Duck Season Somewhere

It's all about supply and demand, huh? So in the US, are we killing too many ducks the past few seasons? Or producing too few? Describing continental "duck factory" production is complex, but Ducks Unlimited biologists Scott Stephens and Johannes Walker have the numbers--how many fewer continental mallards exist? What factors influence the prairies' ability to produce ducks? How does US habitat aceage compare to Canada? How dry is it, and how might this impact waterfowl productivity? How many acres nesting cover have been lost, and what do global commodity prices have to do with it? Because the simplest...

The cat's out of the bag--duck hunting Mazatlan Mexico is lots of fun for both hunters and non-hunters, usually selling out well in advance. But why? What do customers have to say about this so-called "honeymoon duck hunt?" Whether curious about south-of-the-border duck hunting or possibly shopping your next shotgun-in-hand vacation, you (and your non-hunting spouse) will probably enjoy hearing what folks say about the hunting, species, local foods, lodging and other things to do. See links below for more.

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More info: Mexico Duck Hunt in Mazatlan

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Veterinarian Jen Barton was introduced to duck hunting by her husband, who later gifted her a camera, setting her life into a completely new orbit. Whether swinging shotguns or lenses, Jen approaches duck hunting from a quality-versus-quantity perspective. Sharing her California hunting experiences, prefered ducks species for table fare and photography, favorite things about waterfowling, first magazine cover shot, Jen also describes growing up in middle-of-nowhere Illinois and introduces me to a historic waterfowl retriever breed. 

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Full Plumed Photo Instagram

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Deep South duck hunters, especially, have been saying it for years—ducks are short-stopping way north of historical wintering grounds. The migration is different.  Distribution has changed. But is it true? And if so, how have waterfowl migration and distribution changed, does it differ among species, what are the causes?  Importantly, how might it affect traditional, continental waterfowl conservation efforts—and duck hunting as we know it?! Armed with recent research findings (some based on SIXTY YEARS worth of U.S. harvest data), US Fish and Wildlife Biologist, Heath Hagy and I race headlong into this daunting topic, covering mallar...

With 63,000 license holders, it's fair to say that waterfowl hunting is a pretty big deal in Wisconsin! Wisconsin Waterfowl Association was founded decades ago to address waterfowl and habitat conservation at the local level. Executive Director Bruce Ross describes habitat projects that keep them busy, mission-critical partnerships, and the increased importance of Wisconsin waterfowl hunters in an ever-changing landscape. 

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Wisconsin Waterfowl Association wisducks.org

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Amber English grew up around hunting and guns in Colorado, learning to shoot when she was only 6 years old. While her parents, uncle and aunt all shot competitively, it wasn't until after highschool gymnastics that she began doing so. Now a Captain in the US Army, she humbly describes choosing shotguns over rifles, shooting her way into international skeet shooting competitions, joining the Olypic Team, winning the gold (where she set a new Olympic record, by the way) and preparing to do it again. We also talk about traveling with firearms and, with the warning that I can miss...

Anything can happen while duck hunting. Greer Smith probably isn't the only person the get stuck while hunting near Venice, Louisiana, but watching ducks fly overhead and wondering where they'd originated sent his life into a new orbit. "There's a growing need for awareness," says Greer, who grew up duck hunting in Georgia. Quitting his day job and putting plans into motion, he started 50 Ducks in hopes that he can spark an interest in waterfowl conservation among school children and the non-hunting community. This year he's banding ducks in Sonora Mexico and at Jack Miner's in Ontario. Greer eventually...

While growing up on a farm in rural Missouri, his dad had predicted he'd become a newspaper reporter. Probably because he intuitively knows the value of a story. Sure enough, Andrew McKean's colorful career eventually took him to Outdoor Life, where as the long-time hunting and conservation editor, he's drilled into issues that affect wildlife, wildlands, and people. An incredible storyteller, McKean dives headlong into memorable hunting trips, like the time he recovered legendary Jim Corbet's famous tiger hunting rifle from a British museum and retraced his steps through India, and the time he went on the very last...

Between chasing waterfowl and promoting Voormi, my buddy Ryan Yarnell aka Tex aka Redbeard sees as much of North America through a truck windshield as I do each year. Every now again our paths cross and we even get to hunt ducks together. In between roadtrips, Yarnell and I catch up, talking about Voormi's new bibs and rain jacket, this past US duck season, driving the highways and byways, our hunting retrievers, snow geese, and duck hunting West Virginia. You know, pretty much the same nothing that all duck hunting buddies talk about. 

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We all know duck habitat when we see it, but what do ducks "see"--how do our beloved mallards experience and utilize habitats at the landscale level before, during and after hunting season? Could understanding this make us more productive hunters, better habitat managers and long-time conservationsists? Nick Masto (that's Masto) is a duck hunter and recently completed his PhD at Tennessee Tech using the latest technologies. We do a deep dive into mallard habitat preferences on the wintering grounds and during fall/spring migrations, why they prefer these habitats, when they migrate, why they stop migrating, available forage...