Arkansas Game and Fish Commission biologists completed the
annual midwinter aerial waterfowl survey Jan. 11 and counted
about 665,000 total ducks in the state’s Delta region. Last
year’s midwinter aerial count was more than 1.1 million. This
year’s midwinter mallard population estimate of roughly 451,000
mallards represents about half of the four-year survey average
for the species; by contrast, last year’s midwinter survey
showed more than 750,000 mallards. AGFC observers have completed
three aerial surveys so far this season – November, December,
and early January – and duck numbers have remained stable with
few of the surges in numbers that observers typically see each
winter. In the Arkansas River Valley region, observers noted a
gradual increase in duck numbers during the three surveys,
estimating a population of roughly 26,000 total ducks, including
about 17,000 mallards, during the most recent survey. Numbers
were much lower in southwestern Arkansas, where about 14,000
total ducks and 8,000 mallards we