Tuesday's aerial surveys found good numbers of blue-winged teal along both the Illinois and Mississippi rivers, just in time for the opening of teal season in Illinois on Saturday.
The survey on the Illinois found 15,155 blue-winged teal, well above the 10-year average of 11,069. The big numbers came from Douglas Lake (2,250) and Spoon Bottoms/Emiquon (11,170)
The survey on the Mississippi found a total of 7,325 blue-winged teal, mostly because of 6,100 on Swan Lake. The 10-year average for the Mississippi is 2,461.
Aerial surveys can provide information on many things not visible from the ground.