BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - A record number of ducks and geese are wintering in North Dakota.
    
The state Game and Fish Department says its annual midwinter waterfowl survey last month showed 279,000 birds. The count includes a record 90,000 Canada geese and a record 88,000 mallard ducks.
    
Migratory game bird biologist Mike Szymanski says the lack of snow cover and open water made this year's survey "highly abnormal." He says during the harsh winters of the past three years, fewer than 36,000 waterfowl were observed each year.