Hunt Lake Manitoba Narrows

In this stretch of years the hunting pressure more than doubled. 448,204 duck stamps were sold in the all-time low year or 1935, and 1,487,029 in 1944. Then came World War II with another decline in hunting pressure and a rest for the ducks. But overshooting and the pressure of man made themselves felt again soon after the war. Ducks went into another tailspin. In 1945 the United States Fish and Wildlife Service estimated 20,000,000 fewer ducks than in the previous year. By 1946 the duck population had fallen to a total of 80,000,000 a decline of 45,000,000 from the estimated 125,000,000 population of 1944. So the 1946 season was cut to 45 days with limits of 7 ducks daily 14 in possession. Further reductions were necessary in 1947, with a 30-day season and four and eight limits in the Mississippi and Atlantic flyways where the greatest waterfowl declines had been observed. Once again man’s self-imposed restrictions and the weather came to the rescue of the ducks. There was a slight improvement in the waterfowl population in 1949 and a 40-day season was permitted. But the limit was held to four and eight that year, and in 1950, when a temporary duck setback was recorded, the season was cut to 35 days.

Then weather intervened again in the form of good rains. In my 1952 Sports Afield survey of ducks in western Canada I reported the best hatch in 15 years. It was spectacular in Alberta, Saskatchewan and northern Manitoba. So the season was extended. By 1953 the United States Fish and Wildlife Service estimated the duck population at 160,750,000. In the fall of 1954 heavy rains provided conditions for a real boom in waterfowl the following year. The early spring and ideal nesting conditions of 1955 accentuated the boom. There was water everywhere, western Canada was in great shape for waterfowl and there was a great hatch of ducks.

The season was liberalized in 1955, with an all-time high sale of 2,181,566 duck stamps. Sales held pretty well through the next year, then went up to 2,332,014 in 1957.

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Hunt lake Manitoba Narrows

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Bad news for bears, wolverines, dragonflies and all Canadian wildlife…

Wolverine loses again — Wolverines don’t deserve Endangered Species Act protection in the United States because their population is still strong in Canada, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which yesterday declined to protect the species for the second time.

But life in Canada is no picnic – A recent audit of Canada’s environmental record shows lax protection for endangered species. “Of the 389 identified species at risk, in only 55 of those cases does a strategy exist to save them,” according to a report in the Winnipeg Sun.

Forest Service vs. Wildlife Service — What gets top priority, loggers or the species that live in prime logging areas? Yup, it’s loggers. A new lawsuit seeks greater protected habitats for the endangered Hine’s emerald dragonfly. The Fish and Wildlife Service excluded 13,000 acres of national forests from the dragonfly’s designated critical habitat, saying that action would make the Forest Service would be more likely to accept the critical habitat if the national forests were not included.

Remember the polar bears? – Meanwhile, deadlines have long since passed and conservation groups are now suing to get the Fish and Wildlife Service to make some movement on its promises to determine if the polar bear deserves full investigation to receive Endangered Species Act protection.

In other bear news… – Courts ruled against black bears in Florida this week, opening up hunting for what some believe to be an endangered sub-species of the North American black bear. And in Austria, brown bears may soon be extinct, as only two of the animals are left in the country. (Did I mention that they were both male? It’s kind of hard to breed that way…)

http://www.plentymag.com/blogs/extinction/2008/03/six_losses_for_endangered_spec.php

Polar Bear Statues Bears On Broadway Winnipeg Manitoba – Picture of a few of the polar bear statues which form part of the.

Polar bear meets husky in Manitoba, Canada – thats pretty cute, it w3as great thought that the silly woman got bitten for messing with a polar bear in berlin!.

Louisville Zoo – Media Advisory – Polar bear listed as threatened … – Global warming and vanishing habitat are putting extreme pressure on existing polar bear populations, according to Canadian conservation experts. In February, the Canadian home to polar bears—the province of Manitoba—recognized polar …

For Manitoba polar bear, good life is in Scotland – Winnipeg Free … – The Canadian polar bear at the centre of Britain’s longest-running animal-rights feud is being moved… – Local News – Winnipeg Free Press.

Polar bear meets husky in Manitoba, Canada – This attracts large male polar bears that spend much of the season at his place. Occasionally one will play with the dogs, but it is still a rare occurrence. It is a great place to see big males though. Cheers!.

