Lull in waterfowl hunting success continues after holiday, but major cold front forces migration

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Jackson, MS – Since early January, rains and winter precipitation have increased availability of flooded waterfowl habitat throughout the Delta. This additional habitat has continued to distribute duck numbers more uniformly across the state. Also, hunting pressure in general has decreased in the last week, providing birds with even more areas to find sanctuary. An extreme cold front over the weekend brought ice and snow to all parts of the country, and forced waterfowl to migrate south to Mississippi, central Arkansas, and Louisiana.

MDWFP biologists received several reports of increasing numbers of green-winged teal and northern pintails on both private land and WMAs. Pintails are highly mobile and capable of long movements to search for shallowly flooded fields and wetlands. Duck numbers continue to be relatively high on Muscadine Farms and Howard Miller WMAs. These two areas continue to yield the greatest average harvest on WMAs. However, hunter use continues to be somewhat less than expected on many WMAs. Mallard harvest has been greatest on Muscadine Farms and Malmaison WMAs. Green-winged teal and gadwall continue to be the most common birds in the bag in other parts of the Delta on public and private lands.

Due to the adverse weather over the previous week, the early January aerial survey was delayed, and when complete, results will be posted online at http://www.mdwfp.com/waterfowl. Hunters are also encouraged to track the mallard migration throughout the Mississippi Flyway through the MDWFP Waterfowl Program. The Waterfowl Program website also lists other detailed information for waterfowl hunting and habitat management on WMAs throughout the state.

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