Ozotiowe Adventure Club

08/27/2024

The science NEVER stops . Huge thanks to Campus Waterfowl for sharing this episode of solid research on Mallards. Great insight into how urban mallard play into the aerial surveys, data, nesting and the fall flight. A must read:

08/26/2024

08/21/2024

The US Fish and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has posted the results of their 2024 waterfowl survey. As expected, waterfowl continue their decline. See entire survey here: https://www.ducks.org/conservation/waterfowl-surveys/2024-duck-numbers Keep in mind, that the results of this survey will dictate the harvesting of birds for the 2025-2026 season, not this upcoming season (their is a time lag due to the need to analyze the data, do an environmental impact statement required by law, and post all the data in the Federal Register). The Pintail numbers continue their downward spiral and have fallen below the threshold set by the Fed's to allow for a harvest in 2025-2026. The 2023 survey set the harvest for this upcoming 2024-2025 season. We will see how it all pans out.....

Get a detailed species-by-species breakdown of the 2024 waterfowl populations report. The USFWS Waterfowl Population Survey will help you prepare for the 2024-2025 duck hunting.

07/24/2024

Ozotiowe Adventure Club's updated web site is live. Please see us at: https://www.ozotiowe.com/ Thank you all for checking out the new web site digs.

Ozotiowe Adventure Club where you can find all the information you need to join a club, connect with fellow hunters, and discover the best hunting spots. Our platform offers a user-friendly interface, detailed club profiles, and a community forum for sharing tips and experiences. Whether you are a s...

07/16/2024

I did not know this.... Is this a common practice?

07/09/2024

The annual waterfowl breeding pair survey was performed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (and partner agencies) in May and June of 2024. The survey is available at the link: https://www.fws.gov/project/waterfowl-breeding-population-and-habitat-survey This survey will set the limits for the 2025-2026 waterfowl seasons throughout the four flyways (Pacific/Central/Mississippi/Atlantic). The 2023 survey set the limits for the upcoming 2024-2025 season (this is why most of the state's have already set their limits for the upcoming 2024-2025 season because the wildlife agencies set their seasons on 2023 data). Why a year in advance? As stated in the report, the large amount of data collected takes a very long time to analyze, publish, and create an environmental impact statement required by law. That would not leave enough time for the flyway council to set seasons for the upcoming waterfowl season(s). Of particular interest is the detailed study of the Northern Pintail limit that may lead to a change in the harvest from 1 to 3 birds per day for the 2025-2026 season. This Sprig report can be accessed here: https://www.fws.gov/story/2024-06/innovative-new-strategy-inform-northern-pintail-hunting-regulations Why the change? The language of the sprig report is clear: the USFWS is changing the threshold population (to allow a sprig harvest) from 1.75 million birds to 1.2 million birds. They are calling this "innovative" and taking hunters needs for a higher pintail harvest into account. The full report from the USFWS will be out later this summer. If the increased harvest is adopted by the Flyway Councils (which set the limits), Ozotiowe Adventure Club members will be thrilled. The large majority of waterfowl utilizing our moist soil ponds are pintail that greedily gobble up the sprangeltop, panic grass, and smartweed seeds and invertebrates that we manage for at Ozotiowe.

06/12/2024

With the 23-24 waterfowl season but a distant memory, time to get ready for next season. Since our retrievers and other sport dogs are a HUGE part of our outdoor adventures, Ozotiowe Adventure Club's ponds are available for sport dog training from April through early September. Of course members and their guests get priority, but non members can also train at Ozotiowe for a small fee. Contact us to set up a training day and we'll fit you in.

05/26/2024

The North American waterfowl management system is under attach again. Hunters and fisherman (especially hunters) have contributed HUGE amounts of money to establish 300 OF THE 580 federal wildlife refuges throughout the USA through taxes on fi****ms, ammo, and the duck stamp program. The system of management in the refuges has worked for more than 70 years, and has provided waterfowl and other wildlife with the habitat they need to survive and prosper. Now, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service thinks their is a better way: by getting rid of agricultural practices and management that are good for wildlife and for the hunters that have paid the bills to establish the wildlife areas. HUNTERS! READ THE ARTICLE ATTACHED TO THIS POST, UNDERSTAND IT, MAKE A STINK ABOUT IT WITH YOUR FEDERAL LAWMAKERS. WE ARE UNDER ATTACK AGAIN. YOU CAN CHOOSE TO IGNORE THE EFFORT TO CHANGE HABITAT MANAGEMENT ON YOUR LANDS OR YOU CAN GET INVOLVED.............THE RESULTS WILL BE NOTICEABLE............
https://www.outdoorlife.com/conservation/wildlife-refuge-predator-control-rule/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR17Xs2JXfl-5xPnyvxqFvNkByDXXF4Phi13pFy7Tt9W0D4BKtjVzzGAu4k_aem_AaeLQ_bJlDmYZM7MGsqn_xBO94okGcq5lRm5n_jN1vTa5j_yQVmB1Wnk6QdO7sC4rjetVg8t2lzGrvn7oE4zyfu_

