Warm Weather Makes For Bad Duck Hunting in Mt. Sinai

A mild winter means ducks don’t have to seek out food and shelter in tidal waters like Mt. Sinai harbor, making duck hunters less than happy this year. According to one local hunter and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, migratory patterns have also been affected by the warmer weather.

“I think it would be safe to say that the warm weather has been a factor in this year's waterfowl harvest,” said Bill Fonda, with the state DEC office at Stony Brook University.

He said that hunters have described the hunting season a being a poor one to DEC staff.

In colder weather, according to Fonda, bodies of water will naturally freeze over concentrating waterfowl in certain areas, giving hunters an advantage.

Craig Kessler, a resident of Stony Brook, has been waterfowl hunting on Long Island for more than 50 years and this is the one of the slowest seasons he’s ever seen.

Kessler knows all about the local environment. He’s the former regional director of Ducks Unlimited, a national organization dedicated to the conservation of waterfowl habitats. His territory included local harbors like Mt. Sinai, Port Jefferson and Stony Brook.

“Last year the duck hunting was quite good,” said Kessler, pointing out that the area experienced a severe winter with a dozen or so storms.

When there’s snow and freezing cold, ducks and other waterfowl have to feed and find shelter in tidal water areas that don’t ice up. He also said that colder weather forces birds to migrate south for the winter but this year they may not have had to.

The warm weather might also cause other hazards for hunters. Earlier this year a .

Fonda agreed that the birds might have stuck closer to home this year.

“The warmer weather might also be impacting migratory patterns, as northern birds may travel south based on how cold it is where they are and the availability of food in these areas,” he said.

The worse the weather is, the better it is for hunting. During storms, hunters know where the birds go.

“Hunters take advantage of nasty conditions,” said Kessler.

This year things are different. With a mild winter almost every duck hunter in the area is seeing a dramatic difference.

“We harvested a third of the ducks we normally would,” Kessler said.