Prairie Drought
Biologist Norman Seymour explores the effects of drought has on waterfowl production and why this year’s fall flight will be smaller than last year. Posted May 27, 2008.

A Reprieve for the Black Duck
Do new findings reject the assertion that eastward-moving mallards have doomed the black duck? By waterfowl biologist Norman Seymour. Posted April 10, 2007.

Reproductive Strategies of Ducks
Biologist Norman Seymour describes different reproductive strategies to explain why some species recover quickly from adversity and others do not. Posted February 12, 2007.

Habitat and Harvest
Is the North American Waterfowl Management Plan fatally flawed? Yes, says a team of biologists. By James H. Phillips. Posted Nov. 30, 2006.

The Importance of Duck Diversity
Waterfowl biologist Norman Seymour, a long-time diving-duck shooter, looks at the loss of species diversity and what it means for our important waterfowl-hunting traditions. Posted Oct. 2, 2006.

Our 2006 Fall Flight Forecast
Lower than expected breeding populations and declining habitat conditions on the northern prairies dim hopes for a banner fall flight. By James H. Phillips. Posted Sept. 11, 2006.

The Super Hens (Part IV): Hunting Regulations
Celebrated biologist Mickey Heitmeyer calls for hen harvest restrictions, a ban on spinning-wing decoys, shorter seasons and condensed season frameworks to preserve our waterfowling heritage. Posted Aug. 9, 2006.

The Super Hens (Part III): Survival and Life Cycle
What are the primary causes of duck mortality? When do they occur? Biologist Mickey Heitmeyer analyzes the mortality agents that threaten our flocks in this third installment of our four-part Super Hen series. Posted Aug.2, 2006.

The Super Hens (Part II): Variation and Recruitment
n the second of his critically important four-part series, celebrated biologist Mickey Heitmeyer examines the factors that determine reproductive success and population changes. Posted July 26, 2006.

The Super Hens (Part I): Differences Among Ducks
Dr. Mickey Heitmeyer examines the differences among ducks, and why these differences play a critical role in determining whether a species, or a distinct population of a species, flourishes or fades into oblivion. This is the first installment of an important four-part series. Posted July 20, 2006.

Billion Dollar Debacle
How many billions earmarked for waterfowl habitat has been wasted by government agencies and organizations? A must-read by New Orleans Times-Picayune outdoor columnist Bob Marshall. Posted July 5, 2006.

Bird Flu Fears
Does a deadly, new strain of bird flu pose great peril to those of us who hunt waterfowl? What precautions should we take? Can we trust our wildlife and conservation agencies to tell us the unvarnished truth? By James H. Phillips. Posted April 28, 2006.

If Ducks Could Talk
Why is the most critical issue facing ducks today being ignored by our waterfowl conservation organizations? Madduck editor James H. Phillips examines the problem, why the silence is deafening, and why it means smaller fall flights in the years ahead. Posted March 7, 2006.

The Myth of Over-Sexed Mallards
Are mallards seducing black ducks out of existence? Waterfowl biologist Norman Seymour examines the conflicting biological data, debunks the myth and calls for greater scientific candor. Posted Dec. 16, 2005.

Build It and They Will Come
Create your own waterfowl Shangri-La. Madduck publisher Peter D. Stent reveals the lessons he has learned. Posted Nov. 17, 2005.

Melancholy Baby
Ducks Unlimited has raised 78 percent of the waterfowl-habitat dollars, but has purchased only 12 percent of the permanently protected duck habitat on the northern prairie breeding grounds. What is going on? By James H. Phillips. Posted Nov. 17, 2005.

Duck Diversity
Why is duck diversity important to the health of our flocks and to our hallowed hunting traditions? Biologist Norman Seymour examines the loss of duck diversity and what it means for the future of waterfowling. Posted Oct.5, 2005.

Habitat, Dollars and Ducks
We have spent billions to acquire, protect and enhance North American waterfowl breeding habitat. Where are all the additional ducks these areas produce? A new report tells us one billion-dollar program will annually produce only one-twentieth of a duck per hunter. This shocking report is a must read that should alarm all waterfowl hunters and stir calls for reform. By James H. Phillips. Posted Oct. 5, 2005.

Managing Expectations
What will our coming hunting season be like? Why do waterfowl management authorities sugar-coat the news? Howard N. Ellman examines perceptions and reality. Posted Aug. 25, 2005.

Till Death Do Us Part
The 2005 breeding-ground surveys show that potholes have increased, but mallards have declined. Why? And what does this tell us about the future? By James H. Phillips. Posted July 27, 2005.

