West Virginia DNR Announces Winter Waterfowl Survey Results

Wildlife biologists counted 3,716 ducks and 3,904 Canada geese during the annual mid-winter waterfowl survey in early January, according to Steve Wilson, waterfowl biologist for the Wildlife Resources Section of the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources. Compared to 2011, the number of ducks and geese counted decreased 26 percent and 36 percent, respectively, for the 2012 survey.

“These numbers are actually higher than I expected considering the extremely mild weather before and during the survey,” Wilson said. “When the ground is not snow covered and small streams and ponds are not frozen over, waterfowl are scattered across the landscape instead of being congregated on large water bodies where they are easily surveyed. The 2012 numbers are actually above the 10-year average for ducks by 23 percent, and goose numbers were only 10 percent below the 10-year average.”

Canada geese, mallards and black ducks, as usual, were the most commonly observed species in the 2012 survey. Other waterfowl observed include: scoters, scaup, ring-necked duck, redhead, bufflehead, mergansers and snow geese. Twenty-one bald eagles and one golden eagle were also observed.

The survey was conducted on January 4, 6 and 10, 2012, and included portions of the Kanawha, Ohio, Shenandoah and New rivers as well as Tygart and Bluestone lakes.

Area	2012		2011		2010		2009		2008
Area	Ducks	Geese	Ducks	Geese	Ducks	Geese	Ducks	Geese	Ducks	Geese
Kanawha River (Upper	243	421	121	673	160	465	253	326	299	683
Kanawha River (Lower)	245	59	102	182	66	483	123	304	74	151
Ohio River (Lower)	1,342	1,017	1,195	764	849	1,321	290	501	318	824
Ohio River (Middle)	1,134	2,067	2,712	3,536	1,424	4,915	975	1,365	808	1,514
Tygart Lake/Pleasant Creek	254	16	82	15	212	170	72	128	37	70
Shenandoah River	81	57	136	588	18	154	102	422	68	180
Bluestone Lake/New River	417	267	696	389	139	281	218	229	110	44
Total	3,716	3,904	5,044	6,147	2,868	7,789	2,033	3,275	1,714	3,466
10-Year Average	3,036	4,352	3,333	4,729	4,905	5,154	5,012	4,764	5,505	4,881

OutdoorHub

OutdoorHub.com is the premier online resource for all things hunting, fishing, and shooting. From breaking news to product reviews and instructional guides, we’ve got all corners of the great outdoors covered!