US Fish & Wildlife Service
Date of this Version
2012
Citation
Raftovich, R.V., K.A. Wilkins, S.S Williams, and H.L. Spriggs. 2012. Migratory Bird Hunting Activity and Harvest during the 2010 and 2011 Hunting Seasons. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Laurel, Maryland, USA.
Abstract
National surveys of migratory bird hunters were conducted during the 2010 and 2011 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 gallinule [Gallinula galeata] and purple gallinule [Pophyrio martinica]), 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 14,796,700 (±4%) ducks and 3,169,900 (±5%) geese in 2010, and almost 1.2 million waterfowl hunters harvested 15,880,900 (±6%) ducks and 2,868,500 (±5%) geese in 2011. Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), green-winged teal (A. crecca), gadwall (A. strepera), wood duck (Aix sponsa), and blue-winged/cinnamon teal (Anas discors), 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 959,900 dove hunters harvested 17,230,400 (±5%) mourning doves in 2010 and 955,700 hunters harvested 16,580,900 ± 5% in 2011. Woodcock hunters numbered about 138,300 in 2010 and 113,800 in 2011, and harvested 332,900 (±11%) birds in 2010 and 308,700 (±16%) birds in 2011. About 37,500 people hunted snipe in 2010 and 32,700 in 2011, and they harvested 118,200 (±37%) and 136,300 (±49%) snipe in 2010 and 2011, respectively. Coot hunters (about 50,500 in 2010 and 46,200 in 2011) harvested 302,600 (±50%) coots in 2010 and 416,600 (±36%) in 2011. Gallinule hunters (about 15,000 in 2010 and 2,200 in 2011) harvested13,700 (±87%) gallinules in 2010 and 7,600 (±100%) in 2011. About 17,000 rail hunters harvested 27,100 (±57%) rails in 2009 and 3,300 rail hunters harvested 14,300 (±50%) rails in 2011.