US Fish & Wildlife Service
Date of this Version
7-2010
Citation
Raftovich, R.V., K.A. Wilkins, K.D. Richkus, S.S. Williams, and H.L. Spriggs. 2010. Migratory bird hunting activity and harvest during the 2008 and 2009 hunting seasons. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Laurel, Maryland, USA.
Abstract
National surveys of migratory bird hunters were conducted during the 2008 and 2009 hunting seasons. Hunters of the following types of migratory birds were surveyed: waterfowl (family Anatidae), doves (mourning [Zenaida macroura] and white-winged [Z. asiatica]), bandtailed pigeon (Patagioenas fasciata), American woodcock (Scolopax minor), Wilson’s snipe (Gallinago delicata), American coot (Fulica americana), gallinules (Common moorhen [Gallinula chloropus] and purple gallinule [Porzana carolina]), and rails (king rail [Rallus elegans], clapper rail [R. longirostris], Virginia rail [R. limicola], and sora [Coturnicops noveboracensis]). About 1.2 million waterfowl hunters harvested 13,635,700 (±4%) ducks and 3,792,600 (±5%) geese in 2008, and about 1.1 million waterfowl hunters harvested 13,139,800 (±4%) ducks and 3,327,000 (±5%) geese in 2009. Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), green-winged teal (A. crecca), gadwall (A. strepera), blue-winged/cinnamon teal (A. discors), and wood duck (Aix sponsa) were the 5 most-harvested duck species in the U.S., and Canada goose (Branta canadensis) was the predominant goose species in the goose harvest. About 994,000 dove hunters harvested 17,400,000 (±5%) mourning doves in 2008 and 974,400 hunters harvested 17,400,000 (±6%) in 2009. Woodcock hunters numbered about 130,000 in 2008 and 109,000 in 2009, and harvested 279,000 (±15%) birds in 2008 and 238,400 (±15%) in 2009. About 27,400 people hunted snipe in 2008 and 29,400 in 2009, and they harvested 95,500 (±32%) and 83,500 (±45%) snipe in 2008 and 2009, respectively. Coot hunters (about 31,100 in 2008 and 2009) harvested 275,900 (±43%) coots in 2008 and 219,000 (+34%) in 2009. Gallinule hunters (about 3,700 in 2008 and 2,300 in 2009) harvested 13,200 (±98%) gallinules in 2008 and 7,400 (±66%) in 2009. About 11,200 rail hunters harvested 45,000 (±43%) rails in 2008 and 7,800 rail hunters harvested 36,000 (±62%) rails in 2009.