Do we really know what's going on with the duck numbers?

I was born in 1980, and I can honestly say I've been an avid duck hunter since the mid-1990s. I’ve gone every year, multiple times a year, and for many years, I was pushing 40 duck and goose hunts a season. I was never a full-time guide—plenty of guides ran more hunts than I did—but I did guide, and when I was younger, I hunted waterfowl almost every chance I got.

We had a lease in Grand Chenier, south of Highway 82, in arguably one of the best marshes in the area. I'm not exaggerating when I say flocks of 100 teal would come through regularly. They were so thick, anyone with a shotgun was going to knock down at least three, assuming your gun had three shells. I can remember taking a young Garrett Cole, owner of Vendetta Waterfowl, on a youth hunt, and the gray ducks were relentless. He limited out in no time, and they just wouldn't stop flying. But I've hunted everywhere from Four-Mile Square in Johnson Bayou all the way east to Klondike and up to Pine Island. In my youth, the ducks and geese were just there. That's not to say there weren't down days, but the good days far outnumbered the bad ones.

And then, things just got worse.

The birds weren't there like they had been; mallards were almost non-existent, but at least we still had the grays (gadwall) and teal. Then they started to decline, too. Hunters started questioning their decisions to pay so much for leases, blinds, decoys, a hunting dog, and a camp. What was going on? The USFWS kept saying we still had birds, so where were they? They surely weren't in the same Louisiana marshes they had always used.

Y'all, we still have a lot of marsh with plenty of food. Coastal erosion is real, but we still have a lot of habitat left. Yes, farmers don't flood as much as they used to, but crawfish farmers do. Granted, crawfish ponds aren't as good as natural shallow ponds, and the boats scare them out, but if the birds are actually down here and aren't getting shot at, they're going to use the available water. I'm just thinking out loud, but if we have the total duck numbers the agency claims we have, those ducks should be more concentrated in the remaining habitat. But that's simply not the case.

So let's brainstorm and look at all the reasons waterfowl hunting isn't what it once was:

• The waterfowl numbers aren't what the USFWS says they are.

• Louisiana has lost a tremendous amount of coastal marsh.

• Increased hunting pressure and surface-drive boats.

• Warmer winters.

• Increased feeding up north (corn and short-stopping).

• Loss of breeding habitat.

• Overharvesting by massive commercial guide services.

That's seven plausible reasons why the numbers are down. But I can tell you, number five—short-stopping and northern feeding—is probably the most controversial. And here is why: even if all the other six were entirely true, historically, Louisiana would still winter and harvest more birds than any other state. The numbers say we still do, but it's nothing like it used to be. Louisiana was just naturally the most attractive wintering grounds for waterfowl. Year after year, even when continental populations dipped, the ducks would still show up in the Pelican State. Now, they don't. The mallards and many of the puddle ducks have stopped mid-continent.

So I'll leave it at that. Something unnatural has happened. Louisiana is usually at the bottom of the barrel at most things, but when it comes to waterfowl hunting, the Lord blessed us with the habitat and the right spot at the bottom of the Mississippi flyway, but now that's being taken away. One thing- that was the one thing we were blessed with. Great waterfowl hunting. Well, great food too.