04/26/2024

Amazing tracking data from a hen Mallard (wearing a radio backpack) as she migrates from Saskatchewan to Tennessee for the winter and back to Saskatchewan for nesting. Simply amazing......

04/22/2024

on this EARTH DAY and every day........TREES ARE THE ANSWER

04/14/2024

Who loves watching ducks swarming over a field of moist soil plants? Well, here's your 30 second fix........ducks over Ozotiowe Adventure Club. ENJOY!

04/06/2024

EVERY little bit HELPS!

The loss of wetlands continues, despite the efforts of private and public land managers to protect/enhance habitat. This report by the US Fish and Wildlife Service is disturbing and alarming. While Ozotiowe Adventure Club only encompases 80 AC's. The moist soil units, riparian, and bottom land hardwood habitats are critical for thousands of waterfowl, furbearers, and other wildlife. The attached report says it all. https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fow.ly%2Fw49P50R0erI%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR1uXjol2fk7SSZiz-_08tZGwuA5YUKTaOY4OgjAeD_gKxK9qgtKR8fvPqc_aem_AYtfkEXWBBwuR2-L8EJ1EsKeYeXBmKPoPX2o7eG5GVUf1FnT9Dt-RIkfhpcv-3UDXY6pNFQhjllslC2Yz_BWl4Lq&h=AT33NgQqwY_8_jzp_olgyRXNUR326gt6euThoElg6kxCZP4oONxAUlFT82ungn9Kziqodm2UqSEK0MZE5n_gf-Zitqix-O-HkILW9IVa5LvWaSB4yqWEJD2GtzXxjXiDvA&__tn__=R]-R&c[0]=AT2Lh_XWAenuJE7ZgP5hMYWhlSeYdasN1ad7vqyMq-aVME57abcrrqmd3zjMm348XBbBQhEoXedRACrgY1_VzS-DQchHHBa_yxPdf0GIVi3I4WdrRXUqai5x5l7apiu3xWGC3Mnfcqmg3tTGZOyq8PSANPR4xqGNgcU3dVFfddUa7HDo01C93Ceek9PDOGSSVEGzQEYZ9DvQm589rOs

WASHINGTON — A new report released by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reveals wetlands – 95 percent of which are freshwater — covered less than 6 percent of the lower 48 states as of 2019 – which is half the area they covered since the 1780s. The report also identifies that loss rates hav...

04/06/2024

What do waterfowl like ducks and geese love to eat VS. what they eat to stay healthy, and viable through migration and return to the nesting grounds? Just like many humans, waterfowl love to eat junk food. For waterfowl, that means rice, beans, corn, and grains that are left over in agricultural fields. This is called the "candy bar effect"......tastes good, but you can't live on it for very long. In reality, waterfowl eventually gravitate towards natural foods available to them in flooded moist soil (MSL) units and acorns typically found in bottomland hardwood forests BHF. Ozotiowe Adventure Club is managed specifically for these natural foods. The little known "cream of the crop" are the invertebrates.....all the creepy crawlies that hang out in the bottom of the ponds feasting on the rotting vegetation. In Ozotiowe's vegetated MSL's, ducks will frequently feed together communally, stirring up the seeds on the bottom of the MSL to float the seeds up. All ducks do this, but Northern Shovelers can be seen swimming in big circles together communally feeding. When chasing invertebrates, waterfowl spread out and feed alone to chase the creepy crawlies on the bottom. In the BHF ducks love to glean all the acorns floating on the surface with the "flotsam" that is washed in by Big Creek into the managed timber holes. The photos below are a small sampling of the natural seeds and invertebrates available to waterfowl at Ozotiowe.

04/03/2024

ONLY A TRUE DUCK HUNTER WILL GET THIS.........