Harvest doesn’t matter, but it does. DrMike explains why harvest doesn’t matter, but also how it can and does for some species. 10 things you can do to save the ducks. We respond to your hate mail. We reflect on the past 2 years of the FowlWeather Podcast. We compare and contrast the North American and Europeans models of waterfowl conservation and hunting, plus a big announcement from the Beckman Game Calls – FowlWeather Podcast collaboration. Hint – it involves duck calls – all today, on the FowlWeather Podcast.

Read em’ and Weep – Facts Matter. The FowlWeather Podcast: The forecast to your next successful hunt! 

What does the duck season for Fall and Winter 2025-2026 have in store for us? Will the ducks arrive on schedule like the good ole’ days or will it be another year of swatting mosquitoes and empty skies. It is pretty early but there are some tell tale signs showing up in the atmosphere, so DrMike sticks his neck out again to let us know what weather factors we should consider for our 25/26 duck season.

Chris Beckman is a dedicated call maker from Louisiana. His claim-to-fame is his unique designs in his flagship call, The Edison, and making the first adjustable cut-down duck call, The Groundbreaker. We meet w/ Chris to talk about the evolution of the cut down and how his advancements in duck call design make his calls, really, really, really sound like a duck.

We welcome Ethan Dittmer to The FowlWeather Podcast Young Waterfowl Professional Series. Ethan Dittmer is a PhD student at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln working with Dr. Mark Vrtiska, Dr. Jay VonBank, and Tom Bidrowski on the Southeast Kansas Mallard GPS Project. This research focuses on the wintering ecology of mallards in the region, specifically their use of public lands, sanctuary areas, and various landcover types, as well as their broader movement patterns within and beyond Southeast Kansas. Ethan pursued a career in waterfowl research driven by his passion for duck hunting on public land and is committed to conducting applied research that supports contemporary waterfowl management and conservation.

Now is the time my friends to check in on your wetlands, growing season check-ins are critically important for intervention. Water conditions have been challenging for many this year with flooding of woods and croplands throughout the southeast and rains forcing late-drawdowns in the upper Midwest and into the northeastern US. Now more than ever is the time to take the time for a growing season check-in for problem plants and infrastructure issues. DrMike gives a priority checklist for your wetland and upcoming season, all this week on the FowlWeather Podcast.

The misinformation machine is at it again and blurting out words from the many corners of the coffee shop. Blurting out words without even trying. In this episode we detail how reward banding really works and how those data are used, the legals on flooded corn, and we once again revisit the idea of calendar vs. weather migrators. It’s all so easy, but y’all keep the conspiracy train running, making it all so much more difficult than it should be. A taste about how duck population models works and we also hit on the first hints of a La Nina, that and more, all today on the FowlWeather Podcast.

We welcome Dr. Matt Dyson to The FowlWeather Podcast Young Waterfowl Professional Series. Matt is currently a Research Scientist with the Institute of Waterfowl and Wetlands Research of Ducks Unlimited Canada where he evaluates the behavioural and demographic responses of waterfowl to landscape change to improve conservation delivery. Matt joined IWWR in 2021. Matt’s doctoral research investigated the nesting ecology of ducks in the boreal forest and his Masters work was on the nesting and brood ecology of wood ducks in southern Ontario. Matt’s current research continues to advance our understanding of ducks through the evaluation and testing of management assumptions for important breeding areas, including the prairies and boreal. Matt’s work is also focused on identifying research needs and designing studies to fill key knowledge gaps in our understanding of waterfowl ecology.

Adaptive Harvest Management or AHM for setting waterfowl harvest regulations was formalized in 1995. It not only provides an objective decision-making tool, but it also helps improve our understanding of drivers of duck populations by testing competing models through time. Listen in today as DrMike details how AHM changed the duckseason setting process, plus a prairie drought update, hurricane season, and more.

Dr. Jim Dubovsky joins the FowlWeather Podcast to detail changes in the federal frameworks through time. DrJim details the history and evolution of seasons setting frameworks.

We welcome Dr. Blake-Bradshaw (Abby) to The FowlWeather Podcast Young Waterfowl Professional Series. Abby is currently a postdoctoral researcher at Forbes Biological Station located in Havana, IL where she conducts applied research across a variety of topics to inform management decisions. Current projects include studying how waterfowl respond to spatial and temporal changes in hunting intensity and evaluating temporal patterns in calling behavior of the federally listed Eastern black rail to inform future monitoring efforts for this cryptic wetland species. Abbycompleted her PhD at Tennessee Tech in Dr. Brad Cohen’s lab where she studied the influence of sanctuary disturbance, weather, and landscape characteristics on waterfowl harvest opportunity in western Tennessee. Abby also has 17 scientific publications ranging from effects of extreme weather on duck migration, how game-farm genetics affects spring migration in mallards, and marshbird use of wetlands. When not conducting waterfowl and waterbird research, she enjoys spending times outdoors birding, hunting, and fishing, playing video games, watching horror movies, and caring for her numerous house plants.