Waterfowl hunters in southern Missouri have always had to wait for time and weather to liven up their duck and goose hunting. It appears that this year may be a bit better statewide than last, thanks to improved water levels in the large reservoirs and wetlands.

Most of the southern third of the state is within the southern and southeast duck hunting zones, while the remainder is in the middle zone.

The duck season in the middle and southeast zones opened on Nov. 5 of last year and closed on Jan. 3 of this. In the south zone it opened on Nov. 25 and closed on Jan. 23.

Limits were generous in all zones with a six-duck daily limit, which could include four mallards (no more than two susies).

Andy Raedeke, waterfowl and wetland biologist for the Missouri Department of Conservation in Columbia, said that the state has between 30,000 and 35,000 duck hunters.

"On a statewide basis our duck harvest estimate totaled 396,000 birds last year," Raedeke said. "That total was down from the 2004-05 season, when hunters took an estimated 472,000 ducks. The harvest on MDC-managed hunting areas last year totaled 71,077 birds taken on 35,985 trips. The harvest rate of 1.98 ducks per trip on the state areas was down slightly from the record daily average of 2.09 set in 2000."

A check of hunter numbers and visits for some of the popular conservation areas in southern Missouri one or more times shows Otter Slough to be the most popular, drawing, in total, 2,506 hunters who made 5,826 trips to the area. Other areas' stats: Duck Creek, 1,503 hunters and 4,089 trips; Four Rivers, 1,983 and 5,059; Montrose, 375 and 744; and Schell-Osage, 1,205 and 3,280.

"The decrease in success can largely be attributed to dry conditions and low water levels all across southern Missouri," Raedeke said. "Good habitat was primarily limited to public and private areas with water-pumping capabilities. Those areas with decent habitat and available food had good to excellent hunting."

Chris Daniel, area manager of the MDC's Four Rivers Conservation Area north of Nevada, reports that last season's hunter success was down slightly from 2004's, with hunters bagging 8,900 ducks last year -- down about 1,000 birds from the previous year's take.

"Our hunting success was generally pretty good last year," he said. "Our bird-per-hunter average was slightly below 2. Our average on very good years has been 2 to 2.5 birds per hunter.

"Duck numbers usually peak in the area (depending on weather) around the first week in December. Numbers vary from year to year but at a peak we see somewhere around 100,000 ducks (mostly mallards) on the area. We also see quite a bit of shuffling of birds between this area, Schell-Osage CA, Montrose CA and Truman Reservoir."

The nearby Schell-Osage and Montrose conservation areas offer some exciting hunting for ducks and occasionally on geese, says Roger Wombwell, area manager for both units.

"We had a good season on both of the conservation areas last year," Wombwell said. "Actually, I would rate hunter success as good, or better, than we have had in a long time." Schell-Osage waterfowlers killed over 6,000 ducks; at Montrose, 1,078 ducks and 41 geese were taken.