Are Duck Migrations Changing? Bringing Data to the Debate (Ep 809)

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Hunters have observed and debated changes in duck migration and winter distributions for as long as both have existed. Now, new research helps answer some of the biggest questions.

In this special collaboration between the Ducks Unlimited Podcast and the North American Waterfowler Podcast, DU's Senior Waterfowl Scientist, Dr. Mike Brasher, joins Elliott Snider; Dr. Lisa Webb, Supervisor, USGS Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit Program; and Dr. Heath Hagy, Project Leader, USFWS Habitat and Population Evaluation Team, to break down the findings of two recent studies that shed light on this captivating and hotly contested topic.

The studies and conversation explore more than 60 years of waterfowl band recovery, harvest survey, and distribution data to examine whether ducks are wintering farther north than they once did. The group discusses what the studies found, where migration patterns appear to be changing, where they're not, and why answering these questions is far more complicated than many people realize.

Topics Covered

Are ducks wintering farther north?What 60 years of band recovery data revealsDifferences between mallards, pintails, and blue-winged tealWhy migration changes vary by species and monthThe role of weather, habitat, and agricultureWhat hunters see versus what large-scale datasets showHow migration science is studied and evaluatedWhat questions still remain unansweredHow none of this would be possible without huntersAccess to the study evaluating changes in 15 species of ducks: https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jwmg.22521

Access to the more detailed study on changes in mallards, pintails, and blue-winged teal: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.11331