Duck hunters must make some hard decisions now as to where to go for the Nov. 10 (to Nov. 23) opener to the second part of the season.
Because of Maryland?s recent drought, the big choices are small ponds and impoundments or the main rivers. Unless we get a lot of rain quick, the main rivers definitely look like the best choice.
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“There are oodles of small impoundments [across the state],” said Bill Harvey, game bird sports leader for the Department of Natural Resources. “Unless they have a well, they are bone dry now.” That was before the rains of Oct. 24 through Oct. 27.
After the rain, some ponds had water, but it was muddy ? too thick to drink and too thin to plow. Now water levels are dropping again ? and muddy ponds are not high on the wish-list for ducks. “Bone dry” or “mucky mud” both fall into the same category ? no water and no emergent grasses on which to feed. And no place to set up winter housekeeping.
“Early duck season (Oct. 13-20) was not that great,” said Harvey. “Many ducks are not here yet.”
Larry Hindman, DNR waterfowl biologist who has just returned from hunting in North Dakota, agrees. “[Rain] did not fill the impoundments to affect ducks.”
The low water tables from earlier in the year also could have affected duck populations, noted Hindman. Lack of rain required hens and ducklings to travel farther for good habitat, with few insects and seeds along the way for groceries. As a result, more ducklings might have died in the spring and summer to affect fall populations.
The lack of birds moving into our area might be part of an overall situation. Hindman noted from his North Dakota duck hunting that the mild winters in the northern states and Saskatchewan have prevented ice, which in turn has slowed ducks moving south along all flyways.
The plus of all this is better hunting possibilities in rivers, even though some of these are also down. Even with low water, the grasses ? read duck food ? are there.
“I?ve never seen the Susquehanna Flats look better,” said Hindman. “There are hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of acres of grasses. Those places hold a lot of birds.”
He also noted that other rivers are filled with grasses, particularly some of those on the Eastern Shore with the Nanticoke high on the list.
The bottom line is, the best bet right now seems to be rivers or creeks ? wherever there is moving water and the possibility of lots of grasses for food and cover to make ducks happy.
“We need normal weather,” said Hindman thinking cold, windy and overcast. “And we need some rain.”
Friday: How Maryland?s drought conditions are affecting fishing.
Reach C. Boyd Pfeiffer at [email protected]
