Hindman said snow goose populations, and harvest levels, frequently fluctuate in conjunction with the proportion of young birds. During years of high production and good nesting success, the harvest tends to increase by a significant degree. Conversely, during years when production decreases, and nesting success is poor, there are more adults in the overall population, birds that tend to fly higher and be far more wary of hunters. "It takes lots of gray birds (yearlings) to provide hunters with a successful season."

At press time, Hindman did not have information on snow goose or black brant nesting conditions, both of which seem to have experienced some increased nesting success over the past few years. Hindman did say, however, that we might see some liberalization of hunting regulations for brant this season, possibly a 50-day season with a two-bird daily bag limit. However, much of this was still in the proposal stage and nothing was etched in stone.

"We primarily monitor brant populations during the wintering survey, and if the wintering survey numbers drop, we take a look at the nesting conditions in the eastern Arctic and make a determination about the hunting season length and bag limit. Currently, my thinking is that we will have a 50-day season with a two-bird bag limit."

DUCKS
Duck nesting conditions were far from ideal throughout much of their traditional nesting grounds. Spring weather was a bit too cold, particularly in the Northeast, where many Atlantic Flyway species typically reside during the nesting season. While scanty data was available at press time, there were indications that poor conditions likely led to significant decreases in nesting success.

Hindman said there are two species of ducks that are under very close scrutiny by the USFWS and state waterfowl biologists: black ducks and scaup. Apparently, last year's milder than normal winter weather allowed black ducks to disperse over a much larger area than normal. Consequently, the midwinter count appeared a bit lower because birds that would normally be concentrated in small areas of open water were scattered over vast areas throughout their range.

Hindman said the warming trend resulted in one of the lowest mid-winter counts of black ducks in years, but he is fairly confident that the actual numbers are somewhat higher. "There appears to be a decline in black duck productivity, and this has the United States Fish and Wildlife Service worried, but I'm not so sure the Canadian Wildlife Service is worried because they see the same thing with mallards as well."

Canadian wildlife officials reported a decline in age ratios in mallard ducks, yet the overall population of mallards appeared to be rising steadily over the past decade.

Black Ducks
No one really seems to know exactly what is going on with black ducks, and while some scientists feel there seems to be a range-wide decline in productivity, others claim more adult birds surviving, thus this tends to lower the age ratio of birds harvested by hunters. Will there be changes in this season's black duck seasons and bag limits? Hindman said this is a possibility, and that USFWS said they may reduce the harvest by as much as 25 percent. "I'm not sure the reduction will take place this year. It may, but this is still in the developmental stages."