December aerial surveys show drop in duck numbers
LITTLE ROCK – Arkansas Game and Fish Commission waterfowl biologists took to the skies last week for the December aerial waterfowl survey, and the population index reveals a drop in the estimated number of ducks in the state since the November survey.
The survey shows an estimate of just less than 580,000 ducks in Arkansas’s Delta region, which includes most of the eastern one-third of the state. Population estimates for northwest Arkansas include 31,304 ducks (18,580 mallards), and estimates for southwest Arkansas are 31,820 ducks (19,230 mallards).
The Delta total includes an estimated 191,299 mallards, 439,733 other dabblers and 188,307 divers.
Totals for the November aerial survey have been revised as a result of a calculation error during the compilation of last month’s survey results. The revised November total was an estimated 1.5 million ducks.
AGFC is using a new method for its aerial waterfowl surveys this year, a transition that possibly led to the calculation error for the November surveys.
Hunters should also be aware that, because of the new survey method, numbers from this year’s aerial surveys cannot be compared to previous years’ survey results.
According to Luke Naylor, AGFC waterfowl program coordinator, the drop in Arkansas’s estimated duck numbers from November to December was likely the result of early migrant species, such as shovelers, pintails, gadwalls and teal, departing the state for more southern latitudes along the Gulf Coast.
“The vast majority of ducks we saw in the November survey were species such as pintails and gadwalls that traditionally winter along the Gulf Coast,” Naylor said. “It appears that many of those ducks may have left the state since the last aerial surveys.”
Another explanation for the drop in numbers may be the new survey methodology. Because the east-west transect lines are chosen randomly for each month’s survey, it’s possible survey flights took observers over higher concentrations of waterfowl during the November survey.
While the discrepancy seems substantial, transect surveys are the standardized method used by most waterfowl managers, allowing wildlife management agencies like AGFC to have more scientific information and a “big-picture” look at waterfowl populations over long periods of time.
While mallard populations declined by about 58,000 ducks since the November survey, Naylor pointed out that mallard numbers didn’t drop as drastically as other dabbler species. One explanation for the decline in mallard numbers is that many mallards appear to be using habitat in flooded bottomland forests, including the Cache and lower White River basins.
“It’s very difficult to count ducks in flooded forests like the Cache and White river bottoms, so if the mallards are using that habitat – and anecdotal evidence suggests they are using it – they can’t be counted during the survey flights,” Naylor said.
New maps showing mallard and overall duck densities have been created to show relative densities around the state. The maps are included among several Web links AGFC has created to assist hunters in tracking waterfowl movements throughout the flyway and within the state.
For a list of links, visit http://www.agfc.com/hunting/huntingseasons/waterfowl-migratory-birds/waterfowl-locations.aspx.
This waterfowl report provides capsule information from agency staff in all corners of Arkansas and is updated each Wednesday throughout waterfowl season.
