INHS’s aerial waterfowl survey: “Birds continue to be congregated where there is water”

October 19th , 2022 – Aerial Waterfowl Inventory Blog

We got up in the air on Wednesday this week just in time to see the first ice of the year. It was 20 degrees when we took off on Wednesday, and as I’m writing this it’s a toasty 77. Gotta love central IL! I’m not breaking any news to you when I tell you, again, that its dry. Rain is forecasted for three days next week but will be too little, too late for many north zone hunters that have been hoping for water before their opener. Birds continue to be congregated where there is water, and I suspect numbers this week are elevated compared to previous years as a result. The simple fact is, there is scarce water for birds to distribute themselves over, especially along the Upper IL river. Regardless, the cold snap north of us has appeared to bring some migrators this week. I estimated 149,630 ducks in the IRV this week, nearly tripling last week’s count and 21% above the 10-year average of for this river. I observed a bump in duck abundance along the MS river as well, estimating 110,005 ducks this week, 40% above the 10-yer average. Chautuqua NWR near Liverpool, IL and Swan Lake near the river confluence were the heavy hitters this week for both systems. Northern pintail and green-winged teal were the dominant species again, but we did see lots more gadwall and northern shoveler this week. I also saw the first American black ducks of the survey season, one of my favorite critters on the planet.

Because I plugged our disturbance research last week, I should probably talk a little more about the ongoing project we have in collaboration with Michigan State University. I posted a gif file of movement data from last year a few weeks ago, promising more info…..well, here it is. There is growing concern that mallards breeding in the Great Lakes states aren’t doing so well. The Forbes Biological Station is part of ongoing work with other states and Canadian provinces in the Great Lakes region examining the movement, migration chronology, natal origins, and genetic make-up of mallards breeding in this region. Hen mallards are being captured in urban and rural environments, marked with GSM transmitters, and myriad data are collected to gain a better understanding of the potential issues facing these birds. Spring/summer 2022 was the second year of this study, and we expect at least one more year of data collection. There is ongoing work throughout the MS flyway to determine if and how duck migrations, especially mallards, have changed over time. We are hopeful that this data will answer the questi. A closer look at the elevated solar panel on the back of a GSM-marked hen mallard. The panel is elevated to prevent the bird from completely preening feathers over the solar panel. The solar panel recharges the onboard battery to increase transmitter life. Photo courtesy of Melinda Garnerons stated above while also providing ample information to compare migration chronology of prairie pothole birds with those breeding in our region. If you happen to harvest one of these ducks, please contact the name provided on the transmitter. If there is any question about who to contact, feel free to reach out to us via email: osbornjm@illinois.edu . Our office number is 217- 332-3825(DUCK); however, most of our staff are out in the field so please try to email first. If it isn’t one of ours, we will do our best to get you in touch with the bander of that bird. And, of course, PLEASE report your leg bands to www.reportband.gov

Good luck to the north zone hunters and central zone youth this weekend! Be safe and keep in mind that shallow water can be deceiving sometimes! For more information about the waterfowl survey, check out our webpage at www.bellrose.org. Stay tuned for more updates next. A closer look at the elevated solar panel on the back of a GSM-marked hen mallard. The panel is elevated to prevent the bird from completely preening feathers over the solar panel. The solar panel recharges the onboard battery to increase transmitter life. Photo courtesy of Melinda Garner week…….