Duck hunting season is starting on the Kenai Peninsula the first of September, and according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, there will be plenty of wildfowl for hunters to choose from.
According to 2016 studies conducted in Alaska, Yukon Territory, and Old Crow Flats area, while the t0tal duck breeding population estimates have experienced an eight percent decline since 2016, to just under four million birds - the total duck estimate was similar to last year's estimate and the long term average.
Mallard numbers were similar to last year and 40% higher than the long-term average. Green-winged teal were similar to last year’s estimate and 49% above their long-term average. The northern shoveler estimate was similar to the 2016 estimate and 46% higher than the long-term average. Bluewinged teal and redheads were uncommon in this crew area, with no birds noted in the survey.
Rita Brown at Seldovia Hunting Charters says they are experiencing strong bookings for wildfowl hunters this season, mostly from military members who are looking for an exotic trophy from one of the twenty-some species of ducks in the area.
Rita Brown: "It looks very good this year. We don't usually start taking clients until the birds are in full plumage, which is about November 15th - so the last 45 days of the season. We take bookings and they come down and they get a good deal. Some of the men who do come from out-of-state, most of them want a certain duck that they don't get in the states they come from."
The spring timing in Alaska was average in 2017. Alaskan breeding waterfowl habitat conditions were downgraded from excellent to good as judged by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Story as aired on KSRM News
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