by Gary Koehler

An alarm goes off not just before dawn but during mid-afternoon. Eli Haydel is at the wheel of his white Suburban when he reaches over and flips on the air conditioner. The temperature has surged to 81 degrees. The balmy weather is somewhat unusual in mid-December even for here, along Southwest Louisiana's Gulf Coast.

"They'd better start getting some weather up north soon," Haydel says. "Or there aren't going to be many ducks down here this year. It's been too warm. Way too warm."

Waterfowl surveys recently conducted by the state wildlife agency prove Haydel to be right on the money. Number crunchers have determined that only half as many ducks frequented Louisiana this fall when compared to average census figures posted during the same time period over the past three years. The totals will not improve as the season wears on.

Louisiana typically winters half of the ducks in the Mississippi Flyway, and 75 percent of those are found in the coastal zone. Duck hunting has long been a way of life here. So, when unusual weather patterns occur, many Louisiana waterfowlers are disappointed when normal concentrations of ducks and geese fail to materialize in their hunting area.