What was once the standard for waterfowl habitat is now being pulled in too many directions, leaving ducks to navigate the fallout. With rice coming out earlier than ever, public ground flooding later, geese gaining ground, more fields sitting idle and winters trending dry, ducks are left wondering what happened.
Habitat and maximum opportunity in late January grab the headlines, under the guise that mallards are just making their way to Arkansas. Granted, this is when the state-managed green-tree reservoirs should have their optimal water conditions, but Arkansas Game and Fish Commission aerial surveys and GPS-marked mallards don’t support the “ducks just getting here” mantra.
With the Arkansas season backloaded framework-wise, more private land managers are holding back water and habitat for the first split. This strategy, in an effort to save food for the bulk of the huntable days, has the “Halloween mallards” and other early migrators seeking a suitable place to start their winter. The rise of this strategy has forced the early arriving ducks to focus on “super cells” of habitat and sanctuary with little incentive to leave unless extreme weather prompts movement.
The push-pull dynamics related to habitat type and timing are complex. More duck clubs are seeking strategic help to attract ducks early and to hold them as long as possible. To gain better insight into the who, what, when and where of managing resources for ducks, we convened a panel of experts: Brandon Bennett is a biologist and forester with Five Oaks Ag Research and Education Center near Humphrey; biologist Jacob Davenport heads up habitat efforts at Strait Lake Lodge, a private duck club in McCrory; and Hunter Johnson has more than 25 years of experience managing waterfowl properties and currently manages for Quack Shack Farms near Humnoke.
Early or late habitat: Which is more important to mallards and to an Arkansas duck season?
Brandon: Early habitat and late habitat are equally important, but they answer different questions. Early habitat asks, “Will ducks stop here?” Late habitat asks, “Will ducks stay here, survive here and leave here in better condition?” Arkansas needs both. Early water and food create hunting opportunities, while late-season habitat supports the long-term health of the mallard resource. The strongest duck landscapes are not built for a single weekend or a single split; they are built to serve birds from arrival to departure. Arkansas needs both, but if we only manage for the opening weekend and forget February, we are managing for harvest rather than for the resource.
Jacob: Early habitat, to me, is more valuable. When the vast majority of the Arkansas migration takes place in October, we really need to have some habitat for these waterfowl to settle in on. With a dry landscape, those birds will continue to push elsewhere until they find suitable habitat to settle in for the winter. This is very important for imprinting as well. We need as many birds as possible to continue returning and bringing new hatchlings with them.
Hunter: I believe early habitat is critical to having ducks in the first place. It seems that the first push of ducks we get each year comes around Halloween, and oftentimes we don’t get many more pushes before the migration seems to stop in mid-December. Sure, birds move around locally during extreme weather events, but we don’t really seem to get new birds moving in late season. Having the stage set to capitalize on that initial push of birds and to allow them to build throughout the season is key.
What are the pros and cons of delaying or minimizing early habitat in Arkansas?
Jacob: Delaying timber flooding is good for tree health from a biological perspective. The trees getting that early water year after year, along with the water we always have in the spring, is really bad for them. It also hurts red oak regeneration, so no new trees will grow to replace any die off. Cons would include a reduction in the habitat available to the birds early in the season, which would exponentially increase pressure on them. With less habitat, the birds have hunters on every open hole and piece of water they can find. The lack of habitat and increased pressure have a huge impact on the future imprinting of birds, as well as the quality of hunting experience.
Hunter: This is a tricky question. We 100% have to protect our red oak species in green timber reservoirs from flooding during the growing season, if possible, but there are other ways to still have water and habitat. By having portions of the property in wetland habitat, utilizing annual moist soil habitat, and utilizing the lowest lying areas of the timber stands where we aren’t trying to regenerate red oaks by using staggered flooding, we can still show water and have great habitat to attract early season ducks without constantly harming our valued timber stands.
Not having early water can be detrimental to an entire season and even future use of an area.
Brandon: The best habitat plan is an adaptable one, not a single flood date. If I wanted to catch them early and keep them late, I would start shallow, stay fresh, protect sanctuary and finish with habitat that helps the birds leave the wintering grounds in better condition than when they arrived. Early on, I would focus on harvested rice fields, moist-soil units. Then I would continue to flood moist-soil, timber, hot crops, etc., as the season progresses, when the ducks begin to stop using previously flooded resources. The properties that consistently hold ducks are not always the ones with the most food or the most water. They are the ones with the right habitat available at the right time, and enough restraint to let ducks use it without being pushed off.