Back to Basics
Two celebrated, long-time biologists look at the history of waterfowl management and why it has failed to maintain bountiful fall flights. This is a four-star analysis. We strongly encourage you to ponder their insights. By Norm Seymour and Art Hawkins. Posted July 27, 2005.

A Tribute to Frank C. Bellrose
Pioneering waterfowl biologist Art Hawkins recalls the early years with the late Frank C. Bellrose, the celebrated Illinois Natural History Survey biologist who recently died at age 88. Posted June 30, 2005.

Mounting Pressure
Are liberalized regulations and technological innovations fundamentally and permanently altering duck behavior? Will this poison duck hunting in future years? By James H. Phillips. Posted June 7, 2005.

Where are the Mallards?
A look at changes along the length of the Mississippi Flyway and how this is affecting greenhead migrations along the “Mallard Highway.” By Charles S. Potter Jr. Posted June 7, 2005.

The Bounce-Back Myth
Will ducks “bounce back” explosively when water returns to the northern prairies? James H. Phillips examines the changing realities of pothole country, what it means for the future management of our flocks and why bounce-back advocates are wrong. Posted May 3, 2005.

The Sex Lives of Ducks
An eye-opening look at the sex lives of ducks that illustrates why our feathered friends could challenge Hollywood movie stars as practitioners of the “anything goes” sexual lifestyle. By waterfowl behaviorist Norman Seymour. Posted April 7, 2005.

Back of the Envelope
Spinning-wing decoys kill more ducks than are raised on all national wildlife refuges. The SWD kill exceeds the number of additional ducks raised on CRP lands. The decoys kill more ducks than are raised on all Ducks Unlimited projects. Does this suggest we should ban them? By James H. Phillips. Posted March 15, 2005.

Cooking the Molting Goose
A Bureau of Land Management plan threatens the most important summer goose-molting wetland complex on the Arctic Coastal Plain. Your help is urgently needed to halt this developing tragedy. By Stanley E. Senner. Posted Feb.16, 2005.

Waiting for ‘Northern Ducks’
Biologist Norman Seymour examines autumn duck migrations. What has changed and what has remained the same over the past half-century? Can these changes explain what’s happened to millions of “missing” ducks? Posted Feb.16, 2005.

Tons of Ducks
Hunters sometimes report seeing “a ton of ducks.” What does this mean? How many tons of ducks do we harvest? By James H. Phillips. Posted Jan. 26, 2005.

New Bands, New Knowledge
Biologist Peter Blums helped develop and introduced new “plasticine” duck leg bands to North America. Blums explains why these new bands may significantly increase our knowledge of waterfowl. Posted Jan. 3, 2005.

A Mallard Hen's Brief Life
If longevity is key to a hen’s productivity, the question must be asked: How many years does the average North American mallard hen live? The surprising answer partly explains the decline in numbers of mallards that wing southward. By James H. Phillips. Posted Jan. 3, 2005.

Super Hens
A new biological study confirms what biologists have long suspected – perhaps as few as 20 percent of the hens produce 80 percent of the young. Biologist Norman Seymour examines this phenomenon amid new concerns that hunters increasingly are targeting these “super hens,” the key to bountiful fall-flights. Posted Dec. 2, 2004.

Where is the Waterfowl Research?
Have you wondered why waterfowl research often fails to provide answers to key questions? Is it because of bureaucratic in-fighting and fractured research authority? By Jim Beers. Posted Oct. 13, 2004.

California's Troubled Mallards
Will California waterfowlers bite the bullet to preserve their dwindling native mallard flocks? Or will they ignore the warning signs and continue to over-shoot them? By James H. Phillips. Posted Oct. 13, 2004.

The Wrong Diagnosis
Duck-management’s mantra is “habitat, habitat, habitat.” But do we need more habitat? Madduck essayist Howard N. Ellman explains why the incessant plea for more habitat may be the wrong diagnosis for what ails ducks. Posted Oct. 13, 2004.

The Double-Whammy
Have you wondered why our autumn mallard flights are increasingly thin? Is it because our current regulations increase the kill of older hens – the “super-breeders” that produce most of our young? Madduck writer James H. Phillips examines the harvest data to find the answer. Posted Sept. 21, 2004.

Births and Deaths
Biologist Norman Seymour examines the fundamental law of population biology and explains what this means to future waterfowl management. Should we rely primarily on production management or harvest management to rebuild our flocks? Seymour’s analysis is critical to understanding the future course of waterfowl conservation. Posted Sept. 21, 2004.

