$25 state duck stamps
The sound of geese honking and flying overhead in a V, or of wood ducks whistling along a forest stream or mallards quacking on takeoff, those things speak of shotguns and dogs and, most of all, fall.
Which means, of course, that now — when the air's heavy with humidity, the rain's keeping the grass almost too soggy to cut and mosquitoes make any hike-in bass fishing trip in a backwater weedbed an adventure — it's time to think about waterfowling.
You don't think so?
The early resident Canada goose season will likely start Sept. 1, if history's any guide. That's only about six weeks away.
Even closer on the calendar is the annual public waterfowl briefing hosted by the Pennsylvania Game Commission. It's set for 1-5 p.m. Aug. 7 at the agency's northwest region office in Franklin. There, biologists will talk about duck and goose populations, proposed seasons and bag limits, all while taking comments from hunters.
And already, duck stamps are on sale.
There have been some changes from last year. The price of a stamp has gone up, for starters. Previously $15 — that had been the price for 24 years — they're now $25. There's also an agent fee attached to buying stamps online or at big box stores.
The higher price of stamps, at least, is not necessarily a bad thing. Ninety-eight percent of the revenue generated by stamp sales go to the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund, which is used to buy, lease or otherwise protect waterfowl habitat. Stamp sales have raised more than $800 million and protected more than six million acres over time.
That means hunters get their money back in the form of potential for more game.
And speaking of potential, this looks as if it's going to be a good year for waterfowl and waterfowl hunters.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently released the 2015 version of its “Trends in Duck Breeding Populations” report. It's an annual look at duck numbers across North America.
What it shows is there are plenty of birds out there.
Total populations were estimated at 49.5 million breeding ducks. That's 51 percent above the 1955-2014 long-term average and the highest count on record, surpassing last year's 49.2 million birds.
That may or may not translate into extra ducks here this fall.
Traditionally, the prairie pothole region of the Midwest sees the most fluctuation in duck numbers, based on how much rain the area gets in breeding season. Relative booms and busts are most attributable to what happens there. Things are usually more stable in the Northeast, biologists say.
But more waterfowl is always a good thing, and birds are doing well, especially when it comes to certain species. Take mallards. The duck most commonly harvested in Pennsylvania, they're thought to be at least as plentiful as last year, with populations cruising along at 51 percent above the long-term average.
So it soon will be time to practice calling, touch up the decoys and mend the decoy bag. Fall is coming.
Bob Frye is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at bfrye@tribweb.com or via Twitter @bobfryeoutdoors.
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