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The Whistling Ducks of Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge

10,000 Birds

On a sandbar in the center of the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, hundreds of ducks swirled around each other or lay down to take cover against the punishing wind. The waterfowl flock was made up of two very unique looking species: the Fulvous and Black-belled Whistling Ducks. I couldn’t believe it.

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Administrative Procedure for Birders: Duck Stamp Rulemaking

10,000 Birds

Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) recently sought public comments on its proposal to permanently add a hunting element to the Duck Stamp art competition. Duck Stamp sales have provided more then $800 million dollars to protect more than 5.7 The winning entry (above) featured a Wood Duck and a decoy.

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The Duck Stamp and Lack of National Wildlife Refuge Funding

10,000 Birds

The National Wildlife Refuge system is one of America’s greatest treasures. It preserves habitat, protects wildlife. Due to some erroneous numbers thrown about by Duck Stamp advocates, I feel that some explanations are in order. Funds for National Wildlife Refuge land acquisition come from several sources.

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The Duck Stamp and The Wildlife Conservation Stamp Living in Symbiosis?

10,000 Birds

The Mission of the National Wildlife Refuge System is to administer a national network of lands and waters for the conservation, management, and where appropriate, restoration of the fish, wildlife, and plant resources and their habitats within the United States for the benefit of present and future generations of Americans 1.

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Duck Numbers And Duck Stamp Sales No Longer Correlate

10,000 Birds

This has resulted in a reduction of the number of duck stamps sold. Sales of duck stamps have funded the preservation of wetlands and other wildlife habitat, which in turn has supported an increase in waterfowl populations. This has benefited both the waterfowl hunters and everyone else who likes ducks and their kin.

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Urban Birding in San Diego

10,000 Birds

In our early birding days, Erik and I had one of our most hilarious bird-related fights while looking at a flotilla of ducks in Mission Bay yelling at each other about field marks before realizing we were looking at two different ducks. We regularly find Snowy Egrets , scope out Brant , and shorebirds.

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A Modest Proposal for a Wildlife Conservation Stamp

10,000 Birds

A mockup of what a Wildlife Conservation Stamp might look like. Duck hunting is big business in the United States. Just ask whoever greenlit the A&E reality show Duck Dynasty , about a family that sells duck calls.) But what about those of us who’d rather just look at ducks than shoot them?

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