Frontiers North Adventures– Inspiring Sustainable Wildlife … – They work to define, develop, and implement policies for Manitoba’s polar bear tourism industry, and they continue to support and contribute to research related to the ecosystems in which they operate, including the impacts on …

Town of Churchill, Manitoba – Polar Bear Capital of the World … – The 6th Annual Hudson Bay Quest begins in Churchill Saturday, March 21st, 2009. …

Hunt Lake Manitoba Narrows

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At first glance, the results of the 2009 duck breeding population and habitat survey are eye-popping: May ponds across the prairie breeding grounds increased 45 percent from a year ago, the total duck population was up 25 percent and mallard numbers climbed 10 percent.

Look closer, however, and some of the survey’s findings explode from the pages like a Fourth of July fireworks display.

“If you would have told me 10 years ago we’d have twice as many pintails nesting on the U.S. side of the breeding grounds as Canadian prairie, I would have laughed in your face,” said Dr. Frank Rohwer, Delta Waterfowl’s scientific director.

Yet that’s exactly what happened this year, as 1.4 million pintails nested in the Dakotas and eastern Montana while only 664,000 set up housekeeping in prairie Canada. The US side of the region also attracted 78 percent more blue-winged teal (4.5 million) than prairie Canada (2.5 million) and a higher percentage of mallards than any other year since the survey began in 1955.

The results of the breeding-population and habitat survey were released Thursday by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Canadian Wildlife Service. The B-pop, as it’s called, is the most extensive wildlife inventory on the continent.

The total duck breeding population rose 13 percent from 37.3 million to 42 million, and for the first time ever more ducks (14 million) settled on the US side of the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) than the Canadian side (12.7 million)- .sobering news for prairie Canada, which continues to experience sub-par duck production, but exciting news for the US, where nest success has been excellent because of an abundance of grass and a scarcity of red fox,” says Dr. Rohwer,

“Ducks track ponds and the Dakotas and eastern Montana are wet,” says Senior Vice President John Devney. “Not only that, but thanks to heavy rains in June, our grass cover is in excellent shape and we’ve maintained good wetlands, which bodes well for re-nesting and brood survival.

“We ought to be making a bunch of baby ducks this year,” echoed John Solberg, the USFWS pilot-biologist who flies the eastern Dakotas survey each spring. “We’re very wet, and the cover response to recent rains has been incredible.”

A breakdown of the numbers shows the PPR had a 45-percent year-over-year increase in May ponds to 6.4 million. Prairie Canada was 17 percent wetter than a year ago and 5 percent wetter than the long-term average while the U.S. side had a whopping 108 percent increase in wetlands and was 87 percent wetter than the LTA.

The mallard population climbed from 7.7 million to 8.5 million. The United States attracted a 2.96 million mallards while 3.04 million settled in prairie Canada.

Among the other most popular species, gadwall numbers were up 12 percent to 3.1 million; green-winged teal rose to an all-time record of 3.4 million; blue-winged teal rose 11 percent to 7.4 million; northern shovelers climbed 25 percent to 4.4 million; northern pintails were up 23 percent to 3.2 million; canvasbacks were up 35 percent to 662,000, and scaup rose for the third straight year, up 12 percent to 4.2 million, the highest level since 1999.

The only species to show a drop in breeding numbers were redheads, which were down one percent to 1.0 million, and wigeon, down one percent to 2.5 million.

The PPR constitutes only 10 percent of North America’s breeding habitat but annually attracts two-thirds or more of all nesting ducks. The surveyed portion of the region includes North and South Dakota and a sliver of eastern Montana in the United States, and prairie Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba in Canada. About 75 percent of the PPR exists in Canada, which historically attracted 75 percent of the ducks that nest there.

During the wet cycle of the 1990s, duck production on the U.S. side of the border increased dramatically thanks to 5 million acres of grass nesting cover provided by the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP).

The Duck’s Nest: Custer State Park – South Dakota – Our first stop for camping was Custer State Park in South Dakota. This park is located in the hart of the Black Hills. It had wonderful campgrounds and was located near Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, and the Badlands. …

Breeding Population Survey Released; Wet Conditions Attract Ducks … – The PPR constitutes only 10 percent of North America’s breeding habitat but annually attracts two-thirds or more of all nesting ducks. The surveyed portion of the region includes North and South Dakota and a sliver of eastern Montana in …

TuzigootJournal: South Dakota Flashback: Terry Redlin – Lots of rural scenes, often with birds streaking across them (he has won multiple competitions done by Ducks Unlimited for the art displayed on duck stamps), typically illuminated with light from various sources: sunrise, sunset, …

