Listen to this podcast with Bryan Cohen with cohen wildlife labs. He dropped some bombs of knowledge on this one.

https://doghousepod.com/

Man that was informative. Pretty cool that several of the refuges he mentioned are 30 min from my house. Definitely makes sense that to much pressure changes their patterns. Thanks for posting

We’ve been saying pressure is the problem for years. Ducks don’t want to die is true. The thing I’m struggling with is how far “do they leave to”
I struggle with that little of movement

Even back ni. The late 80s early 90s hi bit clubs in arkie and resting ponds on the property. Too much money and willing to pay for fewer killings ducks

They mentioned we are our own worst enemies.

Was eye opening hearing how far the ducks actually move and how weather just stirs the pot. Can’t argue with the data though. I’d be interested in seeing multiple data sets from each flyway over a couple years. Pressure is pressures and nature wants to survive.

Except these ducks are partially not wild. I was blown away by a podcast I heard recently (on MeatEater I think) where they genetically tested ducks killed in the wild and a huge percentage are from captive breeding stock. Think city park ducks.

These ducks don’t even know to migrate south, they’ll just tear off in random directions. It’s all because these huge hunting clubs release ducks and then they breed in the wild.

The birds had actually even physically adapted to compete for grain (from a farmer’s bag) versus wild forage. In terms of beak appearance etc.

Yall should listen to that episode. I was amazed at the information.

I’ll definitely look for that. Makes sense with all the money to be made as an “outfitter”.

Back in the mid 90s I looked at releasing mallards and even asked another farmer so our ducks would trade back and forth. The amount of money required got to be substantial and nixed that plan. Come to find out there were numerous others doing the same but simply thru-out 2-3000 ducklings without protection and just a little food. I see these leftover ducks around the shoals year around now. They’re on the lakes and rivers and even the creeks. They’re like those resident geese that were released back in the early 90s.

They don’t leave.

There was a hen mallard at Byers farm with a gps tracker. She’d leave out at daylight and fly to place to spend her days. Returning after shooting hours and feeding at night.

At the club in arkie there’s a pit that is close to the refuge. Ducks come in hard after shooting time and spend the night. When we’d come in the next morning thousands upon thousands would leave out for the refuge. We had a flooded cornfield a few years back and it was an afternoon place. Ducks would leave out at first light. We would kill ducks in the afternoon in the last hour of shooting time.

Another thing that I’ve seen first hand. Here I. The shoals area the shear number of duck hunters have increased tenfold. Back in the 80 and early 90s just a handful except those in Leighton and they played on their own holes so not really in the mix. The river was a great loading are for ducks during the day. You could see them from the Trace bridge just out there loafing by the thousands. Out good friend being a mussel diver was out there daily and could get a good report.

These days there is absolutely is no ready are for them. If they’re in the river boats are constantly running them up for hunters in layout boats or shorelines. And then there’s those that go to blasting away at them as they run their boats hard at them.
That will run the ducks out of the area.

Also we used to hunt til 9-10 at the latest but for the most part be done by 8 or earlier. The hole was left alone for the rest of the day. Not no more. With larger limited and longer season folks stay out all day. Providing constant pressure no wonder they leave.

I’ve always stated we lost our ducks when the waterway opened but it was more likely just try e timing of increases limits and shear numbers of hunters increasing

If you don’t think it’s popular just look at the clothing companies and their prices. Matter of fact like Mack’s Prairie Wings used to be a hole in the wall outdoor shop. I’ve not been to the new location and probably not not ever.

Greed is both a good and bad thing and duck hunting knows it well.

I think the changes in body types was what shocked me most from that podcast. The hybrid ducks, along with the lack of knowing to migrate, simply can't because their bodies can't handle it. I've said it before and I'll say it again, Duck Dynasty did more to screw duck hunting than DDT ever did.

Duck Dynasty started in 2012. What I mentioned was happening 10-15 years before it was a show. Duck Dynasty capitalized and also definitely piled on but it wasn’t the start. I’m betting there were shows in Outdoor channel that played in early on

The 90s in Arkansas got real as Stuttgartt pursed and played on being the Duck Capital of the World. I recall reading an open letter to Arkansas from Maryland about putting it all out there.
Where we hunted was public land but folks kinda had their in holes and had named them since the early days. The Cache and White became federal refugees and on the world maps. That was the start of all hell breaking loose in those parts. Thats also when I quit going over because of the fighting over a hole. We had it happen to us and told a buddy that was it for me.

I get the hatred for DD but it started well before then. Back before them those arkie folks were hating on DU and switching over to Delta Waterfowl. They didn’t have all those advertisements for guides in Arkansas

In fairness I think this pre-dated duck dynasty by a long time. The original captive duck releases were…..Ducks Unlimited!

And I agree most captive ducks die in nature or stay put, but enough make it out to inter-breed and mess up the wild genetics.

Shouldn’t be legal to just release captive birds. Especially with all the BS that law-abiding duck hunters have to put up with. It’s having a deleterious effect on the whole wild population.

I’ve overheard several biologist speak about the muddling up of the mallard genetics. There is so many duck clubs where mallard are released for pay hunts. It’s everywhere.

I raised quail, chukar and pheasant back in 05-07 to work my lab and have fun. I often wonder if I introduced black head to the world old turkeys in the area. All birds I bought were supposed to have been inoculated but who knows.

Canned hunts fill a need for those that have money but not the time or places to actually hunt. They do allow actual shooting of game which is not always the case now. Heck we
Count a good hunt as not getting skunked. 😝

https://www.splitreed.com/articles/maryland-moratorium

Here’s a link that is interesting too


Ps thanks for the podcast link. Very jnformative

I don’t care if people want to shoot pen raised pets. But apparently a small percentage are escaping and destroying the wild genetics. Not good.

I think those canned hunts are absolutely ridiculous and you couldn't pay me to partake in one. I take that back. I would probably do it but it would have to be a lot of money.

But I always assumed they were hardly having an effect on wild populations of mallards.

Are these released birds that are muddying up genetics actually following the wild ducks back to Canada? Seems like they wouldn't be able to make trip, much less successfully produce offspring that survive.

They are hanging around. Kinda like the geese that never leave.

Refuges and powerplants (warm water discharge) along with 1000's of acres being planted "just" for ducks is what hurt the hunting many years ago. I gave up on it back in the early 2000's. I sure do miss it but it just got to be where it wasn't worth the hassle.

The ducks are still around the Mississsippi flyway. They just feed at night.

I'm 65......Wood Ducks I have circled Back to here in Alabama.....20 minutes in th' Mornin'.....Good B'Fast. Deer in th' P.M. Had many of a Hunt 30 to 40 years ago in Arkansas. Shoot ducks in Africa once a year Now....

There’s studies showing duck migration patterns are moving westward and geese migration is moving eastward. Also there are studies indicating the big ducks hang tight to the freeze line. Fluctuating back and forth with it

I think there are several valid studies and or theories but pressure still ranks the highest of all. That’s just common sense