The Duck All-You-Can Eat Buffet

[astanford]

I've been reading all you guys posts about the feeding of ducks and geese up north. Here's my question: Did they start feeding them more about 4 or 5 years ago? Here's why I ask, I have been duck huntin for 25 years and noticed that the amount of ducks we were seeing started to decline about that time,(It was the year that they said we would have"record" numbers of ducks about '97 I think) and this year has been the worse I have ever had. Now I'm not bitchin', I know there are gonna be good years and bad years and the weather has alot to do with the migration but I think there must be something else having an impact on the birds.
We got the freeze-up north of us a few weeks ago and still no ducks, what gives? I know when we have an inch of ice around here them ducks don't hang around long. Just wondering if anybody else has noticed the same pattern or if I'm just suffering from a bad case of "duck fever".

Killin alot of crows though.........

[NOHERE]

PLUS WE'RE BEING LIED TOO ABOUT THE DUCK NUMBERS, IT DONT MATTER IF YOU GIVE US 70 DAYS AND 10 DUCK LIMIT.

IF THERE AINT NO BIRDS , IT WONT MATTER.WHAT
THE "DUCK NUMBER" THING DOES IS SELL "STUFF" .

[damnyankee]

You know I hate to rain on this big conspiracy theory but they haven't gotten the snow up North like they have in years past. 2 seasons ago was the best season I've ever had in AR. and they had snow cover up North.These last two seasons have been pretty bad and they have no snow up North.
How many times do people have to say cold don't mean anything w/out snow?
I hate to be the bearer of bad news but it also takes more than a light dusting of snow to count. I had 2 guys from central Il hunting with me the last 2 days and they said there is NO snow in Il that has amounted to anything yet.

[Bigpoppa]

I dont beleive anyone can accurately keep up with the numbers. Thats all i'll say about that but I do beleive the weather is this years big factor. If we dont get a later season we are screwed. I will say that DU is not all it is cracked up to be and they are probably geared toward northern hunters. They do a lot of the feeding and churning water for ducks to stay up north. But I guess thats not a big problem.

I dont know if anything I said had anything to do with the original post but My point is that it is a lot more difficult to duck hunt in the south than it has ever been and hot weather makes it that much harder.

[damnyankee]

I agree with the DU numbers thing.
Who verifies they are correct?
But I believe the main factors are these, flood waters, mild Northern winter, fewer ducks, SMARTER ducks, and more hunters.
Face it more hunters mean more dead ducks before they get here so the chances are the ducks that do make it here have been whacked at a few hundred times. More hunters kill more ducks so maybe the DU numbers are correct just more are dieing in the North because of the larger number of hunters. These ducks hear every call, see every decoy, see every ROBO, they are smarter.
I would be curious as to what percentage of ducks have been decoyed and shot at by the time they get here. I'd also like to know how that number has changed over the last few years. I would bet it has doubled in the last 5 years and tripled from 10 years ago.
The Yanks are going to do everything they can to keep ducks up North for good hunts and the southerners are going to do what they can to get them down here bottom line.
One thing seems never to change the high dollar clubs be it in the North or South always produce. And the public and low dollar members continue to fight the North versus South bullshhit.

[astanford]

I guess we are all just grasping at straws to try and figure out whats going on with the ducks. I'm just a logical thinker so I'm trying to figure out the answer. We have been in a warmer weather pattern since about '97 , remember El-Nino? So maybe it's just a cycle of nature, I hope that's all it is and everyting will be back to normal next year or hell next week. But IF they are feeding our green headed buddies, I totally disagree with the practice. Nature has always taken care of herself and always will. IF the feeding is taking place in massive quanities there will be some consequences for the ducks down the line. But I guess I can't do Jacks##t about it, so I'll be huntin' in the morning, ducks or no ducks.

"I'm gonna get fired, you know why? Because of a damn duck"

[jdphish]

I am by no means an expert duck hunter. But like some of the others here I am trying to learn. Since, like the rest, I am wondering where all the ducks are (saw many last year). Yesterday I had a chance to speak with an Illinois wildlife dept. biologist. He is not a duck man but a fish guy. I asked anyway "is your dept. or any other organization feeding grain to ducks in the state?" He said no one is putting grain out for the ducks, he was sure of that. He said there are alot of ducks up there but it was only because of the mild weather and just the usual agricutural spillage and refuge plantings that would normally be covered by snow and ice now. He went on to say that the duck and goose season in Ill. was poor this year because of the same reasons we are seeing. The ducks and geese did not move in until the seasons were over.

Thats my two cents worth.
I hate to say this but they are having record highs in the upper MS flyway region as I type, according the weather channel.

[astanford]

Thanks jd, like you, I saw alot more ducks last year, in fact there were thousands in our area before the big freeze up. I'll just be a happy sob when they get back like the were in the early to mid nineties. Back then I could sit out on my place late in the evening and watch drove after drove after drove flying back to roost and know they would be back the next morning! Oh those were the good ole days...................


"I'm gonna get fired. You know why? Because of a damn duck"

[WNE Driver]

Highball -

I extend an invitation to you as well anyone else that wonders if the feds or anyone else up here is feeding waterfowl. You are more than welcome to come visit any time you like and we will go drive the refuges, both state and federal. You won't see anyone dumping any feed. Course we would also have to fit in some huntin' or fishin' while yer visitin'! [img]images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

Damn Yankee -

You are right on track. We our first snow of winter was Saturday, about an inch or so. It was all gone by Monday. Got to about 60 here today and right now at 8:20pm it is 43 degrees outside. Heck, I am diggin' out the short sleeve shirts! At this rate, the ice we have will be gone in a week or so. A good rain and it will be gone sooner than that.

[astanford]

WNE Driver,
Thanks appreciate the info. Yeah I think it is more weather than anything, I'll be glad when you guys start getting your snows in Nov. and Dec. like you used to. I would love to come to Ill. to do some goose huntin' sometime and if ya'll ain't feeding 'em hell i'll bring 50 lbs. of shelled corn with me and we'll do our own "short stopping". I'll trade you a "Quality"(HaHa this year) late season duck hunt for a good old fashioned "corn fed" goose hunt.


"I'm gonna get fired. You know why? Because of a damn duck"

[astanford]

I forgot to ask if ya'll are still seeing alot of ducks up there. Are the refuges full
of ducks and geese?

[WNE Driver]

Yer welcome to come up. No need for the shelled corn, most of the goose pits around here are in corn or soybean fields. I am supposed to go goosin this Sunday with a buddy that wants me to get in on the pit he leases. We just finally are starting to see some geese here startin this past weekend.

Yes, we do still have a lot of birds up here from what I am seeing. I saw one report of a fella seeing 1000's of mallards southwest of Peoria last week. To give you an idea of how late our migration was this year - We were still killing woodies on the last day of the season here, DEC 23!!! That is unheard of!!