The end of the 2021/2022 waterfowl season at the Kern National Wildlife Area revealed some interesting stats for the number of birds checked in and the per hunter average take.
970 adult and 65 junior hunters (1035 hunters total) harvested a total of 1814 Northern Shovelers, 69 Mallards, 321 Gadwall, 415 Widgeon, 396 Pintail, 787 Green Wing Teal, 88 Cinnamon Teal, 47 Redheads, 9 Canvasbacks, 21 Ring Necks, 1 Scaup, 101 Bufflehead, 1 Goldeneye, 4 Blue Wing Teal, 6 Eurasian Widgeon, and 16 Ruddy Ducks. In addition, there was also 1 Snow Goose, and 6 White Fronted Geese taken at Kern this season. 15 Coots were also checked in for the 2021/2022 season at Kern. This figured out to a total of 4103 Ducks and Geese or, with the Coots included, 4118 waterfowl taken for the season. The per hunter average take for 2021/2022 season came out to 3.96 Ducks and Geese per hunter or, with the Coots added in, 3.98 waterfowl per hunter.
This is where I would usually compare this season’s counts and averages and the + or – on the number of each species taken this season compared to last season but due to Kern’s late opener this year, shortening the season by 8 hunt days, there is no way to make a fair comparison or one that would actually reflect the real difference, one way or the other, between the seasons. So, there you have it, the year-long stats for the Kern National Wildlife Refuge. Overall Kern actually had great averages most of the season once it finally opened. Hopefully, next season won’t have a delayed opener. If next season opens on time I won’t be able to compare it with this one, for the same reasons I couldn’t fairly do a comparison this time, but if it is delayed again for the same amount of hunt days we could do a comparison next year. Hopefully, Kern will get the water they need for a regular opener and the breeding populations will do their thing up north and we’ll get the weather needed to drive the duck south early in the season and things will improve next season.
The waterfowl average harvest at the Kern National Wildlife Refuge Military Vets/Active Duty Hunt resulted in a great average for our Military Heroes. Shovelers took the first position for number of ducks bagged with Cinnamon Teal showing up in the second spot. The Kern NWR Staff reported that the results for the Military Vet/Active Duty Hunt on Saturday, 2/12/22 were as follows:
14 Military Vets/Active Duty Hunters checked in with 16 Shovelers, 1 Mallard, 9 Gadwall, 10 Widgeon, 8 Pintail, 9 Green Wing Teal, and 11 Cinnamon Teal. No Geese or Coots were taken by Vets/Active Duty Personnel at Kern on Saturday. This figured out to an average harvest of 4.57 ducks per gun and, of course, with no Geese or Coots to consider in the total, 4.57 waterfowl for each Hunter. Out of 4 reservations cards issued all 4 showed up in time to claim their hunting spot.
So, there you have it, the final hunt of the 2021/2022 season for the Kern National Wildlife Refuge. Congratulations to all the Military Vets/Active Duty Hunters who participated in the harvest.
Watch here for the Kern National Wildlife Refuge season long stats report soon.
The end of the 2021/2022 season at the Wister Unit of the Imperial Wildlife Area revealed the following stats for the number of birds taken and the hunter averages.
5239 adult and 289 junior hunters (5528 hunters total) checked in a total of 1650 Northern Shovelers, 216 Mallards, 680 Gadwall, 784 Widgeon, 1447 Pintail, 3291 Green Wing Teal, 1271 Cinnamon Teal, 34 Redheads, 23 Canvasbacks, 190 Ring Necks, 39 Scaup, 317 Bufflehead, 17 Goldeneyes, 30 Blue Wing Teal, 2 Wood Ducks, 0 Surf Scooters, 17 Mergansers, and 331 Ruddy Ducks. In addition, there were 0 Cackling Geese, 16 Canada Geese, 3 Ross’ Geese, 481 Snow Geese, and 11 White Front Geese bagged at Wister this season. 174 Coots were checked in for the 2021/2022 season. This worked out to a total of 10851 Ducks and Geese or, with the Coots added in, 11025 waterfowl. The per hunter average take for 2021/2022 figured out to 1.96 Ducks and Geese per hunter or, with the Coots included, 1.99 waterfowl per hunter.