Our 2004 Fall-Flight Forecast
This autumn’s fall flight will be the smallest in more than a decade, the result of a triple-whammy. Declining numbers of breeding ducks, drought conditions on the northern prairies and devastating wintry storms during incubation and brood-rearing will reduce autumn migrants to a minimum. By James H. Phillips. Posted Aug. 31, 2004.

Duck Survey Raises Alarm
North American breeding-ground surveys find few ducks across the dry prairies, yet Adaptive Harvest calls for another season of liberal hunting regulations. Have we forgotten the waterfowl conservation lessons of the past? By James H. Phillips. Posted July 22, 2004.

State-by-State Gunfire
How much has gunning pressure increased in your state? These tables provide a state-by-state listing of the number of rounds fired by duck hunters for the years 1994 and 1997-01. Posted June 30, 2004.

Gunning Pressure: How Intense is It?
Is increased gunning pressure causing ducks to sit tight all day on sanctuaries? Madduck writer James H. Phillips examines the biological data and finds hunting pressure has doubled in recent years, and that the number of rounds fired today routinely exceeds the number of ducks that wing southward each autumn. Posted June 30, 2004.

The Case of the Phantom Dead
Some biologists speculate that millions of ducks die each year from natural causes. What happens to the dead ducks? Why don’t we see their carcasses littering our marshes? By Howard N. Ellman. Posted June 11, 2004.

Late Shooting and Pair Bonds
The highly esteemed waterfowl behaviorist Norman Seymour looks at waterfowl courtship and pair-bonding – and how late-season shooting affects waterfowl reproduction. Posted April 22, 2004

Sense and Nonsense
Is Adaptive Harvest wrong to suggest that we have too many mallards? Author James H. Phillips examines the biological data and finds we need more – not fewer – breeding mallards to sustain quality duck hunting. Posted Mar. 31, 2004.

Too Many Mallards?
A controversial new Adaptive Harvest report suggests we need to reduce the mallard breeding population to maximize the harvest. Is this an avian variant of the Vietnam idea that we must destroy a village to save it? By James H. Phillips. Posted March 10, 2004.

Reuniting Waterfowl Management
The full text of the draft Adaptive Harvest Management report asserting a lower breeding population is necessary to maximize the kill. It is a six page technical document . Therefore, it is recommended that you first print it, then read the printed page. Posted March 10, 2004.

Beyond Feathers
Can you identify hens from drakes without looking at their plumage? Waterfowl biologist Norman Seymour tells you how to identify the gender of ducks by their behavior – and why this might suggest a change in your decoy placement. Posted Feb. 18, 2004.

Are Breeding Surveys Accurate?
Are today’s surveys of the North American breeding grounds fundamentally flawed? Are population counts too high? Waterfowl biologist Cliff Feldheim examines these issues. His findings are startling. Posted Jan. 29, 2004.

Does Shooting Matter?
What is the reason we are seeing few ducks? Two simplified mallard population models strongly suggest we have been over-shooting our flocks. By James H. Phillips. Posted January 7, 2004.

The Legal "Crisis" in Wetlands Protection
Is it time to change the law to protect wetlands? Madduck essayist and attorney Howard N. Ellman examines the reasons behind a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision. Posted Nov. 20, 2003.

The Arkansas Report – Part III
The Arkansas Wildlife Federation Duck Committee rejects the idea that sanctuaries and planted grain crops on national wildlife refuges are the cause of poor duck hunting. By James H. Phillips. Posted Nov. 20, 2003.

The Arkansas Report - Part II
The Arkansas Wildlife Federation Duck Committee analyzes the duck harvest and concludes we are killing too many hens, especially adult mallard hens, the most important component of our breeding stocks. By James H. Phillips. Posted Oct. 29, 2003.

The Arkansas Report - Part I
The Arkansas Wildlife Federation recently issued a scathing report on waterfowl management, along with recommendations to improve the quality of duck hunting. The AWF report is the most important waterfowl-management analysis to appear in decades. By James H. Phillips. Posted Sept. 24, 2003.

The 2002-03 Season Duck Kill
Hunters killed fewer ducks last season, but the decline was not spread uniformly across the nation. A number of northern states reported a big increase in their kill. By James H. Phillips. Posted Sept. 24, 2003.

2003 Fall Flight Forecast
Increased numbers of ducks will wing south this autumn, but the flight will be average, according to Madduck’s annual fall-flight forecast. By James H. Phillips. Posted August 22, 2003.