Does dumping or flying on corn after the season really help with imprinting?
Hunter: I don’t think that it really does anything beneficial other than when used to trap birds for a banding program. Don’t get me wrong, I 100% believe in imprinting, but we can do that through diverse habitats and limiting pressure during the season, as well as keeping the habitat flooded long after the season ends.
Brandon: Dumping or flying on corn after the season may temporarily attract ducks, but I do not believe it replaces real habitat management. Corn gives ducks energy, but it does not provide the full suite of resources they need late in winter. If we want to truly help ducks, we should focus on maintaining high-quality water, protecting sanctuaries, managing moist-soil plants, maintaining flooded timber where appropriate, and providing birds with natural food and security after hunting pressure ends. Corn may feed ducks for a moment, but quality habitat carries them through the season.
Jacob: I think there is no doubt that it is beneficial to ducks to have that post-season corn. However, most of their imprinting occurs early in the year. Late-season corn can help improve these birds’ body condition after a harsh winter, as we saw at the end of this season. Rebuilding that body condition is extremely important. If they cannot return to the breeding grounds to breed and survive, they have no chance of reproducing. Plus, it never hurts to give as many ducks as you can an extra good experience on your farm.
What are your closing thoughts on sustaining and improving future Arkansas duck seasons?
Brandon: I want people to understand that Arkansas duck hunting is bigger than a season, bigger than a limit and bigger than any one property. It is part of who we are, tied to our water, our forests, our farms, our traditions and the responsibility we have to the birds that come here. Arkansas has been blessed with one of the greatest waterfowl landscapes in North America, but that legacy is not guaranteed; it has to be cared for, protected and managed with vision instead of habit. If we want ducks to continue choosing Arkansas, we have to give them more than a place to be hunted. The future of Arkansas duck hunting will be built by landowners, hunters, researchers, agencies, farmers, and conservation organizations working together toward healthier wetlands and stronger landscapes. Our opportunity now is to take the hunting tradition and strengthen it with science, stewardship and a willingness to do what is right for the resource.
(Photo by Ryan Askren)
Jacob: The population of mallards and waterfowl as a whole is the most important issue we are facing today. That is followed closely by the health of the trees in our state’s bottomland hardwoods and GTRs. The low population of mallards reduces their distribution. If there were more ducks to disperse, then a lot of the issues and bickering that takes place today would not be an issue.
Also, if we neglect and lose the trees that are so special to hunt in and the main draw of Arkansas, it will be next to impossible to replace. Just listen to old-timers along the Cache River. You will hear a lot of them say that it isn’t close to what it used to be before people let beavers kill out all of the oak trees. It is a lot harder to swallow the pill of losing every tree on your farm due to mismanagement and neglect than to sacrifice a little now and shoot fewer ducks or not hunt exactly where you want to be, but still get to hunt there in 20 years with future generations.
Hunter: We have to keep in mind that there is more to duck hunting than just what’s happening in our decoy spread each day of season. We have to focus on what’s sustainable long term; from timber health to great food sources and the amount of pressure we apply. Everything is a factor and it can make a huge difference in having quality seasons for years to come.
No Magic Bullet
As the experts note, flexibility is the name of the game when it comes to habitat management for mallards. Early matters. Late matters. And a good mix matters, as flooded, unharvested crops alone don’t provide enough of what a mallard needs before, during or after the season. When and where possible, landowners should offer a mix of waste grains, moist-soil seeds, invertebrates, acorns and overhead cover to keep the ducks on the premises.
After the season, all three panelists stressed the importance of landowners not being so eager to pull the plug and drain their habitat offerings. While duck season concludes at the end of January, the ducks still need suitable habitat through February and into March as they refuel for the trip back to the breeding grounds. The healthier the duck is in Arkansas in February or March, the better chance they have to be in good physical shape to find high-quality breeding habitat when they return to the Prairie Pothole Region.
If Arkansas wants to remain a destination for wintering mallards, the future may depend less on when we hunt ducks and more on when we choose to help them.
“Dumping or flying corn after the season may temporarily attract ducks, but I do not believe it replaces real habitat management.”