In comparison to last season, there were 63 fewer adult hunters this season over last and there were 113 fewer junior hunters for a total of 176 fewer hunters accommodated in the 2021/2022 season compared to the 2020/2021 season. (This includes the Junior Hunters from the Junior Hunt weekend and the Veteran/Active Duty Military personnel for the special military post-season hunt). As for the birds, I’ll list them with a plus by the number or a minus by the number to indicate how many more or less of each type of bird was bagged this season over last.
There were -432 Northern Shovelers, -146 Mallards, -580 Gadwall, +424 Widgeon, -159 Pintail, -14 Green Wing Teal, -761 Cinnamon Teal, -77 Redheads, -4 Canvasbacks, +74 Ring Necks, no change for Scaup (39 this season, 39 last season), +28 Bufflehead, +3 Goldeneyes, -7 Wood Ducks, -1 Blue Wing Teal, +4 Mergansers, -5 Surf Scooters (0 this season), and -44 Ruddy Ducks. As for the Geese numbers, there were -2 Cackling Goose (0 this season), +12 Canada Geese, -69 Ross’ Geese, +17 Snow Geese, and +11 White Front Geese (0 last season). There was also -59 Coots bagged this season. This was a total of -1736 Ducks and Geese taken and, with the Coots included, -1795 waterfowl taken this season compared to last season. The per hunter averages were -0.25 Ducks and Geese or, with the Coots included, -0.26 waterfowl this season over last season.
So, this season shows a decrease in almost all of the species of waterfowl taken, some very substantially, with only Widgeon, Ring Necks, Bufflehead, Goldeneyes, Mergansers, Canada Geese, Snow Geese, and White Front Geese showing any increase. Of the species that showed an increase, only Widgeon showed any substantial increase with all the others only slightly increasing. However, many of the species that showed a decrease had quite a substantial decrease. Also, the stats show a slight drop-off in hunters utilizing Wister this season compared to last. Hopefully, we’ll get some weather up north early next season to drive the birds south. Also hopefully, we’ll have a large breeding population this year and more birds migrating down next season. Hope to see you out there next season.
The post season Military Vets/Active Duty Hunt at the Wister Unit of the Imperial Wildlife Area resulted in a great average for the Hunters on Saturday. Green Wing Teal were the most numerous bird checked in with Shovelers taking the second spot. The Wister Staff reported that the waterfowl take for the Military Vets/Active Duty Hunt on Saturday, 2/12/22, were as follows:
73 Military Vets/Active Duty Hunters bagged 57 Shovelers, 4 Mallards, 23 Gadwall, 22 Widgeon, 17 Pintail, 60 Green Wing Teal, 51 Cinnamon Teal, 2 Ring Necks, 1 Scaup, 8 Bufflehead, and 20 Ruddy Ducks. No Geese were checked in by the Hunters on Saturday. The Military Vets/Active Duty Hunters also downed 2 Coots on Saturday. This worked out to an average of 3.63 ducks per gun or, with the Coots included, 3.66 waterfowl per person. Out of 100 reservations issued, 30 arrived on time for their spot.
The average take of waterfowl for Sunday, the second day of the Military Vets/Active Duty Hunt weekend, at the Wister Unit of the Imperial Wildlife Area produced a good average bag. Green Wing Teal retained the first spot for number of birds checked in with Widgeon showing up to take over the second position. The Wister Staff reported the waterfowl take for the Military Vets/Active Duty Hunt on Sunday, 2/13/22 were as follows:
28 Military Vets/Active Duty Hunters checked in with 6 Shovelers, 6 Gadwall, 11 Widgeon, 17 Green Wing Teal, 10 Cinnamon Teal, 1 Bufflehead, and 4 Ruddy Ducks. There were 2 Snow Geese brought into the checked in by the Hunters on Sunday. The Military Vets/Active Duty Hunters didn’t bag any Coots on Saturday. This came out to an average harvest of 1.96 ducks per Hunter and, with the Geese included in the count, 2.04 waterfowl per gun. Out of 100 reservations issued only 9 showed up to claim their spot.
