Characteristics of waterfowl harvest by foreign hunters in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina

I recorded duck harvest by groups of foreign hunters in the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina for the 2002 – 2004 hunting seasons. Mean harvest rate was 15,9 ducks/hunter/hour, with morning hunts having a higher harvest rate, and mean unretrieved birds was 10,5%. Twelve species were recorded in the harvest with three, Rosy-billed pochard (Netta peposaca), Brown Pintail (Anas georgica), and Speckled Teal (Anas flavirostris) comprising at least 80% of the ducks killed for all years. Major differences in species composition of the harvest among years are likely due to differences in patterns of precipitation. Sex ratios of sexually dimorphic species in the harvest ranged from 1,3:1 to 3:1 males to females. These differences can partly be attributed to hunters selecting males over females. Interannual variations in species composition are consistent with the few investigations of waterfowl harvest in austral South America, however, how much these differences are due to choices in wintering grounds or to changes in populations can not be determined because of an absence of migration and population data. These data highlight the need for well conducted population estimations and migratory studies of the regions waterfowl if an assessment of sport harvest, and how it is affecting populations of duck species within the southern cone of South America, is to be accomplished.