Last week’s feather inspection from a blind along the Arkansas River east of Lamar shouted just about everything one needed to know about eastern Colorado’s early waterfowl hunt: seven wigeon, one lonely mallard drake.
Maybe Al Gore should have worn a duck’s feather in his cap on his way to Stockholm to accept the Nobel Peace Prize. Reasonable men can debate the reasons for global warming, but not the manifestations. Time was, not long ago, when Coloradans could expect a surge of northern mallards for the second week of November, with the whole flock buzzing around by Thanksgiving.
Now we are nearing the middle of December and, notwithstanding last weekend’s snowstorm, still searching the skies for that migra-tory sweet spot. For zealots who have hedged junior’s education fund for leases, equipment and gasoline, not to mention dog food, the brutal reality is that the clock is ticking. A hop-scotch duck season that began in late September now shows less than seven weeks remaining. Little wonder that enthusiasm is waning among those with borderline interest in the sport.
Even as wildlife managers earnestly debate ways to improve hunter success, the only real solution may lie in weather modification. Maybe drop a frost bomb on the northern prairie toward the end of October, just to get things moving.
The Ducks Unlimited migration map, installed in September in part as a recognition of these frustrations, indicates precious little movement along that magic path leading from the prairie potholes of eastern Montana and the Dakotas down to the South Platte River Valley. Anecdotal reports from local hunters don’t lend much encouragement.
“I don’t think the northern birds are here,” said Brad Petersen, who patrols the South Platte River east of Greeley. “We’re starting to get a few, and the next big northern front should bring them down.”
Last weekend’s storm helped hunting conditions but did little to boost bird populations because it blew in from the west rather than the prairie regions where most waterfowl repose.
“We’re still seeing a lot of the middle migrators, like wigeon and gadwall. They should be gone by now,” Petersen said.
Veteran waterfowler John Young of Windsor has observed an influx of geese in recent days, but far fewer ducks, most of them on midsized lakes that remain unfrozen. Hunters should find many of these along the river in coming days, when continuing cold finally claims the flat water.
Colorado hunters hoping for a storm blast from the north always must be careful about their wish. The constant risk is that the storm might be so severe, with companion snow cover, that it blows most of the migration through to points farther south.
During those occasions, the Arkansas River Valley of Southeast Colorado often becomes a major repository. The Division of Wildlife on Nov. 27 counted 19,000 ducks in the southeast, more than half on Bonny Reservoir. Relatively few of these are mallards, another indication of a lagging migration.
The wildlife agency will continue to count southeast birds on a monthly schedule.
HUNTING SEASONS
DUCKS
Central Flyway
Regular season.Mountain/Foothills Zone, Dec. 21-Jan. 27. Eastern Plains Zone through 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.
Pacific Flyway
Regular season.Through Jan. 27. Bag limit: Seven ducks and mergansers, of which no more than two may be female mallards, one pintail, two canvasback, two redheads, four scaup. Also: 25 coots.
GEESE
Central Flyway
Regular season.Through Feb. 17. Bag limit: Four dark geese, 20 light geese. Light goose season: Through Feb. 22. Daily bag limit 20, no possession limit. Light goose conservation order — east of Interstate 25, Feb. 23-April 30.
Pacific Flyway
Regular season.Through Jan. 27. Bag limit: Three geese in aggregate.
Charlie Meyers: 303-954-1609 or cmeyers@denverpost.com
