Reports from my contacts at Delta Waterfowl who are strategically located in the middle of the prairie pothole region in North Dakota say this year could be a near historic one for waterfowl production.
Prairie Canada which has historically produced the bulk of North America’s puddle ducks is experiencing the wettest conditions in 300 years. Over the last decade that area has been weak in terms of duck production and in fact over the past two seasons, the American side of the prairies (which has been wet) has outproduced it.
“The small wetlands will stay wet and we’re going to have that sort of situation,” said Delta’s Science Director Frank Rohwer in a recent press statement.
“We’re going to have water spilling out into agricultural land… a disaster for farmers, but it’s going to great for ducks. It’s exactly what we ask for when we want a fabulous duck season.”
The American side is also super wet which means which should mean fantastic duck production.
That means a lot of this will be happening…
Blue-winged teal mating in a small pothole in North Dakota. The photo was taken by the author during a trip to the prairie pothole region in 2008.
Small, seasonal wetlands are crucial to waterfowl mating and brood survival and when there is a lot of water that equals lots of ducks flying south in the fall.
Things are looking good now. Look to fishgame.com and Texas Fish & Game to provide you with the most accurate information on exactly what to expect this hunting season and how the coming pond counts and breeding duck index affects Texas.
At the present rainfall rate, we are not going to have any potholes here in East Texas, to hunt over.