Using its hunter survey, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates the harvest of ducks and geese across 3,115 counties and census units within the contiguous states. It reports 10-year averages. We compared duck positions with goose positions for 49 states and also for counties. Only 5 states overlap across the top 10 lists, while only 3 counties hold a national position within the top 10 for each bird. A combined "waterfowl" ranking therefore directs some hunters toward country that ranks for the other bird.
KEY FINDINGS
- The duck and goose lists share only 5 states within their top 10: Texas, North Dakota, Arkansas, Minnesota and California.
- Maryland's duck position is 31st; its goose position is 4th. Louisiana places 1st on the duck list and 17th on the goose list.
- Florida places 21st in duck harvest versus 49th in goose harvest, giving it the biggest gap across the 49 states ranked.
- Only 3 counties hold a top 10 national position for each bird: Colusa County, California; Vermilion Parish, Louisiana; and Arkansas County, Arkansas.
IState Ranks
Switching from ducks to geese removes half the states from the top 10
State positions in the survey depend on estimates of how many birds hunters killed. The lists below put each bird's top 10 beside the other.
Swipe table to see every column
| Rank | Duck harvest | Goose harvest |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Louisiana | Texas |
| 2 | California | Minnesota |
| 3 | Arkansas | California |
| 4 | Texas | Maryland |
| 5 | Minnesota | North Dakota |
| 6 | Missouri | Michigan |
| 7 | North Dakota | New York |
| 8 | Wisconsin | Arkansas |
| 9 | Washington | Illinois |
| 10 | Oregon | Pennsylvania |
Five states occupy spots on both lists: Texas (duck rank 4th, goose rank 1st), Minnesota (5th, 2nd), California (2nd, 3rd), North Dakota (7th, 5th) and Arkansas (3rd, 8th). The duck top 10 also includes Oregon, Louisiana, Washington, Missouri and Wisconsin, all absent from the goose top 10. The opposite pattern holds for Pennsylvania, Maryland, Illinois, Michigan and New York.
IIBiggest Gaps
For six states, duck and goose positions are far apart
Of the 49 states ranked, six show the largest gaps between their positions for duck harvest and goose harvest.
Swipe table to see every column
| State | Duck rank | Goose rank |
|---|---|---|
| Florida | 21 | 49 |
| Maryland | 31 | 4 |
| Pennsylvania | 35 | 10 |
| Mississippi | 14 | 36 |
| Colorado | 33 | 15 |
| Louisiana | 1 | 17 |
Florida's duck rank is 21st, compared with a goose rank of 49th. Mississippi's positions are 14th and 36th, respectively. Louisiana takes the national lead in duck harvest, with a goose position of 17th. The pattern flips for Maryland, whose duck position is 31st and goose position is 4th; Pennsylvania, at 35th and 10th; and Colorado, at 33rd and 15th. A hunter consulting only the duck top 10 state list would find none of Maryland, Pennsylvania or Colorado there.
IIICounty Ranks
County rankings separate the birds even more
Below are all counties with a national top 10 position in duck harvest, goose harvest or both.
Swipe table to see every column
| County | Duck rank (national) | Goose rank (national) |
|---|---|---|
| Merced County, CA | 1 | 69 |
| Cameron Parish, LA | 2 | 29 |
| Vermilion Parish, LA | 3 | 9 |
| Terrebonne Parish, LA | 4 | 1934 |
| Arkansas County, AR | 5 | 5 |
| Colusa County, CA | 6 | 4 |
| Plaquemines Parish, LA | 7 | 942 |
| Butte County, CA | 8 | 13 |
| St. Tammany Parish, LA | 9 | 1261 |
| St. Bernard Parish, LA | 10 | 622 |
| Colorado County, TX | 12 | 1 |
| Glenn County, CA | 13 | 8 |
| Wharton County, TX | 24 | 2 |
| Weld County, CO | 129 | 7 |
| McLean County, ND | 175 | 10 |
| Kent County, MD | 260 | 3 |
| Queen Anne's County, MD | 379 | 6 |
Louisiana parishes account for six of the ten leading duck counties; California has three, and Arkansas has one. The ten goose leaders span seven states: North Dakota, Texas, Louisiana, Maryland, Colorado, Arkansas and California. The overlap is only three counties: Vermilion Parish, Louisiana (duck rank 3rd, goose rank 9th), Arkansas County, Arkansas (5th, 5th) and Colusa County, California (6th, 4th).
Other rows illustrate how widely the positions can differ. Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, places 4th in duck harvest but 1,934th in goose harvest. Kent County, Maryland, holds the goose position of 3rd and the duck position of 260th. Weld County, Colorado, has a goose position of 7th and a duck position of 129th.
IVMethod and Limits
Where these rankings come from
Both lists use the Service's survey under the Harvest Information Program. On its harvest survey website, the agency explains that a state's harvest estimate equals the average ducks killed per hunter multiplied by the total duck hunters. It displays results for states and regions using 10-year averages. A position combines hunter numbers, hunting effort and bird numbers; these tables cannot tease them apart. A state ranked near the front can be crowded.
State estimates are firmer than county estimates. Across contiguous states, the survey includes 3,115 counties and census units. During the past 10 years, duck harvest was recorded for 86% of those units, compared with goose harvest for 69%. The agency also says that when no harvest is reported for a unit, harvest may occur at rates the survey cannot detect. A county position in the hundreds or thousands indicates a low total-harvest ranking. It does not establish that birds are scarce or hunting is poor; treat it with no greater precision.
A decade of hunting underlies the positions. They cannot describe this year's migration or water conditions, or tell you current bag limits or season dates.
VTrip Planning
Choose your bird before choosing a destination
Identify your target bird before consulting the lists. For a duck-only hunt, the first three state positions belong to Louisiana, California and Arkansas. The first three county positions belong to California's Merced County and Louisiana's Cameron and Vermilion parishes. For a goose-only hunt, the state leaders are Texas, Minnesota and California; the county leaders are Texas's Colorado County and Wharton County, plus Maryland's Kent County. If you live nearer Maryland or Pennsylvania than the Gulf Coast, both states have goose ranks within the leading 10 (4th and 10th) and duck ranks outside the leading 10 (31st and 35th).
For a mixed-species bag, begin with the five states shared by both top 10 lists. If you want a single base camp, consider the three counties common to both county lists. Also consider counties in the table that narrowly miss a shared spot. Butte County, California, holds duck position 8th and goose position 13th; Glenn County, California, holds duck position 13th and goose position 8th. Colorado County, Texas, holds first place in goose harvest and duck position 12th. Wharton County, Texas, is second in goose harvest, with duck position 24th. All of these counties rank strongly for one bird and still place well for the other.
After narrowing your choices, put the rankings aside. Check the specific place's season dates, public access and bag limits, which the survey does not provide. Hunter numbers help determine these positions alongside bird numbers, so a highly ranked place may be crowded. The tables cannot resolve that.
NOTES AND SOURCES
- Data source: State and county harvest survey visualization files from the Harvest Information Program, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
- The agency presents its county and state survey estimates as averages over roughly 10-year periods. County estimates have limited precision.
- Bird numbers, hunter numbers and hunting effort all shape the rankings.
Fully Drawn Research is an independent data analysis desk, not affiliated with any state wildlife agency, transportation agency, mapping provider or outfitter. Fully Drawn Research is an independent data and analysis desk. This paper reports FDR's analysis of public agency data. Harvest figures describe animals reported or estimated as harvested, not population size, and reflect hunter effort and regulations as well as animal numbers.
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