With that, the 20210/2022 Waterfowl Season at the Wister Unit of the Imperial Wildlife Area is in the books. Watch for SoCalHunt’s Season-Long Stats report for Wister coming here soon.
The conclusion of the 2021/2022 waterfowl season at San Jacinto Wildlife Area showed some interesting stats for the number of birds harvested and the per hunter averages.
4282 adult and 303 junior hunters (4585 hunters total) harvested a total of 2833 Northern Shovelers, 255 Mallards, 735 Gadwall, 436 Widgeon, 306 Pintail, 2338 Green Wing Teal, 387 Cinnamon Teal, 41 Redheads, 31 Canvasbacks, 239 Ring Necks, 17 Scaup, 291 Bufflehead, 35 Goldeneye, 0 Wood Ducks, 4 Blue Wing Teal, 17 Mergansers, and 308 Ruddy Ducks. In addition, there were also 2 Aleutian Geese, 2 Cackling Geese, 8 Canada Geese, 1 Ross’ Goose, 12 Snow Geese, and 1 White Front Goose taken at San Jacinto this season. 303 Coots were also checked in for the 2021/2022 season at SJ. This figured out to a total of 8299 Ducks and Geese or, with the Coots included, 8602 waterfowl taken for the season. The per gun average take for 2021/2022 season came out to 1.81 Ducks and Geese per hunter or, with the Coots added in, 1.88 waterfowl per hunter.
In comparison to last season, there were 520 fewer adult hunters this season over last and there were 79 fewer junior hunters for a total of 599 fewer hunters accommodated in 2021/2022 season compared to the 2020/2021 season. (This includes the Junior Hunters from the Junior Hunt and the Veteran/Active Duty Military personnel for the special military post-season hunt). As for the birds, I’ll list them with a plus by the number or a minus by the number to indicate how many more or less of each type of bird was bagged this season over last.
There were +1285 Northern Shovelers, -208 Mallards, -182 Gadwall, +234 Widgeon, -79 Pintail, +686 Green Wing Teal, -924 Cinnamon Teal, -142 Redheads, -7 Canvasbacks, +79 Ring Necks, -12 Scaup, -10 Bufflehead, +25 Goldeneye, -11 Wood Ducks (0 this season), +4 Blue Wing Teal (0 last season), +8 Mergansers, and -181 Ruddy Ducks.
For the Geese numbers there were +2 Aleutian Geese (0 last season), +2 Cackling Geese (0 last Season), +6 Canada Geese, +1 Ross’ Geese (0 last season), Snow Geese no change (12 this season, 12 last season), and -1 White Front Geese.
There were also -453 Coots bagged this season. This was a total of +573 Ducks and Geese taken compared to last season and, with the Coots included, +120 waterfowl taken this season compared to last season. The per hunter averages were +0.32 Ducks and Geese or, with the Coots included, +0.24 waterfowl this season over last season.
In contrast to last season, these numbers show overall an upward trend in general although some species’ take was up and others were down over last season. There were also fewer hunters this season than last and also fewer Junior Hunters which resulted in an increase in the per hunter average take with fewer hunters taking more birds. Hopefully, we’ll get some good rains between now and the end of our rainy season to start refilling the little that is left of Mystic Lake and we’ll get some well-timed weather up north early next season to send the birds down to us. We can also optimistically hope there will be a great spring hatch up north and the numbers will rise for the 2021/2022 season.
