Photo by Andy Martin.

The arrival of December brings more than another hectic holiday season. December winds carry the bounty of migrating waterfowl.

Early winter is the best time to cash in on the abundant public-land options our area boasts.

Following is a look at the most up-to-date status of waterfowl species.

I'll also highlight five excellent places to enjoy December duck and goose hunting in Maryland and Delaware.

Each year in midwinter, a multi-agency survey takes place to determine the populations of the various waterfowl species.

For many species, this effort affects the following year's length of seasons and bag limits, and also serves as a great barometer that hunters can use to plan their upcoming forays.

According to a release by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the 2007 survey was flown between Dec. 27, 2006 and Jan. 4, 2007. A total of 478,900 birds were counted, which was a substantial decrease from last year's count of 577,100.

Last year, the tributaries and bays along the Chesapeake were completely ice-free. Since the Maryland Midwinter Waterfowl Survey covers only the tidal, estuarine waters, it's likely that many ducks and geese remained inland on open freshwater reservoirs, lakes and ponds that are normally ice-covered.

The Midwinter Waterfowl Survey is conducted at the same time each winter in each state along the Atlantic Flyway, from Maine to Florida.

When pooled with the results from other states, the survey provides a long-term measure of the distribution and population sizes of waterfowl species wintering in the Atlantic Flyway. The survey is especially helpful in tracking the population size of Eastern-population tundra swans and Atlantic brant, for which breeding-ground surveys are not done.

Low numbers were recorded for several diving ducks this year as well. Most notable was a record low count of 13,800 canvasbacks, down 20,000 from 33,800 in 2006. Scaup (25,700) showed a substantial decrease, down 53,800 from 2006's count of 79,500.

Mergansers (1,700) also decreased markedly from 2006 (7,000).

The low number of diving ducks was probably related to the warm winter and to many ducks remaining north of traditional wintering areas.

High counts of canvasbacks, scaup, long-tailed ducks, redheads and mergansers were recorded during the Midwinter Waterfowl Survey of the Great Lakes, where habitats were relatively ice-free last January.

In Maryland, mallard numbers were greater during 2007 (39,700) than in 2006 (32,500). The number of black ducks counted in 2007 (13,800) was similar to 2006 (13,300), but the 2007 count was substantially below counts made prior to 2005.

The news release concluded that numbers of Canada geese (285,700) were slightly below the 305,400 counted in 2006. The tundra swan count (8,700) was similar to the record low of 8,200 in 2006. Recent banding studies have shown that tundra swans spend less time in Chesapeake Bay and that most now winter farther south in North Carolina.

According to the Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife (DFW), the Delaware surveys detected a decline in the migrant population of Canada geese; the loss of ducks' usage of the Christiana marshes after Interstate 95 was constructed; and also recent increases in ducks using the Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge area -- after the refuge accomplished more phragmites and water control.