With the regular season opener for the northernmost states less than two weeks away, a brief but timely cold front is diving down through Alberta and has waterfowl either on the move or at least packing up for their annual vacation.
Hello, folks, and, as always, welcome to Waterfowler.com.
While teal continue their early exodus, geese and ducks are staging on the Canadian Prairie, and before you know it the 2003 – 2004 regular waterfowl season will open in the lower forty-eight.
Before the season gets to your area be sure to check your Membership Expiration date. With the updated Migration Mapping System, state-by-state Field Reports and special discounts on the gear you need from the Online ProShop, keeping your Membership to waterfowler.com current and renewed can make doing what you love–hunting ducks and geese–easier both on the body and the wallet. Be sure to check your Member Profile and renew before the opening shots of the 2003-2004 season ring out.
The Waterfowler.com Online ProShop not only continues to grow, but the savings on the best gear available just keep getting better. Stop by and check out the new, lower prices for Members on Final Approach Blinds. And while you’re there, have a look at the newest category of discounts, Waterfowler.com ProTravel Services. Through new and ongoing partnerships with Guides and Lodges across the U.S. and around the world, these special offers will save Members time and money while planning once-in-a-lifetime hunts and annual trips.
And now, on to the Migration Report.
A short-lived but well-timed cold front is moving down out of Northern Alberta this week and the ducks and geese are responding. Reports of divers beginning to stage on lakes and open marshes are coming in from across Canada, and both ducks and geese have been responding to calls and decoys better as the mercury has fallen.
In Alberta, pea fields continue to be the top producers, with wheat running a close second. A light dusting of snow is expected for central and southern portions of the Province late this week and should have all the web-footeds hitting grain fields hard. The snow is not expected to stick around, though, so perhaps a sick day is in order for those in the area.
Snow goose numbers are on a steep climb in the Saskatoon area and should continue to rise as the cold front approaches. Here again, grain fields are the best bet and opportunities to hunt the approaching cold front should be taken if possible.
Manitoba is still holding a surprising number of teal, and shooting for both ducks and geese has been fair to good in central portions of the Province. The cold front coming out of Alberta will most likely fade before reaching The Pas and points south. Light goose numbers are beginning to increase slowly in the area and should climb if the front makes more progress than currently forecast.
The Eastern Provinces of Canada will have to wait until the weekend or early next week before a cool-off stirs birds into action. Current temps in both Ontario and Quebec are running well above normal, but a cooling trend will spread east through Ontario as early as Saturday and may reach Quebec before the end of the weekend.
In the U.S., teal and early geese are still the name of the game. In states offering an early teal season birds have been of the “Here today gone tomorrow” sort, and vice-versa. But on the bright side, with reports of Bluewings in good concentration as far north as Manitoba, the chance of fresh birds before the season close is still very good. Be sure to keep an eye on the Field Reports and Migration Map for the absolute latest movements of these early season travelers.
Resident goose hunting has been better than average for the heartland states this past week, despite a slight warming trend. Cooler weather should reach most of the central Midwest by the latter part of the week and geese should increase feeding activity during the break from the heat.
Fall will be here in less than a week, and waterfowlers will soon find themselves back where they belong, both in time and space. As we eagerly await the turning of the season, let us keep our fellow waterfowlers and all the residents of the East Coast in our thoughts and prayers as they brace for the landfall of Hurricane Isabel.