San Jacinto Wildlife Area’s Military Vets/Active Duty Hunt on Saturday, February 12th, resulted in an outstanding average take for our Military Heroes in attendance. Green Wing Teal were the number one bird bagged by the Military Vets/Active Duty Hunters with Shovelers in the second spot. Tom Trakes, from San Jacinto Wildlife Area, reported that the waterfowl take for the Military Vets/Active Duty Hunt on Saturday, 2/12/22, was as follows:
66 Military Vets/Active Duty Hunters took home 71 Northern Shovelers, 9 Mallards, 37 Gadwall, 2 Widgeon, 20 Pintail, 73 Green Wing Teal, 33 Cinnamon Teal, 2 Redheads, 1 Canvasback, 5 Bufflehead, 1 Goldeneye, 1 Blue Wing Teal, and 20 Ruddy Ducks. 3 Canada Geese were taken by the Hunters on Saturday. There were 2 Coots bagged by the Military Vets/Active Duty Hunters on Saturday. This came out to an average take of 4.17 ducks per gun or, with the Geese and Coots added in, a 4.24 waterfowl average for each Hunter. Tom advised that out of 52 reservations issued 21 arrived on time to claim their spot.
So, that completes the 2021/2022 Waterfowl Season at San Jacinto Wildlife Area. Watch for SoCalHunt’s San Jacinto season long stats report here soon.
Tom Trakes, from San Jacinto Wildlife Area, advised that the first volunteer work day for the upcoming season at San Jacinto Wildlife Area will be Saturday, March 12th. This work day will be primarily for cleaning up the blinds and the general hunting areas around them. Due to state COVID-19 policies masks will be used and we will adhere to social distancing, working in small groups. Tom advised that volunteers should meet at the check station at 6:30 AM and anyone coming out to volunteer should bring gloves, sunscreen, mosquito repellant, lots of water since it may be warm and, of course, a mask.
After the work is done, we will get together at a local restaurant for a well-deserved lunch (each person responsible for their own bill).
Hopefully, we’ll have a good turnout so we can get the blinds and hunting area cleaned up to get started on preparations for another waterfowl season. As I always say, the more the merrier (and the less work for each person).
If you have any questions contact Tom Trakes at the San Jacinto headquarters at (951) 236-3040, or the San Jacinto staff at (951) 928-0580.
(Don’t forget to check the photos at the bottom of this page – Click on the picture for a full-sized image)
The end of the season Junior Waterfowl Hunt/Event was, as always, outstanding and the Junior Hunters in attendance enjoyed very good waterfowl hunting. As usual, besides the hunting, the lunch event/prize giveaway was again outstanding also. Many great prizes were given out at the lunch giveaway at mid-day.
This year a great breakfast of doughnuts, coffee, and chocolate milk was provided to the Junior Hunters and their adults. Quail Forever provided the doughnuts for the hungry Junior Hunters.
After a quick breakfast, the Juniors and their accompanying adults headed out to their assigned hunting spots to get set up and await the sound of the starting time horn. The hunting was good this year and several of the Junior Hunters even scored limits. There were even a couple of geese harvested by the Junior Hunters.
When lunchtime rolled around everyone assembled back at the Check Station workshop for lunch and the prize giveaway. Lunch was great, consisting of grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, pulled pork (donated by John Ross of Dee’z Boy’z BBQ in Hemet), chips, and even a large pot of Tom Trakes’ Special Chili.
There was a great deal of support for this year’s Junior Hunt and most of the Junior Hunters received at least two prizes each! The prizes ranged from gun cases, decoys, fishing rods, blind bags, and other assorted hunting and outdoor gear. Needless to say, all the junior hunters went away happy. There were several “Grand Prizes”. Two shotguns (one donated by Blue Collar and the other purchased from Bass Pro Shops using some of the funds from the earlier raffle of two shotguns, one of which was provided by Bass Pro, the other by Quail Forever), two bird mounts (from Simon’s Taxidermy), a rifle and two puppies (one donated by Chaz Prato, the other by Brian Crosby). I’m sure all the Juniors went away happy this year.
After the lunch and prize giveaway, most of the Junior Hunters who hadn’t already limited out went back to their blinds to finish their day’s hunting.
The Junior Hunt was, as it always is, an outstanding event for our Junior Hunters, the future of our sport. It is vital to keep our Junior Hunters interested and involved in waterfowl hunting and the San Jacinto Wildlife Area’s Annual Junior Waterfowl Hunt is a great way to keep them interested. Every year I hear adult hunters reminiscing about their days participating in the SJWA Junior Hunt, and even some that are now bringing their kids to carry on the tradition.
