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You can shoot them. Not all of them, obviously. And only when they’re in season—and the duck poses an imminent threat of not being shot by you, and imminence is imminent. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2011 Report on Trends in Duck Breeding Populations, there are now approximately 45.6 million ducks in north-central United States, south-central and northern Canada, and Alaska). That’s an 11 percent increase over last year’s estimate of 40.8 million birds and 35 percent above the long-term average (the total duck estimate excludes scoters, eiders, long-tailed ducks, mergansers, and wood ducks). Other highlights from the traditional survey area include . . .

  • Estimated mallard abundance was 9.2 million birds, a nine percent increase from the 2010 estimate of 8.4 million birds and 22 percent above the long-term average.
  • Blue-winged teal estimated abundance was a record 8.9 million, which was 41 percent above the 2010 estimate of 6.3 million, and 91 percent above the long-term average.
  • The northern pintail estimate of 4.4 million was 26 percent above the 2010 estimate of 3.5 million, and similar to the long-term average.
  • Estimated abundance of American wigeon was 14 percent below the 2010 estimate and 20 percent below the long-term average.
  •  The combined (lesser and greater) scaup estimate of 4.3 million was similar to that of 2010 and 15 percent below the long-term average of 5.1 million. The canvasback estimate of 700,000 was similar to the 2010 estimate and 21 percent above the long-term average.

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7 COMMENTS

  1. I love ducks, mainly with mashed potato’s with gravy and some corn bread. I’m also a member of PETA (people eating tasty animals).

  2. Our tax dollars at work — they have dicks counting ducks.

    Okay, I’ll bite. Why should I give a rat’s hat about the lesser scaup? I wouldn’t know a lesser scaup from the Lesser Antilles, a Greater Kudu or the Average White Band. But I do wonder how much this freakin’ study cost, and I’m willing to bet that it wasn’t lesser than a dollar a duck. Especially since Ducks Unlimited could personally interview every mallard, pintail, blue-winged teal, Daffy and Donald, do a full duck census, fill out a form for each duck family, get their signatures and band every freakin’ duck in America with a diamond-studded solid gold tennis bracelet for a tenth of the cost.

    So we have pinheads in Washington paying our money to “estimate” the number of pintails, but the same schmucks with earlaps can’t figure out a way for the country not to go broke. POTUS doesn’t want to cut the budget, and the federal fish and game boys are spending our hard-earned moolah counting ducks’ asses. I’ll sleep well tonight knowing that our duck population is secure, while our human population and our economy are swirling down the porcelain convenience, counterclockwise.

    Hey, I just thought of a great idea. Let’s count every money-sucking, do-nothing, lowlife duck counting bureaucrat douchebag in America and hose ’em down with our 12 gauges. Using unleaded birdshot, of course, because we wouldn’t want to hurt the freakin’ ducks.

  3. I went duck hunting last year for the first time in my life. It was one of the top five best hunting experiences I’ve had and I didn’t even kill one for the supper table. Good to know there are a whole bunch of them left for this year.

  4. Jase is the Hendrix of woodie calls. Never get tired of listening to what he can do. Also nice to see that they won’t likely mess with the Bluebill and Can limits this coming season ether.

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