DU Releases “Season In Review”

For the second year in a row, Ducks Unlimited (DU) has released their Season in Review, a report designed to show broad-scale habitat conditions, weather and regional duck abundance from the 2021-22 waterfowl season.

Notable additions to this year’s report are an expanded look at the 2021 drought and its likely impacts on the fall flight and a concluding section that looks ahead to 2022 breeding habitat conditions across North America.

“With the lack of traditional large-scale waterfowl surveys over the past two years due to the pandemic, we feel that this snapshot of habitat conditions and waterfowl populations is a great resource for wildlife managers, partners and hunters alike,” said Dr. Karen Waldrop, DU’s Chief Conservation Officer. “Ducks Unlimited’s work is grounded in science, and the success of this inaugural paper last year showed us that the information is definitely well-received from the waterfowl community.”

Descriptions in the report are based on a collection of empirical data for weather and weather-related events – such as streamflow and ice cover – as well as numerous discussions and field reports provided by our staff, partners, members and other contributors.

“We developed this report to provide waterfowl hunters and the management community with a reliable depiction of how some of these key factors, mostly weather and habitat related, changed throughout the previous hunting season and what that may have meant for ducks and hunters,” said DU Waterfowl Scientist, Dr. Michael Brasher. “By providing this information in a clear and objective manner we hope to help hunters gain some explanation for their hunting experiences, whether good or bad, and also reflect on how it may have compared to other parts of the country.”

For more information, or to download the report, please click here.