The New Zealand System
New Zealander Fred Rouse explains how season lengths and bag limits are set in this island nation. The government is not involved – and in parts of the country the legal bag is 50 ducks daily. Posted June 27, 2003.

The Snow Goose Problem
A waterfowl manager defends spring snow-goose shooting in the Central and Mississippi Flyways. Plus our reaction to his comments. Posted June 27, 2003.

A Fool's Paradise
Why does Adaptive Harvest diminish the importance of prairie potholes? What effect is this having on our duck populations? Does this suggest our current waterfowl management policy is fatally flawed? By James H. Phillips. Posted June 3, 2003.

Anecdotal Evidence
Why does waterfowl biology ignore duck-club records? Why does it shun the records of commercial waterfowl pickers? Is it ignoring excellent sources of information that could enable us to better manage our flocks? By Howard N. Ellman. Posted April 3, 2003.

Where Is Waterfowl Management?
Duck populations are crashing along the Atlantic Flyway, but waterfowl management is not alarmed. It predicts another year of liberal hunting regulations. Does anyone care about the sad fate of our East Coast flocks? By James H. Phillips. Posted April 3, 2003.

Interpreting Breeding-Ground Surveys
How accurate are surveys of the North American duck breeding grounds? What do you need to know to interpret the data correctly? Find out in this timely analysis. By James H. Phillips. Posted May 16, 2003.

The New Pothole Truth
What does new biological data tell us about potholes? Why is this important for the future of duck hunting? By James H. Phillips. Posted March 6, 2003.

The Myth Of The Duck Limit
Why do most hunters misunderstand the daily bag limit? Does this threaten ducks? Is waterfowl management to blame? By James H. Phillips. Posted Feb. 19, 2003.

Decline of the Pintail - Part IV
Can we restore the pintail to its former abundance? What, exactly, is a population model – and what can it tell us? The final installment of our four-part series exploring the problems facing the pintail. By James H. Phillips. Posted Feb. 7, 2003.

Decline of the Pintail - Part III
The third installment of our pintail series examines the effects of shooting on pintail breeding populations. By James H. Phillips. Posted Jan. 23, 2003.

Decline of the Pintail - Part II
Are you aware that today there are more potholes than pintails, a duck that once was our second most abundant prairie-nesting species? What does this tell us about waterfowl management? In this second installment of our series on the decline of the pintail, we examine the impact of habitat changes on the breeding grounds. By James H. Phillips. Posted Jan. 7, 2003.

Decline of the Pintail - Part I
How badly have our pintails flocks declined? What breeding and wintering areas have suffered the greatest losses? These questions and others are explored in Part I of our in-depth series examining the fate of this troubled species. By James H. Phillips. Posted Dec. 19, 2002.

Waterfowl Surveys
What do waterfowl breeding-ground surveys tell us? Is waterfowl management trying to extract more truth from the data than is justified? These critical questions are examined by waterfowl biologist Norman Seymour. Posted Dec. 3, 2002.

Black Ducks: Forty Years Of Mismanagement?
The black duck, once the most important puddle duck along the eastern seaboard, has defied management efforts to halt its population decline. What does the data suggest to restore this species to its former abundance? By James H. Phillips. Posted Nov. 5, 2002.

The Perils Facing The Wood Duck
Are wood ducks headed for deep trouble? Several prominent biologists think so. The historical data also suggests the wood duck's populations are declining. Can we reverse this downward slide? By James H. Phillips. Posted Oct. 22, 2002.

Are Waterfowl Professionals In Denial?
Everyone knows our waterfowl flocks are declining. Is the problem exacerbated by the refusal of our waterfowl professionals to admit the obvious - a psychological malady known as denial? By James H. Phillips. Posted Oct. 7, 2002.

And The Winner Is …
Two great forces are vying to determine the fate our ducks. The Conservation Reserve Program, which increases production of young, and Adaptive Harvest Management, which maximizes the sport kill. Which force is winning? The answer is startling. By James H. Phillips. Posted Sept. 23, 2002

A Drake's Territory
Waterfowl biologist Norman Seymour examines the role of territory on the breeding grounds and how it affects the distribution and reproductive efforts of breeding ducks. Posted July 24,2002

Waterfowl Management: A Success or Failure?
Why are fall flights increasingly thin? Is waterfowl management to blame? What can we learn about management from the biological data? By James H. Phillips. Posted August 8, 2002.