Anyone know why the bluebill limit has jumped up so much?

Cody Williams

Cody Williams

Well-known member
The other post got me wondering, for as long as I've been hunting ducks in Utah the bluebill limit has been 3 a day with a shortened season, where no bluebills were allowed to be taken in the last 2 weeks. This year they raised the limit to 7 scaup of any kind a day and we can hunt them the whole 107 day season. While I'm glad for the increased opportunity, I can't help but wonder if that's a sustainable management plan. Anyone know the biology behind this?
 
I have a couple of friends who are waterfowl biologists and apparently there has been significant disagreement between various biologists on the state of the scaup populations for several years. According to a couple of documents I read this year they also changed the model they use to estimate the population. I am guessing that these two factors are in play this year with your liberal bag limits.
 
The short answer is there are more of them, quite a few more. I'm not privy to any inside info but from looking at how the management has been going the past couple decades there seems to be a thought that you should use the resource while it is there. Stockpiling doesn't seem to work at all.

You have a very limited time frame that you are judging scaup from. Just because the numbers have risen after the limit was lowered doesn't mean it had much to do with it. As I understand it their nesting habitat has been in better shape as of late, that trumps pretty much everything else.

Tim
 
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Check my older posts on this subject.
Basically, the numbers bottomed out back in 2006 and have steadily increased ever since. The breeding population estimate this year is 5,238,600, which is slightly above the Long Term Average. And they are still the 3rd or 4th most populous ducks in North America as well.
Breeding Population Estimates for Scaup
2006: 3,246,700 (Lowest Estimate on Record)
2007: 3,452,200
2008: 3,738,300
2009: 4,172,100
2010: 4,244,4000
2011: 4,319,300
2012: 5,238,600
LTA: 5,024,000

With this population number, the Scaup Model prescribes a liberal season of 4 birds/day in the Eastern & MS flyway, 7/day inthe Central and Pacific.
 
Thanks for the info Carl. I still have the Fed regs from years ago when Scaup were Bonus ducks, and had their own season in some places.

Sure will be good to see them Rip over the decoys again. First decoys I ever bought were Bluebills...in 1964.
 
Thanks for the info guys. I hope that the population stays high! Nothing like a squadron of bluebills ripping through the decoys in the am.
 
Don't get used to it, our biologist said its most likely for just this year.

Eddie
Click to expand...


That will all depends on next years numbers.
If they stay up, then we'll see another liberal season.
If population numbers fall, then we'll switch to moderate or restrictive.
No way to tell until next year.
 
We are going to get 7 a day here in Wa this season,, sounds like fun to me !!!

Can't wait for the late season with cold temps and beautiful drake greaters
 
I have to agree with you Carl. We get lots of bluebills although I think more are lessers than greaters.

IMG_6415.jpg

 
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This is the goal of this season. I set a goal of 1 or 2 specific species to get for the wall each year. This year it is a drake broadbill. I painted 3 doz old hand-me-down dekes for this season. The most important goal this year is for my son to knock down a flying duck, any duck, so long as it is flying!
 
Can anyone guess how I really feel?

DUPlate.jpg


I really don't shoot too many of them.

When I was too young to hunt, my Dad used to do a lot of Duck Hunting up on Lake Erie. I remember him talking about the sky being black with them back then. By the time I was old enough, he became ill and gave up hunting. He gave me a couple old, plastic, no-name mallard decoys painted as Bluebills. They're all gone now.

The Regal Scaup has always held a special place in my heart.

Jon
 
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