Hunting Archery Duck Deer

BALTIMORE - The black duck hunting season kicks off Saturday, but hunters and bird-watchers might see less of the migratory bird this year.
About 13,000 were spotted in Maryland this year in a survey by the state Department of Natural Resources. That is about 9,000 less than were found in 2005 and 19,000 less than were found in 2004, said Bill Harvey, game bird section leader for the department.

The breed’s population in Maryland is probably less than half of what it was in the 1960s, Harvey said.

The decline may be due to an increase in logging in Canada, where the ducks live until fall, when they fly down the Atlantic coast as far south as Florida.

Some of the drop could have been caused by a mild winter last year, because the ducks do not migrate as far south when it is not as cold out, Harvey said.

Also, black ducks do worse as human populations increase, he said.

“We see black ducks mostly in areas where there aren’t many people, like Aberdeen [Proving Ground] and Assateague [Island],” Harvey said.

“When you get to areas where the shoreline is heavily developed you see few black ducks, but you still see mallards. Mallards can deal with it,” Harvey said.

Black ducks look similar to mallards, except for their dark brown hue. The two species can even interbreed.

The mallard population remains stable, with the department spotting around 200,000 of the birds each year.

Mallards are more adaptable and aggressive than black ducks, and can sometimes take over the black duck’s nesting areas, said Grace Bottitta, manager of conservation for the mid-Atlantic states branch of Ducks Unlimited, a nonprofit that works to conserve habitat for waterfowl.

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