I just got back from southeast ND today. There were three of us in our group. We hunted five days, walking about 9 miles a day on Plots and some private land. We saw fewer birds than last year in the same general area. The public land, Plots was sparse hunting. Most of the Plots were clipped for hay. A lot of the previous private lands were changed into more productive farm land meaning less cattails, sloughs and habitat. It was hard work getting the few birds we did get. It is still a fun activity. Bird count is less important as we old hunters get older. Change comes hard in some parts of our lives. I will still hunt, hoping for better bird numbers, keeping the tradition going.