Lowell Washburn Special to the Globe Gazette

When the days grow cooler and autumn winds shift to the north, Iowa duck hunters can expect to encounter good numbers of waterfowl during the 2025 hunting seasons. Although six of the 10 key surveyed species showed a slight to moderate increase, a combined survey total of 34 million ducks (in traditional surveyed areas) remains essentially unchanged from 2024, according to the results of this year’s North American Breeding Duck and Habitat Survey released this week by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

1] Mallard brood (2).jpg

A hen mallard escorts her brood across a North Iowa wetland. Rebounding from the effects of a severe, four-year drought, Iowa wetlands rapidly…

2] Spring Pintails.JPG

Pintails showed a healthy increase during 2025 but

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