US Fish & Wildlife Service
Date of this Version
7-2011
Citation
Raftovich, R.V., K.A. Wilkins, S.S Williams, H.L. Spriggs, and K.D. Richkus. 2011. Migratory bird hunting activity and harvest during the 2009 and 2010 hunting seasons. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser vice, Laurel, Maryland, USA.
Abstract
National surveys of migratory bird hunters were conducted during the 2009 and 2010 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 1.1 million waterfowl hunters harvested 13,139,800 (±4%) ducks and 3,327,000 (±5%) geese in 2009, and about 1.1 million waterfowl hunters harvested 14,796,700 (±4%) ducks and 3,169,900 (±5%) geese in 2010. 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 species in the goose harvest. About 974,400 dove hunters harvested 17,354,800 (±6%) mourning doves in 2009 and 959,900 hunters harvested 17,230,400 ± 5% in 2010. Woodcock hunters numbered about 109,000 in 2009 and 138,300 in 2010, and harvested 238,400 (±15%) birds in 2009 and 332,900 (±11%) in 2010. About 29,400 people hunted snipe in 2009 and 37,500 in 2010, and they harvested 83,500 (±45%) and 118,200 (±37%) snipe in 2009 and 2010, respectively. Coot hunters (about 31,100 in 2009 and 50,500 in 2010) harvested 219,000 (±34%) coots in 2009 and 302,600 (±50%) in 2010. Gallinule hunters (about 2,300 in 2009 and 15,000 in 2010) harvested 7,400 (±66%) gallinules in 2009 and 13,700 (±87%) in 2010. About 7,800 rail hunters harvested 36,100 (±62%) rails in 2009 and 17,000 rail hunters harvested 27,100 (±57%) rails in 2010.