FROM AWA’S FROST WATERFOWL TRUST MALLARD RELEASE PROJECT

The main question that anyone would ask is "Is the AWA Mallard Release Project feasible for mallard population enhancement?"

AWA’s study proves, yes, cost is approximately $10.00 a mallard; however, $5 to $7 is an average. AWA is getting great results on increasing local mallards and other waterfowl population by decoying over-flying migrating waterfowl to the TRV. Also, AWA has seen this increase in waterfowl population inspire the private landowners, farmers and hunting clubs to develop and improve habitat to cash in on the increased ability to make their farms profitable, or enjoy the birdwatching and hunting. Several hundred acres have been developed primarily because the AWA Mallard Release Project has increased the mallard population. The mallard is the most sought after duck of the North American Waterfowl.

Does AWA releasing mallards cause disease in the wild mallards?

This five-year study of the AWA reared Frost Waterfowl Trust Mallard Release Project has been concluded. AWA will continue to band all the ducks that are released, but intensive interviews will not be conducted. Band records will still be recorded and trended.

As with this year, the weather was mild up north and the migratory mallards did not come south in the expected great numbers. You have to worry about the young ducks that are reared and did not come south for the past two years, if this will alter the migration in the southern states in the future. This is because, many of this years ducks that will be our breeding and duck producers, have never been south of the Mason-Dixon Line. AWA’s mallard project and other state mallard projects data has shown that the released ducks that do go back north have shown evidence that they bring other migrating mallards to traditional southern over-wintering grounds. Many of the previous year’s mallards that returned and were harvested at the Caney Creek Farm in late December had the traditional bright orange legs. Caney Creek is AWA’s location for rearing the ducks till they are 35 days old. This does indicate the old saying ‘red legs’ meaning a new flight of mallard from the cold north has arrived; among these arrivals are AWA banded mallards that are just now coming down from up north.

AWA has also found that when ducks are released on suitable private habitat, that the released ducks will many times fly out and mix with the wild ducks and actually lead the migrating mallards to the habitat that they were released on.

The released mallards also decoy overflying mallards and other waterfowl that would possibly overfly the habitat had no ducks been there. This is even true on public lands, if there are sloughs or coves that the released mallards reside in, that it has been noted that these areas have large concentrations of migratory waterfowl.

To conclude, AWA announces our findings parallel with South Carolina Waterfowl Association’s, and Dr. Frank Rowers research conducted in Maryland. AWA finds this program to be a viable and cost effective way to increase mallards and harvest opportunity in the release site area and other areas. Also, this increased harvest opportunity inspires the private sector to develop and enhance waterfowl habitat to enjoy the pleasures derived from waterfowl watching and hunting.

The July 12, 1997 release consisted of 3,400 33 days old mallards from the Frost Waterfowl Trust in Coloma, Wisconsin. AWA conducted one of the most interactive band studies in the USA. Our study consisted of personal phone interviews from 73 percent of the people that reported these bands. AWA’s band report is one of the most comprehensive studies in the nation.

One important question that was asked, "Could you in any way tell this mallard was hand-reared, or could you tell this mallard was different from any other mallard you had harvested this year"? Over 98 percent of the participates reported that they could not tell any difference from the AWA reared mallard, from the ones from the prairie pothole of the wild mallard production areas of the United States and Canada.

This 1997-1998 data included international reports from Canada:

Canada 3        Arkansas 3          Georgia 1

Kentucky 1      Illinois 1          Indiana 7

Louisiana 3     Missiouri 3         Mississippi 2

Ohio 2          Pennsylvania 1      Tennessee 2

AWA received reports from 11 different states and 3 reports from Canada.

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1997-1998 Release Date July 8, 1997 banded 3,400

28 out-of-state reports – 18 percent of band reports

154 reports within fifty miles of release site – 82 percent of

reports.

Total band reports 182

This is the most ducks AWA has released and the least amount of band reports. Duck harvest this year has been low in general; may be weather related because of mild winter, even though we had a 60-day duck season and six duck limit. Factor in the amount of ducks AWA released and the low report and take into account that AWA has found an 80 percent survival rate to duck season.

Accordingly, AWA’s band data duck harvest and band reports indicate that over-all harvest in our area may be down 50 percent or more from last year.

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1996-1997 Release Date August 10, 1996 banded 2,300

48 harvested out of state - 12 percent

370 harvested in state or within fifty miles - 88 percent

418 total

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1995-1996 Release Date July 12, 1995 banded 1,800

2 out-of-state reports less than 1 percent

220 in state reports - 99 percent harvested within 50 miles of release.

222 Total

The increase in out-of-state reports are due from five years of releases and the fact that a percentage of the former years releases goes back up north and come back down the flyways.

In 1998 we had an interesting finding, that of these AWA reared Frost Waterfowl Trust Genetics, AWA had 16 mallards that were released July 12, 1997 than flew north and were harvested north of Alabama. This indicates and proves that these AWA reared Frost mallards are truly wild migratory ducks.

AWA has found by these studies that many of the mallards that migrate to Alabama, stage or stop in the Ohio River Valley. And many use the Coal Mine Reclamation ponds and projects in Indiana as a rest stop, or in mild winters such as this year, over-wintering habitat.

After evaluating the results of ten years of releases, using several game farm genetics, AWA would like to release the following synopsis;

• The Frost Waterfowl Trust Mallards are the optimum genetics to release into the wild.
• This program in Alabama needs to be funded to release over 50,000 mallards a year statewide. As most hunters have observed for the last two years of mild weather, Alabama may or may not get the migratory mallards that previously came to Alabama.
• With the knowledge and safeguards AWA uses, disease is not a factor. AWA worries about the migratory waterfowl that stops on all the polluted ponds and mixes with the domestic fowl up and down the flyway to be a far greater problem. Also, our wild ducks are squeezed into smaller breeding, staging and overwintering habitat than the large concentrations of waterfowl and this is a problem that will need to be dealt with.
• In Alabama, habitat in not the problem; we need to boost the waterfowl population and increase harvest opportunity and the private sector will respond and create the habitat.
• Mallard Stewardship Programs (MSP) - This is where the mallards are managed, monitored, and placed on private habitat. This procedure has been proven to reduce mortality, with the below percentages. Unlike what many people think, or have conveyed, that if you release ducks on a private hunting place (this is releasing Frost Mallards) that the hunters hunting this land will massacre the ducks. Well our data indicates this is not true, that if a MSP project released 200 mallards on good habitat:

(85 percent) will be harvested with in a 50-mile radius of release site.

(25 percent) or fewer mallard will be harvested on this land.

(15 percent) will be harvested on public land.

(less than 2 percent) will be harvested out of state.

One statistic that AWA does not have is how many ducks are reproduced from the ducks AWA released. AWA’s educated guess is that a great number are reproduced from our observation of the broods of mallards we have witnessed in the TRV and other areas of Alabama.

This report proves this is another example of how spending your money in your state and community can enhance the habitat and local waterfowl population. I hope if one thing this report does, is make people more aware of the importance of not sending all your dollars north. In the past, we here in Alabama have been carpet-bagged again. I think it is a total misconception that sending all your money towards the prairie pothole region is the only important factor for increasing the waterfowl population. Many times when you send money to a national conservation organization very little of the money trickles down to our state. END