ducks - Wildlife Management Pro

Wetland Management for Waterfowl

Hunting waterfowl such as ducks and geese can be exciting and is an important part of wildlife population management, but providing adequate habitat should be of primary importance to any hunter or landowner. Providing habitat for ducks and geese varies from property to property, but active wetland management is the cornerstone to meeting the needs of migrating waterfowl populations.

Of all the wetland types out there, coastal wetlands are arguably some of the most important. These wetlands played a critical role historically because the millions of farm ponds and lakes that ducks and geese now use for wintering did not exist. Persons owning or leasing coastal wetlands can implement management practices that benefit local and migrating waterfowl and improve overall duck and goose hunting. Continue reading Wetland Management for Waterfowl

Ducks Unlimited Donations Help Texas Wetlands, WMA

DU helps Texas wetlands and the Murphree WMA

Ducks Unlimited announced last week it was awarded a federal North American Wetlands Conservation Act grant to enhance more than 5,728 acres of wetland habitat in Chambers and Jefferson counties along the Texas coast. Partners contributed more than $2 million to match the $1 million received from the federal grant. The project will restore high priority wintering habitat for ducks, geese, and other migratory birds within the Chenier Plain of Texas, including at TPWD sites such as the J.D. Murphree Wildlife Management Area. The project will replace degraded culverts and pipes with modern water control structures, improve existing levees, and construct new levees to provide efficiently managed wetland habitat.

“This partnership project will enhance management capabilities on approximately 1,100 acres of freshwater coastal marsh habitat,” said Jim Sutherlin, area manager at Murphree WMA for TPWD. “The aging water management infrastructure is in need of upgrades to enhance wetland habitat for wildlife and especially migratory waterfowl.”

The NAWCA grant project is made possible with financial support from partners BP America, Suemaur Exploration and Production, LLC, and Jefferson County Drainage District #6.

Texas Duck Hunting Report

The High Plains Mallard Management Unit is reporting reat goose hunts near Dumas. Excellent decoying action has been had over corn and plowed ground. Many outfitters say they are getting their limit of dark geese with equal numbers of snow geese. Lots of young snows have helped decoying action. Duck action has been steady on playa lakes, but few hunters have taken advantage. Those who have hunted have taken limits of mallards. Teal, wigeons, gadwall and a few wood ducks have been taken as well. Haskell County hunters have seen the same results. Pheasant hunters continue to bag their birds. Prospects are good according to the latest duck hunting reports from the area.

Lots of holiday hunters kept birds moving on lakes and reservoirs in the North Zone Duck region. Recent rains have helped fill sloughs and backwaters where acorns and other forage were plentiful. Timber hunters say wood ducks are steady in the morning and afternoon. More mallards have been taken in the past two weeks around the Red River. Lake Wright-Patman has been good for gadwalls, teal and mallards. Lake Palestine has been steady for gadwalls, teal and a few mallards. Sam Rayburn has yielded limits for most puddle ducks and wood ducks for hunters able to hunt lay-out blinds in coves. Toledo Bend, Caddo Lake , Lake O’the Pines and Lake Fork have plenty of ringed-necks, scaup and canvasbacks. A few mallards have been taken in isolated pockets of water. Hunting along IH-10 has been fair to good around Winnie and Anahuac . Wood ducks have been taken in small timber ponds. Gadwalls and green-winged teal have been harvested near Nome . Prospects are fair to good. Continue reading Texas Duck Hunting Report

Ducks Found in the Highland Lakes of Central Texas

Ducks abound in the Highland Lakes area, and are found, basically, in two varieties — the puddle duck and the diving duck. According to Derrick Wolter, wildlife biologist with Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, the puddle duck species include mallard, gadwall, wigeon, blue-winged teal, green-winged teal, shovelers, and pintail. Diving ducks include ring-necked, lesser scaup, greater scaup, canvasback, redheads, and buffleheads.

Probably the best known of the puddle ducks in this area are the mallards, pintails, blue-winged teal, and green-winged teal. Puddle ducks are so named because of their feeding habits. These waterfowl prefer to dine on submerged vegetation in shallow puddles or along the shores of lakes and rivers in water no deeper than about 12-inches.

Puddle ducks feeding in shallow water

Their diet, in addition, includes lots of seeds — from corn, wheat, bulrushes, wild rice, primrose, willow, water elm, oak, hackberry and other trees along streams. And they also dine on mollusks, insects, small fish, tadpoles, freshwater snails, and fish eggs. Continue reading Ducks Found in the Highland Lakes of Central Texas