MSU Extension Gamebird Program

🦆 NOW HIRING: Seasonal Waterfowl Banding Assistants!

The MSU Extension Gamebird Program is hiring seasonal assistants to support waterfowl banding and GPS telemetry research in the Mississippi Delta.

This position provides hands-on experience with waterfowl capture and banding, GPS-GSM transmitter deployment, field research, and data collection while working alongside university researchers, agency biologists, conservation partners, and private landowners.

Applicants should be currently enrolled in or have graduated from a B.S. program in wildlife science, biology, ecology, or a related natural resources field. Previous waterfowl experience is preferred, but not required. Waterfowl hunters and enthusiasts are encouraged to apply!

This position involves working in challenging field conditions, including cold weather, rain, mud, flooded wetlands, early mornings, late evenings, weekends, and nighttime field operations.

📢 Ready to apply? The application link is in the comments!

Applications will be reviewed as they are received and the positions will remain open until filled.

A big thank you to The Standard Sportsman for inviting James Callicutt to join them for an informative conversation about waterfowl science and management!

During the episode, James discusses mallard movements, food preferences, the importance of water on the landscape, and how waterfowl research can help inform duck hunters and conservation efforts.

We appreciate the opportunity to share science-based knowledge and discuss ways to better understand and conserve our waterfowl resources.

Be sure to give the episode a listen! 🎧

Thank you again to The Standard Sportsman for the invitation!

Last week, the MSU Gamebird Program team headed into the Mississippi Delta to retrieve a GPS transmitter from a hen mallard that was banded and fitted with a transmitter on February 12, 2026.

With the help of a private landowner, we gained access to a wetland where the transmitter was still emitting a signal, helping us narrow down its location. Our team took on the challenge of searching through some majorly thick brush, following the signal and putting in the work to locate the transmitter. After plenty of searching, we successfully retrieved it!

Why is transmitter retrieval important? Recovering GPS transmitters allows us to reuse this valuable equipment in future research, helping us continue tracking waterfowl movements, habitat use, and behavior. Reusing transmitters supports the continuation of our research while making the most of the resources available to our program.

We are grateful to private landowners who provide access and support our research efforts throughout the Mississippi Delta!

We were proud to be part of the Mississippi Waterfowl Conservation Summit and truly enjoyed the opportunity to spend the day with so many people committed to the future of waterfowl and wetland conservation in Mississippi.

The Summit brought together landowners, hunters, land managers, agency professionals, researchers, and conservation organizations for thoughtful discussion about the challenges and opportunities facing waterfowl conservation across our state.

We especially appreciated the opportunity to share some of the work underway at Mississippi State University and to hear the perspectives of others working across Mississippi’s wetlands and working landscapes.

Events like this are a great reminder of how much can be accomplished when people come together, share ideas, and work toward common goals.

Thank you to MDWFP for bringing everyone together and for allowing us to be part of such a valuable conversation. We look forward to continuing the work alongside hunters and our many other partners across the state.

Registration for the Mississippi Waterfowl Conservation Summit is closing soon! 🦆🌾

Don’t miss the opportunity to join fellow waterfowl hunters, biologists, researchers, land managers, and conservationists for a day focused on the future of Mississippi’s waterfowl and wetlands.

Come learn, connect, and be part of the conversation shaping waterfowl conservation across Mississippi.

Registration won’t be open much longer — secure your spot today!

The 2026 breeding duck survey tells a mixed story, and the habitat behind those numbers deserves our attention.

Overall duck numbers changed little from last year, and improved May pond numbers are encouraging. But mallards remain about a quarter below their long-term average, pintails are nearly half below average, and total ducks remain below average. Several other species are doing relatively well.

On the breeding grounds, water and nesting cover work together. Wet years can support strong duck production, even as grassland acreage declines. During drought, however, nesting cover cannot compensate for a shortage of functioning wetlands. Protecting both helps maintain the landscape’s ability to produce ducks when favorable conditions return.

That is a concern worth keeping in view: habitat loss may affect how strongly populations can rebound after drought. Rain can refill an intact wetland, but restoring a drained basin or replacing converted nesting cover takes conservation work.

Here in Mississippi, these breeding population estimates also won’t tell us exactly how many ducks we’ll see this winter. Migration weather, breeding success, and habitat conditions along the flyway all help shape our season.

But Mississippi has a role in what happens to the birds that come south. Are we providing enough quality wintering habitat, with dependable water, adequate food, and places to rest to meet their needs throughout winter?

That’s part of the conversation we’ll be having at the Mississippi Waterfowl Conservation Summit. From prairie nesting cover to Mississippi’s wetlands and working agricultural lands, conserving ducks requires landowners, managers, hunters, and conservation partners working together across the flyway.

A huge thank-you to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Canadian Wildlife Service, and all the state, provincial, and conservation partners who collect, analyze, and report these data each year. Their work gives us the long-term perspective we need to understand waterfowl populations and guide conservation.

Drake or hen? Look twice.

In the summer, it can be harder to tell.

