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English summary
In the Danish wing survey for the 2002/03 hunting season, which was
carried out by the NERI Department of Wildlife Ecology and Biodiversity,
Kalø, a grand total of 10,451 wings were received from 441 contributors.
This was 751 wings less and 31 more contributing hunters
than in the 2001/02 hunting season.
Ducks were represented by 8,473 wings of which 6,036 derived from
dabbling ducks and 2,437 from diving ducks and mergansers. A total of
199 wings were collected from coot, 282 from geese, 1,306 from waders
and 191 from gulls.
The number of wings received increased for 11 of the 29 species investigated,
decreased for 17 and for one species the same number of wings
was received from both hunting seasons. The largest increases were
observed amongst mallard with 542 wings (+22% in 2001/02), coot with
133 (+208%) and long-tailed duck with 61 (+153%). The largest decreases
occurred in wigeon which decreased by 663 wings (-47%), pintail by 90
wings (-39%), goldeneye by 116 wings (-25%), and in woodcock by 214
(-22%). For the remaining species only minor changes occurred compared
to the previous hunting season.
For species for which enough wings were received to assess the breeding
success in 2002, it was demonstrated that all had a breeding season
below average except the eider for which the breeding season was about
average of the previous seasons. For teal, goldeneye and woodcock the
breeding success in 2002 was the poorest in the more than 20 years the
wing survey has taken place, and for common snipe and herring gull
the breeding season in 2002 was the second poorest.
Based on information about the precise shooting sites and dates, maps
of the geographical distribution and figures of the temporal distribution
are presented. Furthermore the sex and age composition of the bag
during the hunting season is described.
The temporal distributions of the wings demonstrated that dabbling
ducks, greylag goose and coot were bagged later in the hunting season
than in previous seasons, whereas several of the diving duck species
were taken earlier in the season than usual.
Information on hunting methods used showed that 88% of wigeons
and 75% of teals were bagged during flight hunting, especially during
late evening and early morning flights. Nearly one quarter of the
wigeons bagged during early morning flight was shot from punts. Of
mallards 69% were taken in flight hunting, and 22% were flushed birds.
Decoy birds were most frequently used during early morning flight
hunting. Thus, 81% of wigeons and 53% of mallards were obtained using
decoy birds. During late evening flight, only 11% of wigeons and
13% of mallards were bagged using decoy birds.
Amongst the diving ducks, 92% of goldeneyes were shot in flight hunting with early morning flight hunting being the predominant method used (84%). Nearly all goldeneyes bagged during early morning flight were obtained using decoy birds, and three quarters were shot from
punts. Of eider 18% were shot in flight hunting, and 77% from small,
medium-sized and large motor boats.
Amongst the geese, 62% were bagged during early morning flight, 15%
during late evening flight and 12% during day flight.
Amongst the waders, 45% of common snipes were bagged in flight
hunting and 50% by use of pointers flushing the birds. Amongst the
woodcocks, 69% were bagged by use of pointers and 24% by hunting
with beaters.
Amongst the gulls, 53% were shot during flight hunting and 44% from
small, medium-sized and large motor boats.
For the 29 species included in the wing survey the total bag for the
2001/02 season was calculated based on information from the official
bag statistics and the species composition obtained in the wing survey
of the same season.
The bag of the group 'Other dabbling ducks' increased by 400 to 129,400
birds in 2001/02. The bag of the specific species differed only little from
those of the previous season. The mallard bag decreased by 7% to 591,300
specimens.
Amongst the diving ducks the eider bag decreased from 86,400 in 2000/
01 to 77,400 in 2001/02. The bag of the group 'Other diving ducks' decreased
by 6,400 to 32,400 in 2001/02 of which the long-tailed duck,
common scoter and velvet scoter were responsible for most of the decrease.
The bag of merganser increased by 500 individuals to 1,300 birds.
In 2001/02 the total bag of the group 'Geese' was 22,100 specimens, and
it was the second highest number ever recorded, but due to the few
goose wings received it was not possible to calculate the bag of the
specific species included in the group. However, the greylag goose constituted
the vast majority (probably about two thirds) of the 'Geese' bag.
The bag of the common snipe decreased by 4,300 to a total of 19,200 specimens, and the bag of Jack snipe was 2,100 birds. The woodcock bag was 38,900 individuals in 2001/02 and thus the second highest ever recorded. Amongst the gulls, herring gull (18,900) was most frequently
bagged followed by greater black-backed gull (10,000).
The annual bag of the dabbling duck species, which has been calculated
since the late 1960s, showed a stable or increasing trend for all
species except for pintail, shoveler and garganey. The bag of the two
last mentioned species has diminished by one half or more.
Amongst the diving ducks the annual bag decreased for all species during
1966 - 2000. The decrease has been most pronounced for tufted duck
of which the bag has dropped from a number of 30,000-40,000 birds in
the late 1960s and early 1970s to less than 4,000 in the latest five seasons.
Also for eider, common scoter, velvet scoter, long-tailed duck,
pochard, scaup and goosander the decrease in the bag has been marked.
For the goldeneye and red-breasted merganser the decrease has been
less pronounced. The decreasing bags of these species seem to some
degree to have been caused by changes in both hunting traditions and
restrictions on the hunting methods to be used. However, it cannot be
ruled out that decreases in the overall populations or changes in the
winter distributions for some species may have impacted the bag size.
For the eider a significant decrease in the late 1990s in the Danish winter
population has been documented.
The annual bag of geese has been increasing steadily since 1972.
The annual bag of snipes has decreased from 70,000-80,000 birds since
the late 1960s and early 1970s to 25,000 specimens in the mid-1980s at
which level it has stabilised. The common snipe constitutes 90% and
the Jack snipe 10% of the total snipe bag. The woodcock bag has been
increasing steadily since 1972.
The annual bag of gulls has been decreasing from more than 200,000
birds in the mid-1970s to 30,000 in the beginning of the 21st century.
Also the annual coot bag has dropped from more than 100,000 specimens
in the 1970s to 15,000-20,000 in the 1990s.
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