…ducks lay…eight to twelve eggs in a clutch in many cases… they have to be in good body condition to start a nest. And the way they do that is by foraging, basically, invertebrates, and some of our most productive wetlands for invertebrates are the temporary and seasonal basins…and a lot of those wetlands dried up last spring and have been dry all summer. A lot of hens just decide not to nest…because they're in poor body condition and can't lay a full clutch of eggs and incubate them…certain species of ducks will re-nest multiple times if they lose a nest [to predators]. But again, in drought conditions, there's probably a lot of ducks that nested once, lost the nest, and probably won’t re-nest at all. – Steve Cordts, MN DNR Waterfowl Specialist
The drought is having an effect on multiple aspects of regular life in Minnesota. Minnesota DNR
Waterfowl Specialist Steve Cordts joined the morning show to discuss the work he does and the impact the drought has had on waterfowl as well as the wetlands they use for sustenance. He also discussed Minnesota’s upcoming teal season for which opening day is this Saturday. It will be Minnesota’s first teal season since 1965.
Generally teal are pretty lightly harvested, so probably no major impact to the population. But again, we'll assess it and see how things go this weekend…my guess is maybe 30 to 40,000 hunters will probably be out and try it at least one day, even with the drought. So again, we'll see what happens, but hopefully there's some birds around, and hunters can do pretty well. – Steve Cordts, MN DNR Waterfowl Specialist
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