their own equation. Adult females drive reproduction, so their survival matters more.

“For most species, our hunter harvest rates for hens are so low that there’s still not much of an impact,” said Arnold. “We sometimes worry about pintails and yet we’re only harvesting around 3% of the adult females. We aren’t concerned about harvesting females in the big picture—we actually need to harvest them to estimate survival, abundance, and reproductive success. But compared to all of the other factors that kill hens, hunting does not have much of an influence.”


The science says that while hunting does remove birds, it’s not the factor driving overall population declines or increases. Causes such as predation, disease, and other natural agents exert far greater pressure on their ability to survive.

Who knows any more!? Just go hunt.

[DComeaux]

Mallard Numbers Continue to Decline, According to Latest USFWS Survey
Dabbling ducks took a hit even as divers saw gains, rendering duck numbers relatively stable overall. Meanwhile, conditions on the prairie are shifting birds northward.

“It’s a little worse than what I expected, to be blunt,” says Arnold. “The overall duck numbers aren’t bad … I’d say that’s unchanged. What jumps out at me is mallards, blue-wings, and pintails all being down by eleven percent. And also long-term, they’re down. Collectively those two things, to me, mean more than the annual fluctuation. It says the prairies have been dry for a long time, and we haven’t had good production for a long time.”



https://share.google/WUvFJnj0fAndohlkS

[Darren]

Good article, highs and lows.

Fun to kick around for now but on weekends of Sept 19th and Nov 14th, we'll just have to go see!