Midwinter Waterfowl Survey Completed

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Midwinter Waterfowl Survey Completed
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s annual midwinter waterfowl survey revealed an estimated 7,300 Canada geese wintering on the Missouri River in early January.

Game management section leader Mike Johnson said numerous snowstorms in December with below zero temperatures pushed most waterfowl out of the state. “Late fall was generally warm and mild through Thanksgiving, but December’s weather pushed a lot of geese through the area,” he said.

Johnson said it’s likely this year’s count is underestimated because of poor lighting conditions during the morning of the survey, and the tight flocking behavior of roosting geese.

Last year, 25,400 geese were staging on the Missouri River in North Dakota during the midwinter survey. In 2009, only 9,700 geese were counted. Between 2005 and 2008, a new record high was established every year, reaching 175,000 geese in 2008. Record numbers in the mid-to-late 2000s coincided with years of unseasonably mild winter weather.

From 1998 to 2004, the number of Canada geese on the river during the midwinter survey was between 2,000 and 89,000. Prior to 1998, the count was rarely more than 10,000.