Waterfowl staging

Duck numbers appear to be up for the Pacific Flyway region and while Canada goose numbers appear to be down slightly, the big birds should provide plenty of good hunting this season, biologists say.

Washington has relaxed species restrictions on ducks this year, giving waterfowlers a little more leeway in making sure their daily limit has the right prescription of species.

Bag limits for scaup, pintails and canvasbacks have been increased reflecting overall improvement in their abundance, said Mikal Moore, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife waterfowl specialist.

Hunters can take up to two pintail ducks (of either sex) in their daily seven-duck bag limit.

Also hunters again can shoot canvasback ducks this year, but no more than one a day.

Incidentally, Moore has been surveying urban Canada geese. She’s learned that most of the young geese produced on Washington’s parks and golf courses are harvested the first year – in Saskatchewan.