Waterfowl expert: Minnesota duck opener didn't live up to expectations

Teal were noticeably scarce during a Minnesota duck season opener that was subdued by rainstorms but salvaged by good numbers of wood ducks.

Hunter participation dropped noticeably from last year in many locations and the state's leading waterfowl specialist said that while his own luck was good inside the Chippewa National Forest, the opener as a whole didn't live up to expectations.

"We hoped for a better opener,'' said Steve Cordts of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) in Bemidji. "I think it's going to be less than average statewide.''

There were good reports from hunters in Minnesota's southern tier, but the wide dispersal of ducks into flooded fields was both a challenge and an opportunity. The nutrient-rich puddles thinned out the number of ducks that visited more conventional waters. But if you had access to hunt from edges of a flooded grain field where ducks were feeding, shooting was good.

"In some of the traditional sloughs, the ducks weren't there,'' said Wendy Krueger, the DNR's area wildlife manager in Marshall. "There's a million places they can go''

She hunted a flooded wheat field where her group had "decent luck'' bagging a mix of mallards, wood ducks, teal and geese.

"There was pretty good action from everyone I talked to,'' she said.''

"From what I've seen so far, a lot of teal must have left the state a couple of weeks ago,'' Cordts said.

Still, opportunities to shoot wood ducks and mallards over the weekend around Bemidji were plentiful, he said. As expected, it was too early to see many migrant ringnecks.

Bursts of heavy rain, lightning and high winds early Saturday morning clearly discouraged some hunters from mobilizing. As winds blew out of the south, temperatures became uncomfortably warm. Sunday was cooler and the wind shifted, but hunting pressure appeared lighter on the season's second day.

Here's a sampling of reports collected from hunters, conservation officers and DNR wildlife experts:

Lake Christina: Cordts said there was a bunch of coots on the lake, but hardly any mallards and goose numbers were down. Observers didn't hear as much shooting as normal on Saturday and Sunday.

Fergus Falls: A private camp of seven hunters led by Tom DePauw shot only two wood ducks and two honkers Saturday morning before being forced inside by lightning. On Sunday they didn't shoot anything. Tom said it was the worst opener in 31 years.

Pelican Lake (Wright County): DNR counted 100 vehicles on opening day and about half that number Sunday. People were finding more birds on flooded cornfields.

Willmar: Lightning Saturday morning shortened hunting for a group led by Mitch Berg of St. Paul. In an hour and 15 minutes they bagged nine birds — all wood ducks. No birds were flying Saturday afternoon. Sunday's hunt yielded another eight birds, all woodies except one bluewing and a goose.

Lake Emily (Pope County): At Tom Henderson's camp 100 miles west of St. Cloud, hunters were chased inside by lightning by 7:30 a.m. Lots of wood ducks were in the air and the group shot four. Sunday was "duckier''and bird numbers improved, especially mallards. The group shot three more woodies.

Carlos Avery Wildlife Management Area: DNR counted 135 vehicles parked Saturday compared to 170 last year. A bag check determined an average of 1.1 ducks per hunter, down from 2.4 birds per hunter last year. Wood ducks comprised half the birds shot. The remainder was split between bluewings and mallards.

"It wasn't exactly a duck day,'' Gessler said.

Big Stone County: Insects were ferocious by afternoon and hunters reported seeing few teal. Still, conservation officer Craig Miska said hunters were shooting wood ducks with a few mallards and redheads mixed in. Bird numbers were decent, he said.

Swan Lake: The DNR surveyed 77 hunters from 33 parties at two public locations. A total of 141 ducks were taken for an average of 1.83 ducks per hunter, down slightly from 2018. More than half of the ducks counted were teal, including six greenwings. Wood ducks were the next most common bird bagged by hunters.