The “ton” has become today’s standard measure, a loosely defined quantity signifying a large amount. Students grumble about “tons of homework.” The impoverished describe Bill Gates as having “tons of money.” Waterfowl hunters occasionally report seeing “a ton of ducks.”

This raises a key question: How many ducks constitute a “ton”?

A related issue involves the harvest. How many tons of ducks do we kill each season?

To answer these questions, we begin by listing each species, the average weight of each species, and resulting number of ducks per ton, assuming 2,000 pounds per ton. The average weight is determined by averaging the average live weight for adult males, adult females, juvenile males and juvenile females of each species, as estimated by Frank C. Bellrose in The Ducks, Geese & Swans of North America (1980).

Puddle Ducks

A ton of mallards totals 791 ducks, assuming an average weight of 2.53 pounds.

A ton of black ducks t781 ducks, assuming an average weight of 2.56 pounds.

A ton of pintails totals 995 ducks, assuming an average weight of 2.01 pounds.

A ton of gadwall totals 1,058 ducks, assuming an average weight of 1.89 pounds.

A ton of widgeon totals 1,176 ducks, assuming an average weight of 1.70 pounds.

A ton of wood ducks totals 1,379 ducks, assuming an average weight of 1.45 pounds.

A ton of shovelers totals 1,429 ducks, assuming an average weight of 1.40 pounds

A ton of blue-winged teal totals 2,151 ducks, assuming an average weight of .93 pounds.

A ton of cinnamon teal totals 2,632 ducks, assuming an average weight of .76 pounds.

A ton of green-winged teal totals 2,899 ducks, assuming an average weight of .69 pounds

Diving Ducks

A ton of canvasbacks totals 755 ducks, assuming an average weight of 2.65 pounds.

A ton of redheads totals 930 ducks, assuming an average weight of 2.15 pounds.

A ton of greater scaup totals 909 ducks, assuming an average weight of 2.20 pounds.

A ton of lesser scaup totals 1,176 ducks, assuming an average weight of 1.70 pounds.

A ton of ring-necked ducks totals 1,299 ducks, assuming an average weight of 1.54 pounds.

A ton of common goldeneyes totals 1,010 ducks, assuming an average weight of 1.98 pounds.

A ton of Barrow’s goldeneyes totals 1,163 ducks, assuming an average weight of 1.72 pounds.

A ton of ruddy ducks totals 1,852 ducks, assuming an average weight of 1.08 pounds.

A ton of buffleheads totals 2,174 ducks, assuming an average weight of .92 pounds.

Sea Ducks

A ton of common eiders totals 515 ducks, assuming an average weight of 3.88 pounds.

A ton of king eiders totals 562 ducks, assuming an average weight of 3.56 pounds.

A ton of white-winged scoters totals 656 ducks, assuming an average weight of 3.05 pounds.

A ton of black scoters totals 851 ducks, assuming an average weight of 2.35 pounds.

A ton of surf scoters totals 952 ducks, assuming an average weight of 2.10 pounds.

A ton of old squaws totals 1,010 ducks, assuming an average weight of 1.98 pounds.

A ton of harlequins totals 1,504 ducks, assuming an average weight of 1.33 pounds.

These average weights enable us to make a back-of-the-envelope calculation to estimate the total tonnage of ducks killed during the 2003-04 season. The estimate is determined by multiplying the number of ducks killed by species, as estimated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Harvest survey, by the average weight for that particular species.

U.S. DUCK HARVEST

This tells us American hunters lugged approximately 12,153 tons of ducks out of the marsh during the 2003-04 hunting season. Interestingly, mallards accounted for 39 percent of the individual kill, but 52 percent of the total tonnage.

Finally, we look at hens. The table below lists the number of hens killed, by species, and the total tonnage.

U.S. HEN HARVEST

This tells us that hunters during the 2003-04 season bagged 3,941 tons of hens. Females are the most valuable component of the breeding population. Does this imposing tonnage suggest to you that we should seek to reduce the hen kill by voluntary restraint and/or regulation?