Arkansas Duck Counts
Average historic waterfowl distribution, 2013-2022
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Arkansas duck counts, by the numbers...
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Mid-to-Late November
40% Mallards, 60% Other Duck Species
Early November in Arkansas usually brings success to those with access to irrigation, as much of the duck-attracting land Arkansas is known for is still relatively dry. Coupling this with the fact that, on average, the majority of the duck species in the state at the time are non-Mallard puddle ducks, and some great hunting opportunities exist in field settings in November.
On average, duck counts for areas of the state outside of the Arkansas Delta are fair in the month of November, and numbers trend pretty steadily throughout the season. The western extent of the Arkansas River system, and the Red River system in the southwest portion of the state, are two areas to keep in mind if targeting some of the state’s lesser-known areas in November.
Historically, the Arkansas Delta holds a relatively moderate amount of ducks, with respectable concentrations on the Lower White and Lower Arkansas rivers in Arkansas County, and the Cache, L’Anguille and St. Francis rivers in the northeast portion of the state.
Mid December
53% Mallards, 47% Other Duck Species
As cooler weather pushes the early migrators out, and mallards increase in numbers across the state, ducks begin congregating in and around the green tree reservoirs Arkansas is famous for. Historically, in December you can’t go wrong across much of the Arkansas Delta, but relative to the eastern portion of the state, the Red River and western extent of the Arkansas River decrease in relative concentration of duck numbers.
The L’Anguille, Cache, St. Francis and the White river systems in the northeastern portion of the state, and the confluence of the White and Arkansas Rivers with the Mississippi usually hold moderate numbers of ducks during the month of December, as these river bottoms—and their green tree reservoirs the state is known for—begin attracting large numbers of migrating Mallards.
Early-to-Mid January
62% Mallards, 38% Other Duck Species
Generally speaking, the long-term average of total duck numbers in Arkansas does not change significantly between mid-December and early-to-mid January, but the amount of mallards relative to other species increases drastically. Meaning that as the season wears on and as the early migrators move south, Mallards increase in abundance throughout the state.
Similar to in December, duck counts for the entirety of the Arkansas Delta in January are respectable, with moderately high concentrations on the Lower White and Lower Arkansas rivers. However, historically the areas surrounding the St. Francis River, the Cache River bottoms and Bayou DeView has the highest relative amount of ducks.
About the Arkansas Waterfowl Distribution Maps
Migration Station’s waterfowl distribution maps are contour maps created with a combination of historic migration data and harvest data from the US Fish & Wildlife Service which aim to display relative waterfowl distributions over certain periods of time throughout the season. These maps take into account Arkansas duck counts, goose counts and general migration reports.
Due to the nature of contour creation and our methods of averaging large amounts of data from over a long period of recent history, this information is intended to represent a rough approximation. As such, these maps are meant to be illustrative in nature only, and actual concentrations vary year to year depending on a a variety of factors such as, but not limited to, weather, hunting pressure, available habitat, etc.
If you have any questions about the maps, please feel free to contact us. For more information about data quality and (lack of) warranty, please view our Terms & Conditions.
