midnight sun
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Denali Highway...Pintails
Myself and number-1 son Wyatt trekked north for our annual waterfowl opener along the Denali Highway. We usually spend a few days chasing Ptarmigan and scouting ducks prior to the opener, and found the upland birds scarce this year. Many miles afoot accounted for only a handful of Ptarmigan.
Ducks were plentiful and cooperative to a fault, setting into the dekes without hesitation. And while there were plenty of ducks, we soon noticed the lack of Pintails which we've seen in huge numbers the last 2 years.
Initially, I was a little surprised to see large numbers of Pintail because I hadn't seen them in some of the other areas I've hunted. After some reasearch it seemed like at least some of the Pintail may have diverted from their traditional nesting ground due to drought conditions.
After seeing the lack of Pintail this year, I did a little more research and will post some findings below.
"Pintails nest on the prairies of southern Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba in large numbers when this region has abundant wetlands, referred to as "May Ponds" or "July Ponds," counted during respective breeding pair and brood surveys annually. When dry, however, large numbers of pintails "overfly" the prairies to northern regions, such as Alaska, Northwest Territories, and northern Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba".
"One of the principal pintail nesting regions is the Prairie Pothole Region in North and South Dakota, northeastern Montana, and the southern prairie provinces of Canada. "Prairie drought has prevailed each year of the study period, and most of the satellite-tracked pintails flew on to areas farther north," said Miller. The birds migrating directly to Alaska, however, another critical nesting region, were not affected by prairie drought".
And while I couldn't find current information on the 05 spring migration, it appears the Prairie Pothole drought has ended for now. It's only speculation, but I suspect the many Pintail stopped short of Alaska with favorable nesting further south.
Happy Hunting.
Brad
Last edited by midnight sun, 9/9/2005, 9:24 am
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9/9/2005, 9:14 am
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sharps5090
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Re: Denali Highway...Pintails
Hi,
Can you recomend some good spots to hunt ducks on the Denali Highway?
Thanks
Chris
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9/10/2005, 3:23 pm
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midnight sun
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Re: Denali Highway...Pintails
Chris,
If you've driven across, you'll notice there's water everywhere, but the ducks don't prefer all of it and show a preference for certain ponds over others. It seems that if ponds or lakes have water running through them, the habitat is better for ducks.
One good spot where I always see ducks is at mile 50. There's a moving slough (creek) with beaver dams that feeds a large, shallow lake, which is connected to a series of smaller lakes downstream. The upper slough is good jump shooting with passing birds common. Any of the connected lakes can be good for decoys and the slough that empties the large lake is good pass-shooting.
Another place I've seen good numbers of mallards is the river near the road that connects Tangle lakes.
If you make it up there, drop me a note with how you did. Good luck.
Brad
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9/13/2005, 6:47 am
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sharps5090
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Re: Denali Highway...Pintails
Brad,
Thanks a lot for the information. If things go well my Wife and I will be heading up there next week. It all depends on our young Lab, she injured her leg the first day of duck season. Hopefully she will be well soon. I will let you know how it goes.
Chris
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9/13/2005, 12:20 pm
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