Some ducks winter in our state, but most go farther south. Diving ducks winter along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, across the southern states and in Mexico and Central America. Habitat is of prime importance to ducks. Wetlands originally covered some 127 million acres in the U.S., but today more than half of those acres have been drained and converted to farmland, or developed for housing and industry. Drought periodically dries up parts of remaining wetlands, affecting duck reproduction.
Ducks are vulnerable to oil spills on coastlines where they winter or breed.
Pesticides, heavy metals and industrial pollution also harm them, either directly or by killing food plants or animals. Alaskan and Canadian arctic wetlands are crucial to geese, swans and ducks. Our southern coastal states form an important wintering ground. By the early 1900s, unregulated market killing had decimated duck populations along the Atlantic seaboard. Today, waterfowl populations in the region are stable, thanks to modern law enforcement and habitat management and preservation.