Episode Details

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Hunters have observed and debated changes in duck migration and winter distributions for as long as both have existed. Now, new research helps answer some of the biggest questions.

In this special collaboration between the Ducks Unlimited Podcast and the North American Waterfowler Podcast, DU's Senior Waterfowl Scientist, Dr. Mike Brasher, joins Elliott Snider; Dr. Lisa Webb, Supervisor, USGS Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit Program; and Dr. Heath Hagy, Project Leader, USFWS Habitat and Population Evaluation Team, to break down the findings of two recent studies that shed light on this captivating and hotly contested topic. 

The studies and conversation explore more than 60 years of waterfowl band recovery, harvest survey, and distribution data to examine whether ducks are wintering farther north than they once did. The group discusses what the studies found, where migration patterns appear to be changing, where they're not, and why answering these questions is far more complicated than many people realize. 

Topics Covered

• Are ducks wintering farther north?
• What 60 years of band recovery data reveals
• Differences between mallards, pintails, and blue-winged teal
• Why migration changes vary by species and month
• The role of weather, habitat, and agriculture
• What hunters see versus what large-scale datasets show
• How migration science is studied and evaluated
• What questions still remain unanswered
• How none of this would be possible without hunters

Access to the study evaluating changes in 15 species of ducks: https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jwmg.22521

Access to the more detailed study on changes in mallards, pintails, and blue-winged teal: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.11331

Access to the DU Magazine article and additional maps: Understanding Waterfowl: Ducks on the Move | Ducks Unlimited

Listen now: www.ducks.org/DUPodcast
Send feedback: DUPodcast@ducks.org

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