"It was a tough season in the Mississippi Flyway last season north to south, though some areas like Missouri had good duck hunting seasons last year," said John Devney, senior vice president for Delta Waterfowl. He agrees that the downward trend will continue this year but urged duck hunters to check the USFWS data released this past summer.

"That is the best data available and is pretty widely regarded as the best wildlife survey done in the world," he said.

One of the folks out collecting data is Steve Cordts, a Minnesota DNR waterfowl staff specialist. He said a major frustration of his is that the numbers that are released over the summer are based on reports completed in mid-May.

"There's a big gap of time between then and October, and local habitat conditions can change, as can duck numbers," he said.

The weather is also an ever-changing difficult-to-predict factor as well.

"Our mallards and blue-winged teal are the more abundant, but teal are such an early migrant that they could go before the opener if there are a few September cold snaps," Cordts said.

Cordts was able to get out last year and admittedly did all right, though he said it wasn't a great year.

"I got lucky in a few places by hunting some non-traditional areas I hadn't hunted before," he said.

He said he understands hunters' frustrations and realizes that most hunters had lackluster seasons, but reminded folks that those who did well are probably keeping their mouths quiet to avoid alerting others to their choice areas.

"You probably are not going to find very many birds on the same lake or wildlife area you've hunted for the last 30 years," Cordts said.

Sawyer echoed those comments about being versatile and willing to move around. He also encouraged hunters to consider going after divers more than puddle ducks.

"If your mainstay is greenheads, woodies and teal like most of us, you should try switching to blind-hunting for divers because that's the best we have right now in Minnesota," Sawyer said.

Moving around is easy to say, but Sawyer said his experience with this in Minnesota is tougher than in other locations.

"We have 125,000 duck hunters in this state with very limited resources, and most landowners seem to have a grandson, neighbor or buddy who hunts on their land. Finding a place can be difficult but still worthwhile," Sawyer said.

ONLINE HUNTING
Cordts said he will once again compile and post a weekly Minnesota Waterfowl Migration and Hunting Report on the DNR's Web site. The report is based on field observations by area wildlife biologists and managers, and is usually posted Thursday afternoon each week. Cordts even takes to the air himself to do a weekly count when the weather allows it. The report offers a very area-specific report regarding the condition of the habitat, weather conditions, migrations/observations and hunter activity/success. It can be found at www.dnr.state.mn.us/hunting/waterfowl.

"I'd encourage hunters to take a look through it because it can give them a good feel for how things are going at the time," he said.

Another very effective online tool for duck hunters can be found at www.waterfowler.com. The site offers a GIS real-time migration mapping system that features reports provided by over 100,000 waterfowlers. Anybody can file a report as long as they pledge to be accurate and provide regular information.