A conservation collaboration aims to better understand the population decline of northern pintails

In the serene wetlands and sweeping grasslands of North Dakota, an iconic waterfowl species takes flight – the northern pintail. These charming dabbling ducks were once one of the most abundant duck species in North America.
While waterfowl as a group have actually increased in population size, a few species, including the pintail, have seen population declines since the 1950s. So, to address a “bird of management concern,” a collaboration in the Central Flyway has emerged to unravel the mysteries about their migration, where they breed, and where they winter, to help inform not only our basic understanding of pintails, but also our management actions in both conservation delivery and harvest management.