waterfowl

Best New Shotguns (and Shells) for 2009

Joe_Cermele — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 12:34:25 -0500

Shotgun expert Phil Bourjaily reports his picks for the best new shotguns and loads he found at the 2009 SHOT Show.

Ducks in Danger

fieldandstream-editor — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 04:00:00 -0500

Fish and wildlife managers from state and federal agencies have been combing the Louisiana coast since the hurricanes, much like disaster relief teams picked through the rubble of the human communities in the region. They're counting the dead, looking for survivors, and trying to measure the suitability of the habitat for resettlement.

So far the news is not good for the millions of ducks and geese already heading for the Louisiana coast, just as they have every fall for thousands of years.

Scientists say Katrina took a wicked chunk out of brackish and fresh marshes east of the Mississippi River, and Rita left a flood of highly saline water stewing on the fragile freshwater wetlands in central and southwestern Louisiana. Some of the nation's most productive wintering habitat--and most storied waterfowling grounds--may be all but useless to ducks and geese this year.

"Katrina pretty much spared the central and western portions of the coast, mainly because the highest winds were from the north, which kept a lot of the Gulf water away from those marshes," says Robert Helm, the veteran waterfowl biologist with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

"But Rita changed all of that. It pretty much picked up the water from the open Gulf--with salinity measurements in the 30s (parts per thousand)--and just dumped it on those fresh marshes, as well as a lot of the ricefields in that country. As I understand it, we had measurements in the 20s in some of the ricefields. That's a shock to those plants and kills them."

Of course, other storms have hit this region and had similar impacts. But those floodwaters typically fall quickly--usually helped along by seasonal rains that add a layer of fresh water to help the wetlands heal. That hasn't happened this year. Right after Rita, another disturbance farther south in the Gulf created persistent east and south winds that kept water locked up in those areas.

Those floodwaters, brimming with organic material, have been cooking in 90-degree heat. Decomposition of plants quickly robbed the water of oxygen. Like giant open petri dishes, many areas are growing bacteria and other organisms that thrive in such conditions.

It's an ideal environment for outbreaks of avian diseases such as cholera, biologists say. The lack of food for migrating birds can weaken their defenses. The bacteria in the water can cause illnesses. And the overcrowding that can take place as birds concentrate into the few areas with food and good water means that disease can spread rapidly and infect tens of thousands of birds.

"Poor water quality is oftentimes an issue with waterfowl diseases, like botulism and avian cholera, things we don't normally have trouble with here because there's so much habitat," says Helm. "But this is an exceptional set of circumstances."

It's so exceptional that waterfowl managers really don't know what will happen--and that worries them.

"The Louisiana coast is the backbone of wintering habitat for the Mississippi Flyway," says Helm. "My perception has always been that it will always be there for the birds. We've had high water, we've had low water. But we've always had enough habitat for the migration.

"But this winter, that habitat will largely go missing. That's unprecedented, at least in my life. It's an unknown, and that's scary."

Online Exclusive: Rita's Ruin

fieldandstream-editor — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 04:00:00 -0500

Three weeks after Hurricane Katrina savaged the southeast Louisiana coast, sportsmen like Joe Courcelle in Jesuit Bend, about 40 miles downriver from New Orleans, were trying to view the glass as half-full. Sure, Katrina had whacked fish and wildlife habitat in the coastal wetlands, but deer would have plenty of new browse, fish would work their way back as the water cleared and--because it was still summer--the aquatic duck food destroyed by the big storm might well sprout again before most waterfowl arrived in late October. Besides, local sportsmen could still go to the largely unaffected central and southwest coasts.

Then along came Rita. By the end of last weekend, flood tides of 8 to 12 feet had submerged the entire Louisiana coast. Some 1.5 million acres of public hunting and fishing habitat on 43 state and federal wildlife management areas--more than half the state's public hunting lands--were impacted by the vicious one-two punch.

