Going Green. A trio of mallards patrol a seasonal wetland near Bismarck, N.D. Waterfowl had a generally successful year, and hunters did as well, thanks to improved water levels and good habitat in the area. Simonson Photo.
By Nick Simonson
Adjusting only for a blizzard coming in the early goings of North Dakota’s waterfowl season in October, the autumn was good for both hunters and migrating waterfowl in the state, and an extended stay was observed by members of the Ducks Unlimited (DU) team for both ducks and geese, according to William Palarski, biologist for the organization.
“It’s not very often here in North Dakota we get to go out and do a lot of duck hunting after deer season like we got to do this year, but there were still pockets of birds around all the way up until the end of season which is really cool to see,” Palarski relates, adding, “relatively speaking, we saw a lot of young birds, a decent amount of birds in general, and we should be really good continuing on.”
Trips to the field were often very productive for duck hunters in North Dakota, as water levels on many of the state’s prairie potholes remained in relatively good condition, providing places to set up in, and not a lot of separation between the water’s edge and shoreline cover which would otherwise impact concealment options. Additionally, aside from the snows of mid-October, conditions were generally favorable for getting out into the field or on a favorite slough, and this kept many species of waterfowl, particularly snow geese, in the region well into November and December.
“It got really cold after that blizzard too, and people were getting out ice fishing at the end of October and November and then it warmed back up and it was almost like some birds moved back to us, which is something that you don’t normally think of. The snow geese stayed around for a long time, battled to keep that water open all year, and [the blizzard] ended up not being as big of a deal as we thought it would be,” Palarski relates.
While the migration contributed to a significant influx of new ducks and geese all autumn long, the extremely favorable conditions of spring which met returning resident waterfowl which nested and raised their young in North Dakota spurred a strong population of young-of-the-year ducks and geese, providing options from the get go, whether that was the general duck opener in September, or the early Canada goose management take season which kicked off in August. Of great importance in that process was the strong resurgence of shoreline grasses and upland areas surrounding ponds and potholes which provided greater concealment for the young of nesting ducks after they hatched.
Winter doesn’t slow things down for DU according either, as a number of private-land-based habitat initiatives are underway during the off-season. Additionally, many of the state’s chapters host their grassroots fundraising banquets to help provide local dollars for the improvement of local wetlands and the preservation of hunting access for waterfowlers in North Dakota through the organization’s efforts.
“We’re continuing to do our grass restorations and our wetland restorations on land of anyone that’s interested, or anyone that wants to turn cropland back to grass for duck nesting habitat or if they have a couple drained wetlands on their property,” Palarski states, adding, “we’re spending a bunch of money in North Dakota protecting wetlands, protecting grasslands; and anything that can benefit the ducks, we’re trying to do it,” he concludes.
More information on conservation and waterfowl habitat initiatives can be found on the organization’s website at ducks.org. There hunters can find links to local DU banquets and other activities in their area by clicking on the “Events” tab, to attend this spring’s festivities which help to raise money for DU’s conservation efforts.
imonson is the lead writer and editor for Dakota Edge Outdoors