Deluth, Minn. ? The continental population of mallards has dropped again, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s annual survey of breeding ducks.

The mallard breeding population dropped another 5 percent, marking the third straight year this key indicator has fallen.

After hitting a 41-year high of 10.8 million birds in 1999, the spring mallard population has slid 31 percent to 7.5 million, the federal agency reported last week.

The other closely watched survey number the number of May ponds revealed a significant 41 percent drop in wetlands across the drought-stricken prairie pothole region of Canada. The number of May ponds in Prairie Canada is the lowest since surveys were initiated in 1955.

“That’s a double-whammy for ducks and duck hunters,” said Rob Olson, director of Delta Waterfowl’s U.S. office in Bismarck, N.D. “The mallard population has seen significant declines over the past three years and our other duck populations are falling as well.

“And now much of the prairie pothole region the continent’s duck factory is as dry as it was at the peak of the last drought, which means production likely will continue to be low.”

About the only good news from the breeding grounds is that some portions of Canada and the northern United States received rain in mid-June after the survey was completed. While the rain may boost re-nesting efforts in some areas, Olson said he expects another poor year of production overall.

Mallards weren’t the only species that declined in the 2002 spring survey.

Pintails saw a precipitous drop of 46 percent, the lowest number of breeding pintails since 1955. Gadwall dropped 17 percent, wigeon 6 percent, green-wing teal 7 percent, blue-wing teal 27 percent, shoveler 30 percent, redhead 21 percent, canvasback 16 percent and scaup 5 percent.

In all, the total breeding population dropped 14 percent to 31,181,000, 6 percent below the long-term average.