Photo by Gary Clancy

For Atlantic Flyway waterfowlers, the 2004-05 season started out with lots of potential; however, because of inconsistent weather patterns, the season quickly became frustrating, as ducks and geese were anything but predictable when they did finally arrive. From all reports, the unseasonably mild temperatures during the early season and the bitter cold and sudden freezes toward the season's end pushed birds down late or well after many northern states' seasons had already closed.

In the Atlantic Flyway, nearly 2 million ducks are harvested each season, although the numbers fluctuate slightly from year to year; the Atlantic Flyway remains the most consistent of the four flyways in numbers of birds produced and harvested each year. Several factors often dictate the number of birds available in any given area during any one time. In the past few decades, declining waterfowl populations (because of the loss of habitat and shifting weather patterns) are probably the leading reasons hunters see fewer ducks.

Excessive rains in any given geographical region give both local and migrating birds numerous options, which spread birds out. Sudden severe cold snaps will quickly freeze up shallower ponds, lakes, streams and rivers. This causes birds to depart or bypass an area sooner. Milder winter weather will have ducks and geese remain in their northern summer ranges longer, so they'll arrive later in the season.

Severe droughts concentrate birds, reducing available food sources and nesting cover. Extended droughts can also cause mortality rates to increase as a result of the concentrated birds spreading diseases and lower hatch rates because of depleted habitat and cover. An increase in predation, because of these factors, can also add to the reduction in the number of juvenile birds that survive their first season. Other factors, such as concentrated and increased hunting pressure, can push birds onto refuges or out of their normal migration patterns.

To gauge waterfowl populations, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) conducts several annual surveys. Each spring since 1955, crews from the USFWS, the Canadian Wildlife Service, state and provincial biologists and non-governmental cooperators, such as Ducks Unlimited, record the numbers of ducks, geese and swans, while also assessing the quantity of wetlands and the quality of waterfowl breeding habitat. The 2005 season represents the 50th anniversary of what has been called the world's largest wildlife inventory: the North American Waterfowl Population Program.

During these surveys, teams of USFWS pilots and biologists conduct aerial surveys, flying more than 80,000 miles each year. Flying predetermined patterns, they crisscross the country at low altitudes. These airborne biologists, along with colleagues on the ground, count waterfowl populations and record data on wetlands habitat.

These survey programs are the most extensive, comprehensive, long-term annual wildlife survey efforts in the world and are critical in determining the status of North America's waterfowl populations. The information gathered from these surveys is considered the waterfowl manager's most vital tool in monitoring annual waterfowl populations, and is also used to establish waterfowl hunting regulations each year.

For more information, contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Division of Migratory Bird Management, 4401 North Fairfax Drive, 4107 Arlington, Virginia 22203; or visit them on the Fish and Wildlife Service Web site at http://waterfowlsurveys.fws.gov.

What follows are possibly some of the Mid-Atlantic's best gunning bets for the coming season.

NEW JERSEY
Southern New Jersey waterfowlers have many opportunities to hunt snow geese, brant, black ducks, mallards and buffleheads, as well as many other species of waterfowl in and around the nearly 13,000 acres that make up the Cape May Wetlands Wildlife Management Area (WMA). This scenic sportsmen's paradise is located at the southernmost end of the Garden State.