Tom told me he’d like to thank, as well as I would myself, everyone who donated prizes, food, labor or anything else towards this event. We all should also thank the San Jacinto crew for going the extra mile to help make this event happen we all appreciate all your hard work.
Tom also asked me to extend a special thanks to Bass Pro Shops. Bass Pro made several donations, donated a shotgun to the shotgun raffle, and assisted with the shotgun raffle prior to the event to raise money for prizes. Also, thanks to Toni Bever of Quail Forever for donating a shotgun for the raffle at Bass Pro Shops to raise money for prizes, as well as donating the morning doughnuts, and also putting in a full day+ working the event from start to finish. Also, thanks go out to Valley Wide Recreation Center for once more providing the chairs and tables for the event. The money raised by the BPS Shotgun raffle was used to purchase more prizes for the Juniors.
So, the 28th Annual San Jacinto Junior Waterfowl Hunt is in the books. Check out the pictures below, which are only a small sample of this great event. Of course, due to space, there’s no way to post every picture but the below images should give you a really good idea of how this superb event for our Junior Hunters went down.
I’ve tried to mention everyone who donated items or volunteered to work the event. There were so many great sponsors and so many that supported the Junior Hunt event with prizes, assistance, and food that I’m sure I’ve missed a few so please forgive me and know that it wasn’t intentional. I’ve posted a picture of the sponsors’ banner below so you can check it out.
Here’s a heads up for everybody also! The first post-season SJWA volunteer clean-up work day is tentatively set for Saturday, March 12th. Mark your calendars and watch for the “official” notice with time and details here on SoCalHunt very soon. This is the first step in a long process to get San Jacinto ready for our next waterfowl season so here’s hoping we can get a good turnout for the clean-up day.
Now, check out the pictures of the Junior Hunt event below. I’ll just let the pictures do the talking.
San Jacinto Wildlife Area’s 28th Annual Junior Waterfowl Hunt on Saturday, February 5th, resulted in a very good average harvest for the Junior Hunters in attendance. Shovelers were the number one bird checked in by the Junior Hunters with Green Wing Teal showing up in the second spot. Tom Trakes, from San Jacinto Wildlife Area, reported that the waterfowl take for the Junior Hunt on Saturday, 2/5/22, was as follows:
101 junior hunters took home 104 Northern Shovelers, 6 Mallards, 23 Gadwall, 2 Widgeon, 11 Pintail, 66 Green Wing Teal, 15 Cinnamon Teal, 1 Canvasback, 1 Bufflehead, and 19 Ruddy Ducks. 1 Canada Goose and 1 White Fronted Goose were taken at the Junior Hunt on Saturday. There were 12 Coots bagged by the Junior Hunters on Saturday. This figured out to an average bag of 2.46 ducks per Junior Hunter or, with the Geese and Coots included in the total, a 2.59 waterfowl average for each Junior Hunter. Tom advised that out of 50 reservations issued 25 of the Junior Hunters arrived on time to claim their spot.
Ok, that’s it for the Junior Hunters for the 2020/2021 season. If you’re a Veteran or an Active Duty Military Member you also have one more chance this season. The after season Veteran/Active Duty Military hunt, which will be held on Saturday, February 12th at San Jacinto. Hopefully our Vets and Active Duty Heroes will take advantage of this opportunity. Here’s hoping our Vets and Active Duty have a great hunt! If you don’t have a reservation for the Vets/Military Hunt you can still get in on the sweatline drawing, just like any regular hunt day, by showing up at SJ at 3 AM to get your name in on the sweatline drawing. For more information, contact the staff at San Jacinto at 951-928-0580. And, to all our Vets and Active Duty, thank you for your service.
