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Ducks Unlimited Canada’s Pintail Initiative

Northern pintails were once among North America’s most common waterfowl species. Over the last several decades, however, populations have declined. Northern pintails are slowly disappearing before our eyes.

The Problem

Since the mid-1960s, pintail populations in the Prairies of the United States, in Alaska and northern Canada have remained relatively stable. However, in southern Canada—namely southern Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba—populations have declined dramatically.

This points to the problem—and the solution—likely being in the Canadian Prairies. The solution to stopping the downward spiral of one of Canada’s most graceful and elegant ducks lies in our very own backyard.

With this information in hand, Ducks Unlimited Canada’s (DUC) biologists have identified key factors in Prairie Canada that are likely contributing to pintail decline.

Pintails, more than any other duck, will nest in cropland. The practice of summerfallowing, where farmers intentionally give cropland a rest from production every second year, may have once provided pintails with nesting habitat that was relatively ‘safe’.

However, since the 1970s, nearly 13 million acres of summerfallow have been converted to annual crops. This massive land-use change sees more pintails nesting in cropland habitats that will likely be disturbed by farm machinery.

Pintails will not renest as persistently as other duck species. Therefore, they are likely less well adapted to deal with nest loss than other ducks.

The Solution

Recognizing the serious plight of the pintail, DUC has created its first species-specific conservation program for pintails. The primary program components include:

• Conversion of Marginal Cropland to Grassland

  Research has identified that conversion of cropland to perennial forages (grass) can improve pintail nesting success.
  
  In a study conducted over two years, researchers searched over 2,000 acres of hayland for duck nests. They found that pintails, on average, hatched one nest every 142 acres, nearly 10 times the number typically observed in spring-seeded cropland.
  
  Winter Wheat
  Studies have shown that fall-seeded crops, like winter wheat, generate a great number of pintail nests, and greater success in hatching ducklings, than spring-seeded crops.
  
  Fall-seeded cereal crops are an alternative crop that benefits pintails as well as producers. These crops give nesting pintails a better chance at success, and help producers out by requiring less chemical inputs and offering greater production.

• Conserving Pintail Habitats

  Shallow wetlands that typically form in the spring in gently rolling grasslands are preferred pintail habitat. Recognizing the specific needs of these birds, DUC staff are using state of the art targeting tools and are working with landowners to conserve these lands using land-use agreements and by partnering with other organizations.

• Policy

  The landscape change necessary to benefit pintails in the southern Canadian Prairies is extensive—thus, DUC is thinking big. The types of policy programs DUC is pursuing, such as watershed management and recognizing the societal benefits of wetlands, ultimately contribute to DUC’s Pintail Initiative.

• The Ask

  Over the next 25 years, the Canadian Prairie portion of the Pintail Initiative is projected to cost $50 million. Learn more about how you can help conserve habitat for these beautiful but declining birds. The time to act is now.