The goal of the rally was to spur action to reverse the long-term decline in Minnesota's duck populations, wetland habitats and waterways. Energy was high at the rally, and a lot of people made some bold promises, but only time will tell if those words will translate to more ducks in the sky in seasons to come. Either way, the chances are that the migration of 2005 could be one of the smallest of all time.

All that needs to be swept aside for now. The Oct. 1 duck opener is here. Duck hunters are going to have to swallow the fact that they will most likely see fewer birds than they can remember, and they will have to work harder than they can remember to locate those ducks.

One solution is to avoid the duck blind this season, but for Sawyer and others, that is an impossible alternative. The cold bite in the air, cutting rain, leaky waders, whining dog and smell of the marsh or field is just too good to miss no matter how many ducks may make a visit to the decoys. Knock that chip off our shoulder and focus on the job at hand. There might be less of them, but there still are ducks to be had out there!

Some of the only good news for duck hunters is the Saturday, Oct. 1 opening day for the hunt. Waterfowl opinion surveys conducted by the DNR revealed that hunters prefer an earlier time period.

CHECKING THE NUMBERS
In 2003, Minnesota duck hunters harvested 884,000 birds, down from 944,000 in 2002. The mallard harvest rose but the blue-winged teal, bluebill and ring-necked duck harvests each declined that year.

The number of midcontinent mallards in 2004 was 8.36 million, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) once again offered the 60-day season with a six-duck limit. Information on the harvest numbers from 2004 as well as the specific survey information for 2005 have been released by the USFWS and can be found online at www.fws.gov or at www.dnr.state.mn.us.

"The 2004 season got off to a good beginning with a flurry of activity but we didn't get a lot of birds coming back into the area, which is a function of poor wetlands in the Dakotas and prairie Canada," said Rex Johnson, leader of the habitat and population evaluation team for the USFWS regional office in Fergus Falls.

Johnson said Minnesota's wetland conditions were particularly good in 2004 but there were a small number of birds and good habitat, thus making them hard for hunters to locate.

"I know some people who had excellent seasons, but by and large, people had a tough time finding birds," he said.

Johnson was able to get out himself last year and shot his standard 20 to 25 birds, though he admits he was unable to hunt as much as he used to or would like to.

"I think the key to killing waterfowl in a state like Minnesota is by really putting in the effort by scouting, knocking on doors, asking for permission and finding those wetlands where the ducks are holding," Johnson said.

Lawrence said the tough season was partially due to habitat issues and other things that have accumulated over the last 100 years. The other part of the problem was less than ideal weather conditions. He expects the 2005 harvest to be down but does not think it will be a record low.