What everyone's teal number looking like in their area. Sept. 1st opening date here in NE and numbers appear to be solid.

Spotty at best in SE VA. Numbers generally pick up a little better towards the marshes to the East. Wood ducks as always seem to be doing well, but many are resident.

A lot of green winged teal around here.

They’ve showed up in North Missouri.
Nope big numbers yet, but that’s good.
Our season doesn’t open till 9/7.

For what’s it’s worth………..
I don’t have much faith in these reports anymore.

I'm gonna try to keep a few from making it down to ya, Clay!

lol
You probably will Dave!

My question is, how accurate are these reports? I feel like on some of the down year, I have some of my best hunts whether it's teal season or big duck.
Seeing more greenwings on the landscape would be sweet though. I felt like I already saw more on the landscape last season.

IMO, teal are the best eating duck.

Keep in mind that this is the breeding pair survey. This takes into zero account the numbers hatched.

Remember when they set the season and limits about this time of the year every year to take into account for the hatch? They don’t do that anymore. Too much politics and big money involved today in the duck world.

Example of the stupidity…….
Next year we get to kill 3 pintails daily, despite their numbers showing long term decline. The justification is with their numbers being down, hunters kill less, therefore they can let us kill more. I heard it straight from someone on the flyway council.

Whatever…….
These biologists ain’t what they used to be.

I was under the impression that will be based off of what the hatch did this year.
So we possibly could bag three next year or is could be zero.
I heard those were the numbers it would be, and it would depend on the year.

It’s really an index number, not exact but gives good trend data. Much of the good nesting ground was fairly dry this spring early when surveying was being done. Conditions improved over the summer in many areas so nesting success should be good.
While hunt success can increase with more birds weather conditions and migration patterns based off of weather play a bigger role on how many birds show up and stick around, at least in my area. Once they are on their wintering grounds then I think it’s easier to see what overall numbers are.

Pintail numbers have absolutely exploded in my country last couple years during both nesting season and hunting season, but we are a very small sliver of the landscape.

Ducks here are almost nonexistent, we’ve got about 30 geese that are around and that’s down from normal, but we have 4 cranes hanging around together which is a rarity here.

Yep and that is because they are small so there is less to eat.

Did some e-scouting the last couple evenings on OnX. Now to check out some of these spots and get landowner permission. So far 5 for 5 for permission, but not many care about duck hunting.

From my grandpa who was born in 1890 too many historical books I've read North America had "skies were black with ducks" in tremendous numbers, Coast to coast

What they tell us today is that there as many ducks as there ever was, Finding the number of waterfowl in 1800's or pre 1950 is unknown. BUT todays numbers are great they just flew through over there. The flyway shell game..

I have hunted since the 1960's in many states and Canada and the numbers in my lifetme are a small precent of what they were and getting worse.

Don't believe the current forecast numbers compared to the LTA unless you believe. "There all out West or East" "They never went that far south this year"
"They went straight though on that cold front"

I used to be able to pass shoot limits of ducks in my back yard now its just place to drink coffee as the sunrises.

Did you also see the article DU posted on Facebook yesterday about shortening the seasons to a 9 day season instead of 16?

Do you see in the DU magazine the hunting articles are all DU top management. Hunting on the Chesapeake bay. Flooded timber down south, potholes in Canada.

High duck number surveys = more members= more cash= more lavish trips. On the same path as the NRA that i have been a Life Member of since 85.

With the amount of money they collect they could have bought every pothole in South Dakota yet they own around 120 acres in that state for public hunting.

So concludes my rant for day.

I am a member of DU (right or wrong), but truthfully if you care about waterfowl management, I think Delta Waterfowl is the right group to join. The research and conservation they are doing seems to be like their money is geared towards the right thing.