After the breeding season, Wood Ducks go through their annual molt. Molting is the process of shedding old feathers and replacing them with new ones.

For male Wood Ducks, this means temporarily losing the bright green, purple, white, and chestnut feathers that make them so recognizable.

What happens during the molt?

Male Wood Ducks replace all of their feathers, including their flight feathers. Because the flight feathers are lost, they become temporarily flightless and spend this vulnerable period in secluded areas with plenty of cover.

During this time, males enter eclipse, or non-breeding, plumage. Their new feathers are much duller and can make an eclipse drake look surprisingly similar to a hen.

As the molt progresses, the drake grows a fresh set of flight feathers and regains the ability to fly in late summer. His bright breeding plumage returns later in the fall.

So how do you tell an eclipse drake from a hen?

Eclipse Drake
• Bright red-orange eye
• Brighter, more colorful bill with red, white, and black tones
• May retain muted traces of his white cheek and throat markings
• Duller overall body plumage than a breeding drake

Hen
• Dark brown to charcoal eye
• Duller, dark grayish-black bill
• Distinctive white eye-ring
• More uniform grayish-brown body plumage

The takeaway: If a Wood Duck looks like a hen during the summer, don't assume it's a hen. Take a closer look at the eye, bill, and facial markings. That drab-looking bird may actually be a drake in eclipse plumage.

Source: Mississippi State University Extension Service, Wood Ducks in Mississippi

During dove hunting season you might encounter more than just Mourning Doves, two other species of doves are often spotted in Mississippi. The Eurasian Collared Dove, and the less common White-Winged Dove. Here are some identifying features of each species to help with identification on the dove field.

Mourning Dove:
A slender, familiar dove found across much of North America. Their mostly plain brown and gray plumage is accented by black spots on the wings and a long, pointed tail with white spots along the edges that are especially noticeable in flight. Their distinctive, mournful coo is one of the most recognizable bird calls in North America.

Eurasian Collared Dove:
A large, pale brown dove that has rapidly expanded across much of North America after being released in the Bahamas in the mid-1970s and spreading to Florida and beyond. . They can be identified by their narrow black collar around the back of the neck and large white patches on the outer tail feathers. Their broad, pointed wings and relatively large size also help distinguish them from Mourning Doves. They have a distinctive, deep three-part call.

White-Winged Dove:
A medium-to-large dove native to the southwestern United States, Mexico, and Central America that has expanded its range north and east over time. In Mississippi, White-winged Doves are found primarily in southern portions of the state. They are generally grayish-brown overall, but their most recognizable feature is the bold white patch along the wings, which becomes especially noticeable when the bird is in flight. They also have bright red-orange eyes, blue skin around the eye, and a dark cheek line.

Know the Regulations

Identifying the dove, you're looking at is important—not only for learning the species, but also for knowing which regulations apply while hunting.

Mourning Dove & White-winged Dove
•Both are migratory game birds and are hunted during Mississippi's established dove seasons.
•Mississippi's daily bag and possession limits apply to these species.
•Mourning and White-winged Doves are counted together toward the applicable dove bag limit.
Eurasian Collared-Dove
•Eurasian Collared-Doves are a non-native species and are regulated differently from Mourning and White-winged Doves.
•Hunters should be certain of their identification before harvesting a bird.

Always check the current Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks regulations for season dates, shooting hours, bag limits, possession limits, and any other requirements before heading to the field.

Dove Season Is Only Weeks Away: 5 Things You Can Still Do to Improve Your Field

Dove season is right around the corner, but there is still time to make improvements to your hunting area. At this point, the goal isn't to grow a new crop — it's to make the food already available easier for doves to find and use.

1. Expose the seed : 🌻
Doves are ground feeders and relatively poor scratchers. Simply having seed in a field isn't always enough. Mow or shred strips through mature sunflower or millet to open up the canopy and expose seed on the ground where doves can easily find and pick it up.

2. Create exposed ground :
Disk strips or areas within your field to create bare ground. Exposed soil makes it easier for doves to locate and access seed rather than having to search through thick vegetation.

3. Open up natural food sources : 🌱
You don't have to rely entirely on a planted dove field. Seed-producing grasses and forbs can provide valuable food for doves. Look for areas with natural food sources, including plants such as woolly croton, and consider opening up portions of these areas so the seed is easier for birds to access.

4. Make sure water is nearby :💧
Look at the relationship between your feeding area and available water. Doves can use pastures and other areas where food and exposed ground are close to a reliable water source. Don't overlook water when evaluating your hunting area.

5. Scout before you manage :🔎
Before doing too much last-minute work, watch where doves are already feeding, landing, watering, and traveling. You may find that you don't need a traditional prepared dove field at all. Pastures with cattle trails or other heavily used areas can provide exposed ground, while scrub oaks can provide nearby loafing or perching areas.

The goal is simple: seed + exposed ground + water + loafing or perching areas.

With only weeks to go, focus on making the food that's already there more accessible instead of trying to grow something new. Sometimes the best dove field is already on your property — you just have to make it easier for the birds to use.