Year of the Bird: South Dakota – He was recently invited to go to the Badlands of South Dakota to help the Nature Conservany with a new property they had purchased, and asked me to join. I leapt at an opportunity to both explore a new habitat and at the same time contribute (a little! ….. Wood Duck 1/21 Bayville; 131. Slaty Backed Gull 1/23 Ithaca; 132. Scott’s Oriole 1/24 Union Square Park; 133. Yellow Bellied Sapsucker 1/24 Prospect Park; 134. Red Bellied Woodpecker 1/26 Croton Point; 135. …

Picable – Photo Page: Dawn Over South Dakota Lake – Photo about Dawn Over South Dakota Lake. … Dawn Over South Dakota Lake. by carolina girl. published on Jun 4, 2009. Dawn spreads over a lake in South Dakota illuminating decoys in wait for ducks. …

Federal Duck Stamp Marks Its 75th Anniversary – Federal Duck Stamp Marks Its 75th Anniversary. 2009-2010 Federal Duck Stamp. Designed by South Dakota artist Joshua Spies, the 2009-2010 Federal Duck Stamp features a long-tailed duck and decoy. USFWS

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Hunt Lake Manitoba Narrows

“Apparently drunk as a lord on the wine of the north wind and the mysterious call of the season, bluebills may come in from all sides, at all levels, now skimming over the surface of the water, now swooping down from above. Stand up suddenly in your blind and you’re likely to get your cap knocked off — if not your head.” — Jimmy Robinson
Arkansas has its mallards, with their florid feathering and graceful aerobatics — poetry on wings. But the north country, particularly that part of the north that is blessed with large lakes, is the province of bluebills, or scaup. These birds arrow southward from the subarctic at autumn’s last call, an eyelash ahead of winter and freeze-up. No waterfowlers appreciate these black darts — these “rockets of the north,” as the late Jimmy Robinson described them — more than Minnesotans. Charlie Hays of Princeton is one. “Bluebills are just a wonder to watch and to hunt,” Hays said. “Anyone who loves ducks can’t help but love bluebills. To see a flock of 25 or 30 turn for your decoys with their wings set can scare the hell out of you.”

Hays’ duck camp — bluebill camp — is on Lake of the Woods, near the Northwest Angle. It’s there that, on the first Saturday of October, he will hunker in a plain wooden blind on a nondescript island and … shoot one bird.

“That’s the rule we hunt by at our camp,” Hays said. “Opening day, you get one bird. The thrill is in seeing them, watching them.”

These days, bluebills — scaup (they come in greater and lesser varieties) — are in the news. And not in an encouraging way.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has imposed a one-bluebill limit on Mississippi Flyway hunters for 40 days of the coming 60-day season, with two ‘bills allowed the remaining 20 days.

The reason: Bluebill numbers have declined significantly the past two decades

Minnesota waterfowlers hollered “foul” louder and more often following the service’s action than anyone else, and the state’s Department of Natural Resources has appealed the reduced limit.

Forty-five days of two birds daily, with one bluebill allowed the remaining 15 days, would be fairer to hunters, the agency believes, and no less protective of the bird.

What’s more, argues DNR waterfowl specialist Steve Cordts, a two-bluebill daily limit would keep most Minnesota duck hunters from running afoul of the law by mistaking bluebills for similar-looking ring-necked ducks — whose limit this fall will be six daily.

• • •

However the impasse is resolved, the fracas that has followed the USFWS bluebill-limit reduction has underscored anew how much Minnesota waterfowlers love this bird.

Such affection might be beyond the understanding of waterfowlers in Tennessee, Iowa, Missouri or even Arkansas.

How, they wonder, can a small black and white bird with a reputation (in the South) for tasting “fishy” entice so many duck hunters?

The answer blows in the cold winds that jump-start the bluebill’s late migration and the wintry weather that washes these birds southward.

In mid- to late October, lakes and rivers near The Pas, Manitoba, about 400 miles north of Winnipeg, will freeze, driving vast rafts of bluebills into the air, where they will circle in great waves, gaining altitude.

Lake Manitoba awaits to the south, a vast inland ocean, and just beyond, Delta Marsh.

It is on Delta Marsh that bluebills will seek food and refuge. It is there also so often over so many years that Robinson and guests at his Sports Afield duck camp hunkered in phragmites on frigid mornings, awaiting these rockets of the north.

Nourishing themselves a final time, the ‘bills will soon take to the air once more, vectoring now for Lake of the Woods — where Hays and scores of other Minnesota waterfowlers have awaited them for generations.

Days — perhaps weeks — later, the birds will continue southward to Lake Winnibigoshish, Leech Lake, a smattering of lakes near Ashby, some waters near Willmar, then, too, farther south onto and over the Mississippi River.

http://www.startribune.com/sports/outdoors/28092844.html?page=2&c=y