Last week’s bitter cold brought the snow goose migration to a screeching halt, and then put it in reverse. This week, a slight warming trend and favorable winds should restart the light goose return migration and send the white wave north again.
Hello folks, and as always, welcome to Waterfowler.com.
As the return migration of North American waterfowl gets underway, Waterfowler.com would like to encourage all our readers to take part in ensuring that the returning birds have every advantage in the upcoming breeding season. By installing artificial nesting structures, you can have a direct impact on the nesting success of ducks and geese in your area.
Dakota Nesting Structures offers a wide variety of artificial nesting structures designed to withstand the elements and provide protection from predators. Installing nesting structures is also a great way to introduce young hunters to the direct link between hunting and conservation. Selections of Dakota Nesting Structure products are available at www.huntersproshop.com. To see the full selection, visit their website www.dakotanesting.com.
As we move towards spring, all eyes are on the breeding grounds. Late winter and early spring precipitation are a key factor in nesting success. Waterfowler.com will keep you up to date with the very latest news on nesting conditions as the birds move north, and throughout the breeding season.
The “Off Season” is also a time when waterfowlers turn their attention to the politics and policies of conservation. With the 2007 Farm Bill ahead of us and several other key budget items on the table for this year, Waterfowler.com is your on-line source for the very latest in conservation news. Join us at Waterfowler.com
And now, on to the Light Goose Migration Report.
CENTRAL and MISSISSIPPI FLYWAYS
The arctic blast that plowed across the country last week had light geese back tracking to more southern reaches of the flyways. Hunting continued to be good from Texas to the Mississippi Delta, while sub zero temperatures and freezing precipitation plagued the mid and upper flyways.
The combination of temperatures, in the more normal ranges, and southerly winds over much of the lower flyway states, should turn the “Great White Wave” around again, pushing the prime light goose hunting opportunities into the mid-flyway states.
Look for increased concentrations of snow geese to move north as the winds shift. From Colorado along the Kansas/Nebraska border into Iowa and southern Illinois, the warm-up should result in an increasing number of geese pushing the snow cover line.
ATLANTIC FLYWAY
For the eastern snow goose hunter, this week’s warm up may have an even larger impact. A brief warm up before the weekend should start the northward migration up again. But with winter weather moving back into the upper flyway by the first part of the weekend, the migration is likely to stack up short of the US/Canadian border.
If the weather pattern plays out as forecast, light goose gunning in the northern tier of the Atlantic Flyway could be spectacular this weekend.
Keeping up with the light goose migration is more of a chore than usual due to the wild weather of late winter. Until the weather makes up its mind, there may be a lot of hurry up and wait for snow goose hunters in all regions of the US. Stay tuned to Waterfowler.com for the latest as the spring migration attempts to get underway again.
