Almanac: Duck opener about average

About average.

That's how wildlife officials described Minnesota's duck season opener.

"It was maybe a little bit down from last year,'' said Steve Cordts, Department of Natural Resources waterfowl biologist.

Anecdotal reports, as always, varied widely. "Some hunters said they were covered in ducks, others said it was the worst opener ever,'' Cordts said.

He said many teal migrated out of the state before the opener, which hurt hunter success. An example: Hunters at sprawling Swan Lake in southern Minnesota averaged just 1.36 ducks. Last year, teal were much more plentiful and hunters averaged 3.3 birds, a record. An estimated 600 to 700 hunters were on the lake.

Based on waterfowl bag checks by conservation officers, hunter reports and reports from wildlife managers, Cordts said hunters averaged about two birds apiece on the opener.

What hunters need now is a Canadian cold front to move birds into Minnesota, he said. Most DNR flights to survey waterfowl numbers were cancelled last week because of weather.

Here's a sampling of places where the DNR does waterfowl bag surveys and the average number of ducks bagged per hunter:

Thief Lake, 1.79, with ringnecks, redheads and mallards most prevalent. Roseau River, 2.0, with mallards, ringnecks and green-winged teal most prevalent. Big White Oak Lake near Grand Rapids, 1.6. Big Rice Lake near Remer: 3.0. Mud Lake near Deer River: 0.95. Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge, 3.25 ducks. Carlos Avery WMA: 0.5 on Saturday, 0.8 on Sunday. Lac qui Parle WMA: 2.5, the highest rate since 2003. Talcot Lake WMA: 2.5 on Saturday and 1.5 on Sunday.

For a statewide roundup of the opener, based on conservation officer reports, see www.startribune.com/outdoors. To see the DNR's weekly waterfowl report, go to www.dnr.state.mn.us/hunting/waterfowl/index.html.

The number of Minnesota waterfowl hunters afield this season appears to be about the same as last year, according to state duck stamp sales. The state had sold 79,655 state duck stamps as of last week, about 1,000 fewer than during the same period last year.

Still, the overall trend is a declining number of waterfowl hunters, and state officials remained concerned. State stamp sales are down about 4,000 from the same period in 2006.

The DNR estimated that there were about 90,000 duck hunters last year, about 35,000 fewer than in 1999. The agency sold 128,000 state duck stamps that year, compared to about 100,000 last year.

"I'm afraid this year we might sell fewer than 100,000 stamps for the first time ever,'' Cordts said.

Minnesota's bear hunting season ends today -- not Tuesday, as stated in the DNR's hunting and trapping regulations handbook. The correct date is in the bear hunting regulation booklet all bear hunters received.

The season hasn't been great. Hunters had bagged about 1,900 bears as of last week -- a pace that would result in a harvest of about 1,000 fewer bears than in 2007 or 2006. Plentiful natural food in the woods this year has made hunting difficult, wildlife officials say, and the bear population might be down a bit, too.

Some lead bullets fired from high-powered rifles scatter lead fragments in deer more than a foot from the wounds, according to a Department of Natural Resources study released last week. That means the state's venison processors and 500,000 deer hunters must trim much farther from wound channels to avoid lead contamination.

Lead was found up to 18 inches from the wounds in a study on sheep conducted by the DNR in July. Routine trimming likely will not remove all fragments. The DNR isn't making recommendations on how far out from the wound to trim. To read the full story, see www.startribune.com/outdoors. To see the DNR's report, see www.dnr.state.mn.us/index.html.

• Just three days after a federal judge returned the wolf to federal protection under the Endangered Species Act, a wolf was found shot about 100 yards off the road in Jail Lake Township in Crow Wing County, reported officer Nikki Shoutz of Pine River. Anyone with information should contact the TIP line.

Doug Smith • doug.smith@startribune.com