Episode #896: Mike Brasher

Jeff Stanfield & Andy Shaver are joined by the Senior Waterfowl Scientist for Ducks Unlimited, Dr. Mike Brasher. The guys dive into the numbers from the recently released Waterfowl Population Status Report.  Mike shares some of his positive takeaways from reading the report and offers his insight as to what led to the first increase in total duck numbers since 2015. They also look at specific species of ducks like the Mallard and Pintail, which both saw a decrease in numbers, and discuss what is leading to the dip in their numbers also looking at the Widgeon count being up 55% and Mike outlines different scenarios that could account for that massive increase. Mike also shares some of the areas where he is concerned about a few key factors that are vital to more baby ducks each year.