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Duck Habitat in the Prairies Drier Than Last Year 
OAK HAMMOCK MARSH, MB, March 27 - Habitat reports by Ducks Unlimited indicate that ducks returning to Canada's main breeding grounds on the southern Prairies will find the area drier than it was last year.
"Very favorable habitat conditions were created for waterfowl when the Prairies approached record levels of precipitation in 1996 and 1997,'' said Brian Gray, chief biologist for Ducks Unlimited Canada. The breeding duck population on the southern prairies increased by eight per cent last year bringing the population on the Prairies to an estimated 26 million, a level not reached since 1980. "What we're seeing now is a return to typical prairie conditions that will create fair but variable waterfowl habitat this year,'' Gray said. "Unless we reserve substantially more precipitation in the next few weeks, we anticipate that this year's surveys of duck populations will yield estimates similar to those generated last year."
One particularly dry area lies between Calgary and Regina. This area is central to the Prairie Pothole Region, a key breeding and nesting area in southwestern Manitoba and southern Saskatchewan and Alberta. Half of North America's duck population is produced in this region. Little precipitation fell over most of the area in the fall and winter, so the number of temporary ponds will be reduced.
"Temporary ponds are soup kitchens for ducks at the end of their spring migration,'' Grey said. "They are full of the invertebrates that hens require for egg production.'' Where temporary ponds are absent, ducks will be able to find food in larger, semi-permanent ponds that dry up only during extended droughts. However, due to the reduction in the number of temporary ponds, the total number of ponds available to ducks will be reduced from last year, so food and nesting habitat for hens will be reduced.
For a large portion of the Prairies, spring melt water won't contribute greatly to pond levels this year. The uncharacteristically warm temperature caused by El Nino have failed to freeze the ground in portions of southern Saskatchewan and Alberta. Instead of flowing over the ground, most moisture received now in this area will be absorbed. Gray said pools of runoff will form in Manitoba, where temperatures have been cold enough to freeze the ground and snowfall has been above average. The recent heavy, wet snow that topped 60 centimetres in parts of southwestern Manitoba and southeastern Saskatchewan has bumped up the spring wetland conditions to very good in these areas. The recent precipitation received in southern Alberta and southwestern Saskatchewan will be beneficial to farmers and will have variable impact on the area's habitat conditions.
"Weather conditions on the Prairies are cyclical, moving from wet to dry. The previous years of moisture have ensured that most waterfowl will find the water they need this spring,'' Gray said.
Beyond the Prairies, waterfowl habitat conditions in eastern and western Canada range from good to excellent, with the exception of drier than usual conditions in eastern Ontario. Spring rains are anticipated to improve the situation in the area.
Ducks Unlimited is a private, nonprofit, charitable organization dedicated to conservation of wetlands for the benefit of North America's waterfowl, wildlife and people.
