Hunting ducks in 'back yard'

If people ask you where Oklahomans go to duck hunt, tell them “Right in their own back yards.”
Scott Manley, Ph.D., Ducks Unlimited’s director of conservation programs in the South Central Flyway, lives in Mississippi. He frequently makes trips to Oklahoma, especially in January, to cash in on the Sooner State’s abundance of waterfowl.
“Oklahoma is the United States’ best-kept duck-hunting secret,” said Manley, whose area of operations includes Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas and New Mexico.
The Central Flyway is one of four major migration routes for ducks and geese. The birds use these routes when traveling from their breeding grounds in the north to their wintering grounds in the south. Oklahoma sits smack in the middle of the Central Flyway.
“What a great state to be a waterfowler in,” said Mike O’Meilla, program and research supervisor for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (ODWC).
O’Meilla, who recently worked as the department’s migratory game bird biologist, said there are about 20,000 adult waterfowl hunters in the state. Estimates from the 2007 hunting season indicate that 400,000 ducks were harvested by these hunters, which makes for an average of 23.6 ducks per hunter for the season.
This puts Oklahoma at No. 1 in the Central Flyway states for the number of birds harvested per hunter, O’Meilla said. Also putting Oklahoma at No. 1 in the Central Flyway is the average number of days per season each hunter hit the field — 7.95 days.
“We’ve got some diehard duck hunters,” O’Meilla said.
The information on numbers of hunters and numbers of birds harvested is provided by the migratory bird Harvest Information Program (HIP). The annual survey helps officials track what birds are being hunted and how many are being harvested.
The majority of ducks taken by hunters in Oklahoma are mallards, gadwalls and greenwing teal.
“For the most part, that’s our bread and butter,” O’Meilla said of the three species.
O’Meilla said despite the strong waterfowl hunting figures, Oklahoma still lacks the waterfowling tradition of many other states. Big game hunting is the big ticket, but through a partnership with DU and ongoing wetlands conservation efforts, duck hunting is gaining ground.
O’Meilla said DU officials convinced the ODWC to step up and pitch in on wetlands restoration. Contributions made by the department help with DU’s conservation of the birds’ breeding grounds in the north, and this, in turn, means more birds will migrate south and pay a visit to Oklahoma.
“That’s the commitment we’ve made. We know we’ve got to get that money to the breeding grounds,” O’Meilla said. “The money that we’re sending up there is real important.”
The funds for contributions come from license sales and waterfowl hunting stamp sales. O’Meilla said Oklahoma has surpassed the $1 million mark in contributions since the grant program was started in the early 1990s.
Ducks Unlimited is the nation’s leader in wetlands conservation. The volunteer-based organization was founded in 1937 by a handful of sportsmen determined to stop the decline in waterfowl populations. The organization’s mission is to conserve, restore and manage wetlands and associated habitats for North America’s waterfowl.
Among DU’s many restoration projects is Hackberry Flat Wildlife Management Area in southwest Oklahoma. The 7,000-acre area boasts more than 3,600 acres of wetlands and more than 3,100 acres of upland habitat. The project, dedicated in 1999, is a combined effort by DU, the ODWC and many other supporters. The area supports 36 shorebird species, 31 waterbird species and 23 waterfowl species, among others.
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Jason Smith may be reached at 214-3932.