Colorado waterfowl hunters are primed for the best season in several years, provided:
* Canada’s prairie provinces, Montana and the Dakotas are inundated with early snow and cold, causing birds to flee southward.
* The prime eastern Colorado duck and goose regions also get a fair ration of foul weather, but not too much.
* The weather turns cloudy and windy each morning – then flips to warm and sunny so you can enjoy the rest of the day.
* You actually can find decent places to hunt.
Based purely on population estimates, the season that begins Sept. 29 in the Mountains/Foothills Zone and on the Western Slope indeed should be a good one. That Saturday also marks the start of a special 10-day early goose season along the upper Front Range and in three high mountain valleys. The regular eastern plains duck season starts Oct. 6.
Officials of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Canadian Wildlife Service counted 14 percent more birds during their spring breeding population survey. Water conditions on the prairie just kept getting better from there.
Mallards, the primary species in the Central Flyway, also gained 14 percent, and other popular species expanded even more. Wigeon grew 29 percent, gadwall 19 percent. Both teal species showed comparable hikes.
Locally, the news is even more encouraging. Heavy summer rains throughout most of eastern Colorado not only boosted duck nesting but also filled many small ponds that hadn’t seen water in years. These will provide hunting opportunities until freeze-up for hunters who take the initiative to gain access.
That more ducks and geese will visit eastern Colorado this year seems virtually certain. The devil is hiding in the details – little things such as when they arrive, how long they stay and whether they fly where hunters can find them in the meantime.
Weather prophecy being a less-than-certain science, hunters invest considerable time, and money, trying to match their resources with a best guess of what the fall and winter will bring.
The strong production year prompted the USFWS to continue liberal bag limits for ducks. A perceived increase in Canada goose numbers caused the agency to allow an extra goose in the eastern Colorado daily allotment, up from three to four.
The water bounty extends all the way to the San Luis Valley, a renowned duck factory that had fallen on dry times the last half-decade.
“It’s been the wettest year in some time,” said Mike Blenden, project manager for the Monte Vista Wildlife Refuge.
Blenden said water levels still remain below long-term averages, a boost both for nesting ducks and later migrating birds.
“We didn’t do our usual nesting survey, but my guess is that numbers are up,” Blenden said. “Duck production almost always mirrors water availability. This is encouraging.”
Waterfowl hunting calendar
DUCKS
Central Flyway
Youth | Mountain-Foothills Sept. 22-23; plains Sept. 29-30.
Regular season | Mountain-Foothills zone Sept. 29-Nov. 25; Dec. 21-Jan. 27. Eastern plains zone Oct. 6-22; Nov. 10-Jan. 27.
Bag limit: Six ducks, no more than five mallards, of which no more than two can be females; one pintail; one canvasback; two redheads; one mottled duck; two wood ducks; three scaup. Also, five mergansers of which no more than one may be hooded; 15 coots. Teal: Sept. 8-16 east of I-25 and in Lake and Chaffee counties. Bag limit four.
Pacific Flyway
Youth | Oct. 20-21.
Regular season|Sept. 29-Oct. 14, Oct. 31-Jan. 27. Bag limit: Seven ducks and mergansers, no more than two female mallards, one pintail, two canvasback, two redheads, four scaup. Also: 25 coots.
GEESE
Central Flyway
Youth | Mountain-Foothills Sept. 22-23; eastern plains Sept. 29-30.
Early season | Sept. 29-Oct. 8 northern Front Range, North Park, San Luis Valley, South Park. Bag limit: Four dark geese, possession six.
Regular season | Nov. 17-Feb. 17. Bag limit: Four dark geese, 20 light.
Light goose season | Nov. 8-Feb. 22. Daily bag limit 20, no possession limit.
Light goose conservation order: east of I-25, Feb. 23-April 30.
Pacific Flyway
Youth | Oct. 20-21.
Regular season | Sept. 29-Oct. 5, Oct. 31-Jan. 27. Bag limit: Three geese in aggregate.
