Waterfowl hunters have imperfect waterfowl identification skills

Waterfowl management in North America is informed by detailed harvest data including the number, sex, and species of all waterfowl harvested. These data are often self-reported by waterfowl hunters via online surveys or... [ view full abstract ]

Waterfowl management in North America is informed by detailed harvest data including the number, sex, and species of all waterfowl harvested. These data are often self-reported by waterfowl hunters via online surveys or harvest report forms. For harvest management programs to be successful, it is critical that self-reported harvest data are precise and accurate. If this assumption is not met, harvest data may be biased and subsequent management efforts (e.g., sex and species harvest limits) may be misinformed. We surveyed waterfowl hunters in Kansas, USA immediately after the 2017-2018 waterfowl season to assess their ability to identify waterfowl species and sex. Hunters were asked to complete an online survey via a handheld device at multiple non-profit events that were focused on waterfowl hunting. Our survey included photographs of breeding-plumage ducks that are commonly harvested in the Central Flyway in North America. Respondents had imperfect identification skills that were not influenced by hunter age or number of years hunting waterfowl. Identification was imperfect for all species and sexes, with ring-necked duck (Aythya collaris) and lesser scaup (Aythya affinis) having the greatest misidentification rates. Because our survey included high-definition photographs of breeding plumage waterfowl, or results likely underestimate true misidentification rates.  Our results suggest there may be a potential bias in self-reported waterfowl harvest data. Future research should focus on incorporating potential bias estimates into hunter-harvest models.