Local Waterfowl Habitat Shrinking Fast

These days open water is a scarce item around this neck of prairie

With the onset of winter local waterfowl are faced with either jumping ship for warmer, more user friendly climes or toughing it out in a habitat that grows increasingly smaller with each passing cold front. Those that stay are forced into larger and larger concentrations, huge flocks swarming whatever limited food resources and open water with an urgency that defines the idea of survival of the fittest. The draw of course is that around here most of the grain fields remain snow free or close enough and many of the ducks and geese currently living in the area are no doubt refugees from harsher landscapes. Yesterday one pivot contained so countless mallards and just about as many geese. The geese were sort of spread out in bunches but the mallards packed in such they looked almost connected.