A solid understanding of duck habitats will
make you a better land manager. By Brad Fitzpatrick
Wetlands 101
DUCKS DON’T EXIST within a
vacuum. They rely on complex
wetland ecosystems that provide
them with food, shelter, and nest-
ing habitat, and that’s an important
consideration for private land man-
agers trying to attract more birds to
their land. If you’re serious about
increasing the number of birds on
your property in the long term you
need to have a basic understand-
ing of wetland habitats and the role
ducks play in a much larger natural
system.
Dr. Craig Davis is the Bollenbach
endowed chair of wildlife manage-
ment at Oklahoma State University
specializing in wetland ecology. His
30 years of experience in wetland
habitat research and his background
as a waterfowl hunter give Dr. Davis
a unique perspective on what works
and doesn’t work when it comes
to land management for ducks and
geese, and while he supports efforts
to preserve critical wetland habi-
tat, he advises land managers that
focusing solely on birds may be
counterproductive.
“Wetlands are dynamic systems,”
Dr Davis says. Over a season or over
several years, wetlands will natu-
rally dry and fill up, and as they go
through these wet and dry cycles the
plant structure and composition of
Duck country
32 WILDFOWL Magazine | September 2019 wildfowlmag.com
...on the same planting routine
than theirs.