Insights
By Don Young, Executive Vice President
DU and Divers
The conservation of wetland habitats used by diving ducks and other waterfowl is a high priority for Ducks Unlimited
Like most waterfowlers, I greatly enjoy the strategy and skill that go into hunting mallards, pintails, and other puddle ducks. Working a wary flock of mallards into a decoy spread is one of the most rewarding achievements in all of hunting. But as much as I love the subtleties of hunting mallards, there will always be a special place in my heart for the raw speed and boldness of divers.
Among the diving ducks, canvasbacks, redheads, scaup (bluebills), and ring-necked ducks are the most popular, and with good reason. They are strong, swift, decisive flyers, and they strafe decoy spreads much like little squadrons of fighter jets. Their plumage is simple but elegant, and all four species are fine table birds.
If you too have a special fondness for divers, I think you will enjoy reading “The Big Four Diving Ducks” on page 38 of this issue. Dr. Mike Anderson, one of North America 's foremost authorities on divers, provides a compelling report on the natural history, habitat needs, and population trends of canvasbacks, redheads, scaup, and ring-necked ducks. Further, the story identifies current threats to each species' breeding and wintering habitats. As you will see, Ducks Unlimited is working diligently to conserve and restore vital habitat for each of these divers, but there is much hard work yet to be done in places like the prairie breeding grounds, Chesapeake Bay, and Laguna Madre.
With scaup, the importance of this work is compounded by the fact that the population of these much beloved divers has been declining over the last 20 years at the rate of 130,000 birds per year. Continued research is essential if we are to solve the mystery of why scaup populations are in decline and how we can bring their numbers back. Clearly, scientists are in a race against time, and DU is determined to win that race.
Fortunately, canvasbacks, ring-necked ducks, and redheads are faring much better than scaup. Ringneck numbers have soared, while populations of canvasbacks and redheads have remained relatively stable in recent years. All diving ducks require healthy wetlands throughout their continental range, from the boreal forest through the prairies to Chesapeake Bay, the Gulf of Mexico, and beyond. With affiliates in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, Ducks Unlimited is the only conservation organization actively working everywhere diving ducks and other waterfowl breed, migrate, and winter.
Of course, the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR), which is the source of most canvasbacks and redheads as well as the majority of puddle ducks, has always been the highest conservation priority for Ducks Unlimited, and will continue to be. Working in partnership with private landowners, individual supporters, government agencies like the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as well as with corporations and foundations, DU has been able to impact millions of acres in the PPR, but in order to ensure a healthy future for prairie-nesting waterfowl, we must conserve millions more.
We can achieve that and reach our goals in other areas vitally important to waterfowl only with your help. If you attend one DU event each year, consider attending two. Become a sponsor, or get involved on your local DU committee. Invite a friend or business acquaintance to a DU event and help your committee work toward a goal of 100 percent attendance by local waterfowlers. Only by banding together now in support of the birds will waterfowlers leave a legacy for the next generation and ensure that our sons and daughters will know the awesome spectacle of a flock of bluebills ripping into the decoys on a frosty winter morning.