Posted on 20th Jun 2011 @ 2:14 PM

The 64th Annual North Dakota Breeding Duck Survey has recently been completed. Below are a few of the important points courtesy of Nick Smith with Ducks Unlimited:

• The 2011 water index was up 31.4% from 2010 and up 128.0% from the 1948-2010 average (Table 1).
• The 2011 duck index was down 9.3% from 2010, but exceeded the 1948-2010 average index by 85% (Table 3). The 2011 index is the 9th highest on record.
• Changes from 2010 in the indices for individual species were highly variable (Table 4). Wigeon, blue-winged teal, and pintails (highest level since 1970) were the only ducks to show an increase in numbers (+15%, +12%, and +4% respectively). Shovelers were down 13% from their record high last year. Mallards were down 4% from last year, but had the sixth highest count on record. Indices for all other species were below that of 2010, with the most significant decreases for ruddy duck (-62%), lesser scaup (-58%), and redhead (-33%). Last year (2010), redheads and ruddy ducks were at record highs and scaup numbers were also well above average, so these declines are not surprising.
• Nesting effort was well underway at the time of our survey.
• All species, except scaup, were above the long-term (1948-2010) average. This year, most scaup appeared to have passed through North Dakota by the time of our survey.
• The large number of ducks tallied during our survey is consistent with the “well above average” populations we have been carrying since 1994 following wet conditions that have been in place since the summer of 1993.
• Nesting cover in North Dakota continues to decline. During our survey, we noted many large tracts of grassland/CRP that had been converted to cropland since last year or were in the process of being plowed. Expiring CRP contracts and high commodity prices driven by biofuel demands and other economic factors are pushing these conversions. North Dakota currently has about 2,642 million acres of CRP, down about 22% from the 3.387 million acres in 2007. Projections are that another 0.387 million acres will be lost in 2010-2011 and 1.098 million acres will be lost in 2012-13. This loss of critical nesting cover will be disastrous for breeding ducks and hunting opportunities in North Dakota. Additionally, wind energy and oil developments continue to fragment prairie grasslands, throughout the Missouri Coteau and the Drift Prairie. These developments can only further reduce waterfowl production in North Dakota.

You can check out the full report here.