24/10/2025
Mallards are down 17% so let's by all means shoot all the hens we can, because as your uncle Bill told you.,. you can't stockpile ducks
Each winter, hunters ask the same question: Where are the mallards?
Mallards are down continent-wide. The 2025 breeding estimate is about 6.6 million, roughly 17% below the long-term average.
The biggest drivers are on the prairie breeding grounds: extended dry periods, fewer wetlands and the loss of nearby grassland cover needed for nesting and broods.
When dry cycles line up with habitat loss, fewer ducklings are produced. This shows up right away in the fall flight data. Other data show fewer juveniles are banded and harvested, and the adult population has more males than females due to higher hen losses during nesting.
Structured aerial surveys in Mississippi and Arkansas now show a long-term decline in wintering mallards, with a statistically clear drop in Arkansas and a smaller but evident decline in Mississippi.
Read our entire article here: https://ow.ly/6mAT50XbWtX
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