The heat isn't an indicator, but duck season is close

When the temperature hovers around 100 degrees and the early morning sun burns white hot, it's hard to imagine that there will ever be an end to summer. In the thick of it, the humid days drone on as relentless as the cicadas, but somewhere beyond the northern horizon lies the promise of a new season, a new fall, a first true cold front and another opening day.

In less than a month, the 2006 duck season gets started with the longest teal season for Missouri hunters. The 16-day early season opens Sept. 9 and runs through Sept. 24.

Blue wing teal numbers are up 28 percent from last season, and green wing teal numbers are up by 20 percent.

Duck hunters across the state are pleased to learn that nearly all species of ducks that pass through the state are up this year, including the most popular duck, the mallard, whose numbers have increased by 8 percent from last year.

One of the most important elements in duck breeding success is the amount of water present on the prairie breeding grounds. When the survey was conducted, the total pond counts for both Canada and the United States combined showed 6.1 million ponds, which was a 13 percent increase from last year's estimate and 26 percent higher than the long term average.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service report on breeding ducks showed an overall increase in duck populations by 14 percent since last year, with an estimated 36.2 million breeding ducks on the prairies where habitat conditions were better than last year thanks to a warm winter and good rainfall.

Eight of the ten most common species showed an increase this year, while only scaup numbers were down by 4 percent and wigeon numbers were down by just 2 percent.

Mallard populations showed a smaller increase than expected with an estimated 7.3 million mallards on the prairies, but are still at a healthy level.

The best news coming out of the survey this year might be the fact pintail numbers are up by 32 percent. This population jump is encouraging for the recovery of the pintail, whose numbers have declined over the past few years.

The most disappointing news was the continuing pattern of scaup numbers falling. This species was down by 4 percent from last year, continuing a long-term pattern that has persisted for the past 20 years. They are 37 percent below their long term average.

Ducks Unlimited executive vice president, Don Young said,"We are especially concerned about the further decline of the scaup, which has reached an all-time low this year. DU and others are continuing with targeted research programs on scaup that we hope will soon give us a better understanding of what we can do to help this species recover."

Overall, the results of the 51st consecutive survey are very encouraging and duck hunters are looking forward to a good fall flight starting with the early teal season.

Jack Nelson, a duck hunter for the past 55 years, said, "If we get enough rain to fill the ponds and marshes next month, it should be a duck season to remember."

Meanwhile, the dove season that opens on Sept. 1, looks like a good one. Early surveys show a big increase in the numbers of doves this summer and although the August heat has been hotter than usual, hunters know it won't be long before they will be afield as another hunting season starts.