We got up in the air for the first fall waterfowl flight of 2024 on Wednesday, September 4. I found it fitting that, while in the air for the first “teal” flight, the rest of the staff were banding blue-wings as bycatch to kick off our mallard/green-winged teal fall project. I’m not sure which was the more fun assignment for the day….
Though not as thorough as in 2022 and 2023, drawdowns were effective along many of the Illinois and MS rivers’ backwaters. When their respective rivers cooperate, the Illinois and Central MS valleys can produce phenomenal waterfowl habitat. So far, the food is looking pretty good for the 2024 fall flight in our region. Here’s hoping for timely, reasonable rains over the course of the fall. There is a little more water on the landscape in the IRV compared to last year, but there was still a lot of mud through our viewing window on Wednesday. As expected, our early migrators are very congregated with the low water. Blue-winged teal (23,985) and total duck (32,310) abundance were above the LTA for the Illinois River this week (+25% and +28% respectively). While not as pronounced, abundance trends were similar along the MS River, +5% for both blue wings (5,635) and total ducks (7,885). As is the case for this time of year, blue-winged teal were the dominant species. But I was excited to see more than a few northern pintail, green-winged teal, and northern shoveler mixed in as well. Fall waterfowl migration 2024 is underway, and all is right in the world again! This week’s numbers and more info are on our Waterfowl Aerial Inventories page. Stay safe and double-check your gear if you’re getting out to enjoy the teal opener this weekend!
