Hutchinson ? Even ducks need dry homes sometimes – and the weather isn’t helping.

Wildlife biologists say rising water levels at wetlands – and along streams and rivers in south-central Kansas – have destroyed most of this year’s waterfowl nest sites.

Since early May, floodwaters have filled many of the wetlands to overflowing and have threatened the dike and canal systems that keep the water levels in check.

At Cheyenne Bottoms in Barton County, wildlife biologist Helen Hands said some areas, usually a few feet deep, are now 6 or 7 feet deep. However, the Nature Conservancy that owns land next to Cheyenne Bottoms hasn’t been flooded, she said, and waterfowl nesting there won’t have to travel far to find water.

“We lose a lot of broods that way, where they have to travel so far across land to water,” Hands said. “That’s one of the most vulnerable times.”

At Quivira National Wildlife Refuge in Stafford County, floodwaters have proven problematic to nesting waterfowl and to shore birds.

But not all birds are suffering, said refuge manager Dave Hilley. Fish-eating birds now have better access to small fish that have been pushed into shallow areas.

The McPherson Wetlands have experienced overflowing from wetlands that had been dry much of last year.

“We kind of feel like farmers,” property manager Brent Theede said. “We squeal because we don’t get water, then we squeal because we get too much.”

As at the other wetlands, Theede said most of the nest sites in his area are under water and will be for a while.

However, the loss of so many duck nests does not mean there won’t be ducks in Kansas during the fall hunting and viewing seasons.

There’s still the possibility of ducks building nests again this year, Hands said, and with wetlands full, the state could see a lot of migrating birds stopping by on their way south.