The second major hurricane of the season not only wiped out many coastal hunting seasons. It might also have dealt a serious blow to a significant portion of waterfowl in the Mississippi Flyway.

"There won't be a stick of duck food left in south Louisiana," the 67-year-old Courcelle said after spending a long night strengthening a levee separating his home from the eastern reaches of Barataria Bay. "Anything we had left after Katrina was taken away by Rita. I don't know if we've ever had anything like this."

He was right.

"Storms have reduced coastal waterfowl habitat in the past--in fact, many times in the past--but this may be the first time we've had storms eliminate the habitat," said Robert Helm, waterfowl study leader for the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. "Many of these plants can tolerate salinities up to five parts per thousand, but practically the entire coast was under 5 to 10 feet of almost pure Gulf water, which is around 30 parts per thousand.

"If the surge and waves didn't wash away the submergent (floating aquatic) vegetation, the saltwater probably killed it. And the same water was over ricefields and other agricultural fields that attract ducks and geese."

That means the millions of waterfowl that normally winter in coastal Louisiana will be pressed into looking for other sources of sustenance. If they have a hard time finding those groceries this winter, they will leave for the return migration next spring stressed from lack of a proper diet and arrive on the nesting grounds exhausted. Nesting could be delayed, and nesting success could decline.

"The correlation between a duck's weight and nesting success is well established, so the lack of food here could have an impact next spring," said Helm.

"The birds will come down to the coast like normal, but when they can't find enough fuel, they'll leave the coast and begin looking for other sources. If they can't find enough food, then they could have trouble next spring.

"This has been one incredible hurricane season."

And that season doesn't end for another month.

Ducks in Danger

fieldandstream-editor — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 04:00:00 -0500

So far the news is not good for the millions of ducks and geese already heading for the Louisiana coast, just as they have every fall for thousands of years.

It's so exceptional that waterfowl managers really don't know what will happen--and that worries them.

"But this winter, that habitat will largely go missing. That's unprecedented, at least in my life. It's an unknown, and that's scary."

Online Exclusive: Rita's Ruin

fieldandstream-editor — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 04:00:00 -0500

The second major hurricane of the season not only wiped out many coastal hunting seasons. It might also have dealt a serious blow to a significant portion of waterfowl in the Mississippi Flyway.

He was right.

"The correlation between a duck's weight and nesting success is well established, so the lack of food here could have an impact next spring," said Helm.

"This has been one incredible hurricane season."

And that season doesn't end for another month.

The Land of a Million Ducks

fieldandstream-editor — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 12:00:00 -0400

Dog Training Tips from Master Outdoorsman Jerome B. Robinson

fieldandstream-editor — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 11:20:00 -0400

Duck Hunting Forecast 2006: The survey says you'll see better shooting this season

fieldandstream-editor — Fri, 07 Jul 2006 08:15:00 -0400

Bird Dogs Hunting: 31 Great Shots from Photographer Bill Buckley

fieldandstream-editor — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 08:00:00 -0400

New Photo Gallery: 19 shots from professional photographer Greg Sweney

fieldandstream-editor — Sat, 11 Mar 2006 04:25:00 -0500

Greg Sweney lives in Duvall, Washington, a small town just outside of Seattle. He is primarily a commercial advertising photographer but started taking hunting and fishing shots while out chasing steelhead, salmon, ducks, and upland birds in the Snoqualmie Valley and found a market for them with companies like Federal, Browning, and, of course, Field & Stream. He's been shooting professionally for 12 years.

Sweney grew up in Georgia, the son of an abstract painter and the grandson of a wildlife artist who used to paint for Field & Stream back in the 1940s. He's married to his high school sweetheart and has two children: daughter Cassidy (who is 5 1/2), and son Carson (who is 3). His black Lab, Hopper, is 2.

Click here to enter the photo gallery.

And keep an eye out for Sweney's shots of a recent whitewater walleye adventure in Canada with Field & Stream editor-at-large T. Edward Nickens in our upcoming May issue.