If you have spent much time outdoors lately, you have probably noticed that everything is incredibly beautiful and in full bloom.

In Augusta, Georgia, the Masters Golf Tournament is about to begin and people around the world will be able to tune in on television to see those beautiful pink Azalea bushes that line most prestigious country club on the planet. If you listen closely you will even be able to here the birds chirping.

Here in Southeast Texas, it doesn’t look quite like Augusta National, but it is indeed prettier now than it will be any time of the year. Our birds are singing as loud as a choir of angels.

As you may or may not know, it is mating season for these birds and many of them are on their nests and beginning to hatch their young. I confess that I enjoy watching these birds as well as the many waterfowl species that can be found in our area.

On the property that I call home, we have eleven Mallard Ducks. The originals were bought as tame ducks a few years ago and fly all around the property but never go too far.

Several weeks ago it became obvious that they were already into their breeding season. The males would gang up on the females for several days, and then eventually the females would no longer be seen. I knew that they were hiding in the high grass and probably spending most of their time sitting on nests.

Two weeks ago we saw one hen swimming in the pond. She was being followed by nearly a dozen ducklings.

It always excites me when I see these ducklings, and I am always hopeful that they will survive to adulthood and increase my little flock. However, every year it ends the same. One by one the baby ducks begin to disappear. Some to raccoons, some to snakes, some to hawks, and others to a cat or dog. Eventually they are all gone and only the eleven originals remain.

As I noticed my ducklings beginning to vanish one by one, I began to consider the plight of waterfowl ducklings across the country.  I began to think that it is a miracle that we have any ducks at all!  Not only do I enjoy watching ducks, I love to hunt them, and I train duck dogs for a career. It is very important to me that the duck population is sustained for the future.

So here is the question that I found myself asking …what can I do to help the future number of ducks either maintain or increase? With a little bit of research, I came up with an answer.

There are two major waterfowl organizations that help ducks. The first one is very famous, well supported, and highly effective.  Everyone has heard of Ducks Unlimited.

Their main premise in a nutshell is to acquire property that will be conducive to breeding grounds for ducks.  Without ample breeding grounds in the proper regions, we will eventually have less ducks.

Thousands of acres of wetlands are destroyed yearly and Ducks Unlimited tries to save these as well as to create new ones.  This has been a great program for years and it needs to be supported and continued. However, it is not enough.

Part of the problem that ducks face is having no place to hatch their young. The other problem is having the eggs survive long enough to hatch and then having the ducklings survive long enough to be able to fly. This is where the second organization steps in. This organization is not nearly as famous, but is equally important.  They are Delta Waterfowl.

Like Ducks Unlimited, Delta Waterfowl is concerned with preserving and promoting waterfowl hunting for future generations. However, their focus is on increasing the success of the hatch through two main methods.

One method is the placement of Hen Houses. These are specially made nesting houses made specifically for mallard hens to raise their young. It has been proven that these nests can improve nesting success to 60 to 80 percent survival rate. The ground nesting mallards in the same area would likely have less than 10 percent success.

The second tool Delta Waterfowl implements is predator control. Red foxes, skunks, badgers, and raccoons play havoc on duck eggs in much of the countries’ prime nesting habitat. Through trapping these predators, Delta Waterfowl is able to increase the nesting success exponentially.

As a life long duck hunter, I have noticed that many hunters either supported one organization or the other. However, it is my opinion that we need to help both because they both help us. As waterfowlers, we need to all work together to preserve and promote the future of our sport.

My advice is to go online and join both organizations. Once you are a member, get involved in a local chapter for each one. This will take some time and commitment, but it’s a great way to give back to the sport, to help introduce kids to hunting, and to make a few friends along the way.

Always remember that if you have any comments about hunting or fishing in general, or maybe a question about duck dog training, feel free to contact me. May God richly bless you as you enjoy His great outdoors!

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Brian Johnson, originally of Port Neches, is pastor of the Outdoorsman’s Church in Winnie, owner of DuckDogTrainer.com and outdoors writer for The News.