The waterfowl average take at the Kern National Wildlife Refuge Junior Hunt resulted in a great average for the Junior Hunters’ attending. Shovelers were found in first position for number of ducks checked in and Green Wing Teal took the second spot. The Kern NWR Staff reported that the results for the Junior Hunt on Saturday, 2/5/22 were as follows:
30 junior hunters came away with 34 Shovelers, 1 Mallard, 6 Gadwall, 20 Widgeon, 16 Pintail, 30 Green Wing Teal, 3 Cinnamon Teal, 1 Redhead, 3 Eurasian Widgeon, 1 Blue Wing Teal, and 2 Bufflehead. There were no Geese or Coots bagged by the Juniors at Kern on Saturday. This came out to an average harvest of 3.90 ducks per Junior Hunter and, of course, with no Geese and Coots to figure in to the total, 3.90 waterfowl for each Junior. Out of 12 reservation cards issued 7 Junior Hunters arrived on time to claim their spot.
If you’re a Veteran or an Active Duty Military Member you have one more chance this season. The after season Veteran/Active Duty Military hunt which will be held on Saturday, February 12th at Kern NWR. Hopefully, our Vets and Active Duty Heroes will take advantage of this opportunity. Here’s hoping our Vets and Active Duty have a great hunt! If you don’t have a reservation for the Vets/Military Hunt you can still get in on the sweatline drawing, just like any regular hunt day, by showing up at the Kern Hunter Check Station on the Refuge 2 ½ hours before local shoot time and the “sweat line” drawing is performed 2 hours before shoot time, the day of the hunt, also at the Refuge Hunter Check Station. And, of course, thanks for your service.
The Junior Waterfowl Hunt weekend at the Wister Unit of the Imperial Wildlife Area yielded a very good average harvest for the Junior Hunters in attending on Saturday. Shovelers and Green Wing Teal tied for the first spot for the most numerous bird bagged with Widgeon taking the second position. The Wister Staff reported that the waterfowl take for the Junior Hunt on Saturday, 2/5/22, was as follows:
40 Junior Hunters checked in with 29 Shovelers, 3 Mallards, 9 Gadwall, 15 Widgeon, 12 Pintail, 29 Green Wing Teal, 4 Cinnamon Teal, 1Scaup, 6 Bufflehead, 1 Blue Wing Teal, and 4 Ruddy Ducks. 2 Snow Geese taken by the Junior Hunters on Saturday. No Coots were knocked down by the Junior Hunters on Saturday. This came out to an average bag of 2.83 ducks per Junior Hunter and, with the Geese added to the total, 2.88 waterfowl per Junior Hunter. Out of 104 reservation cards issued to the Junior Hunters 17 showed up in time to claim their spot.
The average bag of waterfowl for Sunday, the second day of the Junior Hunt weekend, at the Wister Unit of the Imperial Wildlife Area Dropped a bit from Saturday’s very good average. Ruddy Ducks took over the first position for most numerous bird checked in with Snow Geese taking the second spot. The Wister Staff reported the waterfowl harvest for the Junior Hunt on Sunday, 2/6/22 was as follows:
11 Junior Hunters checked in with 1 Shoveler, 3 Gadwall, 4 Widgeon, 1 Pintail, 1 Cinnamon Teal, 2 Canvasbacks, and 6 Ruddy Ducks. 5 Snow Geese were downed at the Junior Hunt on Sunday. 1 Coot was taken by the Juniors on Sunday. This figured out to an average take of 1.64 ducks per Junior Hunter or, with the Geese and Coot included in the total, 2.18 waterfowl per Junior Hunter. Out of 104 reservation cards issued to the Junior Hunters only 6 arrived on time to get their spot.
If you’re a Veteran or an Active Duty Military Member you also have two more chance this season. The after season Veteran/Active Duty Military hunt, which will be held on Saturday and Sunday, February 12th and 13th at Wister. Hopefully, our Vets and Active Duty Heroes will take advantage of this opportunity. Here’s hoping our Vets and Active Duty have a great hunt! If you don’t have a reservation for the Vets/Military Hunt you can still get in on the sweatline drawing, just like any regular hunt day, by showing up at Wister to get in on the drawing by 10:30 PM the night before. Reservation spots are given out starting at 3 AM and the “sweat line” spots given out after that. For more information, contact the staff at Wister Staff at 760-359-0577. And, of course, thanks for your service.
SoCalHunt 
You must be logged in to post a comment.