Rising Temps Open Up Areas for Waterfowl

LITTLE ROCK – First it was a wait for much-needed rainfall. Then, it was the wait for that suddenly frozen water throughout the state to thaw. Now, Arkansas has the conditions for the duck season it's been anticipating as the state heads into the stretch run of the season through its close on Jan. 28.

Complete results of the AGFC's midwinter aerial survey were not in yet, but early estimates in the Delta region by the biologists who conducted the survey noted that mallards were in good numbers for this period and with the conditions the state has experienced over several weeks, with an estimate of 949,331 birds among a total of more than 1.2 million ducks in the state. Because of the icy conditions during the survey period, however, more birds were congregated in smaller open areas, and the confidence limits for the count were larger than if conditions were normal for this period. The standard error for the midwinter survey is 174,000, meaning the estimate is 949,331 mallards plus or minus 173,738 in the Delta.


In anecdotal reports, an observer with video evidence reported to AGFC personnel an enormous amount of mallards in a private open field near Slovak during the icy conditions of last week. Also, an observer at DeGray Lake says that he was seeing lots of ducks along the state park from Caddo Bend to the lodge causeway. Most appeared to be mallards and perhaps some canvasbacks. He said he had not seen this many ducks in that area in years. This appeared to be the case from our observers at other large water bodies around the state, before the big thaw set in over the weekend. Lake Nimrod, for example, had quite a few hunters last weekend.

Weather conditions should be good through midweek, with some of Arkansas reaching into the 60-degree range. However, heavy rainfall and another cold spell are forecast for the state later this week.

Most of the wildlife management areas have ample water at this time. George H. Dunklin Jr. Bayou Meto WMA has mostly fully flooded conditions now, and the area is free of ice for the time being. Temple Island Greentree Reservoir is now able to have water pumped in from Salt Bayou Ditch. The AGFC has heard good reports of ducks in the WMA of late.

Gadwalls seem to be quite numerous in that area this season. Some reports said the gadwall numbers were higher than usual for this time of year. Also, snow geese were in great numbers still throughout areas such as Arkansas County, where thousands of birds lined U.S. Highway 165 in spots from Humnoke to Dewitt. Some white-fronted geese remained in the area as well.