We got up in the air for the second waterfowl flight of 2024 on Monday, September 9. We also flew the final fall shorebird flight on Tuesday, September 10th. All files for those surveys are attached. Blue-winged teal abundance was 35% above LTA for the IRV (27,515), but 16% below LTA for the CMRV (5,615) this week. Total duck abundance (38,150) was 12% above the LTA for the Illinois River, but 25% below the LTA for the CMRV (7,625). I’ve heard some good reports from hunters since the early teal season opened last weekend. For the most part, those willing to brave the mud pit out there seem to have been rewarded for their work. Winds are changing as I write this, and the remnants of Hurricane Francine are making their way here to deposit some precipitation. Time will tell if we see enough rain to make a difference in our
refuges.
We’re still chipping away, but haven’t deployed our first transmitter for this fall yet. It’s hard to call trapping efforts a failure when you’re catching blue wings, but we’d sure like to see some green in there. Regardless, our techs have their hands on some birds, and we’ve gotten Abby some much-needed time out of the office. That’s success enough for now.
This week’s numbers and more info about us are on our Waterfowl Aerial Inventories page.
