After more than two years of flying over and taking note of ducks along the South Platte River corridor, biologists not only got a feel for how many ducks there are, but also for the places in which the birds spend their days. Hunters in the area have long complained that the ducks aren't migrating there in anything like the numbers they once did. Aerial surveys, however, disproved that theory. As it turned out, the ducks simply avoided the places that experience had shown were crawling with waterfowlers lying in wait.

"These birds know how to avoid the gun, and they do a very good job of avoiding hunters," one biologist reported, adding that they often steer clear of danger by roosting on large reservoirs instead of on small rivers.

Those kinds of reports bode well for a split waterfowl season, even if -- as is the case in Alabama -- there aren't a whole lot of ducks to "educate" during the initial hunting dates. The majority of hunters who pine for a late, straight, unsplit season would do well to reconsider: With no letup in the action, the ducks could learn quickly and become scarce later on, perhaps resulting in slower action than is provided by the split sessions.

The regular duck season in Alabama typically begins with a two-day hunt just after Thanksgiving, followed by a much longer session from early December on through the end of January. There are exceptions -- such as was seen last year, when hunting canvasbacks was allowed only from the end of December through the end or January.

Hayden expects no major changes this year. The post-Thanksgiving hunt has become such a family tradition, he observed, that he doubts that his agency will scrap it.

PUBLIC-LAND HOTSPOTS
For those without access to a private duck pond, Alabama has numerous public lands bordering major waterways. The following tracts generally receive a thumbs-up from the state's waterfowlers.

The Eufaula National Wildlife Refuge has been around since 1964. It spans both the Alabama and Georgia shores of the Chattahoochee River, covering nearly 8,000 acres in Barbour and Russell counties as well as 3,231 acres in Stewart and Quitman counties in Georgia. This popular waterfowling destination offers quota hunts: Applications must be filled out and returned to the refuge office, and the limited hunting slots are awarded by random drawing.

After paying a fee of $15 beforehand, successful applicants are issued a non-transferable permit for a specific Saturday at Alabama's Kennedy Impoundment or for Wednesday on Georgia's Bradley Impoundment. Hunting ceases at noon. All other areas within the refuge are closed to waterfowl hunting.

Non-permitted hunters may show up on the mornings of each hunt to act as standbys. Unclaimed blinds that hold no more than three hunters are then allotted by drawing.

For more information on the Eufaula National Wildlife Refuge and its hunts, log on to www.fws.gov/ eufaula.

North Alabama waterfowlers have several options, chief among them the 1,483-acre Mallard-Fox Creek Wildlife Management Area in Limestone County -- basically a block of Wheeler Lake's southern shoreline that encompasses numerous small creeks and sloughs. Across the river lies the much larger Swan Creek WMA, which straddles Lawrence and Morgan counties; it covers almost 9,000 acres. Permanent blinds are available by lottery drawings.

A northwest Alabama site frequented by ducks and, thus, duck hunters is Seven Mile Island WMA. This tract covers 4,685 acres near Florence.