Knowing best duck habitats can lead to successful hunts

By LYNN MONTGOMERY | East Texas Edition

Feb. 24, 2005 - Duck hunting is enjoyed by many throughout the country. Hunters long for mid-August when the ducks can be seen gliding to the nearest watering hole.

"I can almost set a calender by them," stated Randy Childress with USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service. For the past five years, mallard ducks have arrived in this area between Aug. 12-14, according to Childress.

Childress, one of many speakers at the recent Four States Agricultural Exposition in Texarkana, provided information about improving duck habitat. He began his presentation with a brief explanation about the Gaylord Lab in Missouri which "monitors everything a duck does." The information will be useful to hunters who need to know all they can about the birds they hunt, including the duck's life cycle.

"With ducks, you've got to understand their life cycle. If they come, they come," the resource engineer said.

Like most, Childress, also an avid hunter, favors mallards.

"The mallard duck is king. If it (isn't) green, it (isn't) a duck," he said chuckling.

Going through the seasons, Childress explained what happens in the mallard's life cycle.

Beginning inearly fall, ducks migrate to the area, where they reside for four to five months. During the travel, the ducks loose weight because "it takes a lot of energy to fly." Also during this time, there is a high energy output. The ducks will undergo a fall/winter feather molt.

Late fall/winter, the ducks begin to replace the lost energy. Other happenings include completing their pre-alternate molt, and pair bonding begins.

In late winter/early spring, the bonding is complete. They begin to put on fat and feathers. The females are storing nutrients and fat, and are needing calcium for eggs.

Childress also focused on good duck habitat. Water, of course, is important to the duck. Mallards, if given a choice, prefer shallow water, preferably between two- and four-inches deep.

"Greater than 80 percent of waterfowl like 18 inches or less of water," Childress stated. The reasoning is because food is easier to find.

Childress stressed the importance of wetland complexes. These ducks are needing different habitat types to meet food requirements and provide food. The habitats also provide a thermal cover, and are areas for bonding.

"Provide as many habitats as you can," Childress said.

Soil management is also important.

"Enhance your chance for ducks by drawdown. Keep the soil wet and it will produce."

He said with these plots, "Mother Nature is trying to take (habitat) back to a hardwood floor. Disturb it, disk it, burn it and mow it."

What forages should a hunter plant for ducks?

According to Childress, hot foods are corn, soybeans, millet and rice.

When the big day arrives for going to the blind, and everything has been done to enhance the duck population, there are still some key elements to make sure optimal success is obtained. This involves managing your hunters, managing your recreational sightseers, managing your boaters and other disturbances, which includes predators.