re: Duck population IF a full season was cancelled

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the ducks will stay around until they absolutely can't find food which takes a lot of snow or ice compared to just frozen water.

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Mallards are also really good about following the freeze line. Even though they will stick around even during hard freezes and snow cover if there is open water to roost on, they will push ahead of the freeze line when forced to and then once it warms up, they will follow it right back up. That's why you sometimes get pretty wild movements on radio tracked birds from roosting locations to feeding sites during big storms.

I am not sure ducks did this back in the day but after years and years of ducks following this blueprint, they have certainly imprinted to this new migration pattern.