Aerial Surveys resumed in the Central and Mississippi Flyways this week, after experiencing a number of postponements and groundings last week, due to high winds and weather. Despite the favorable migration conditions over the past 10 days, migration activity in the northern portions of the nation was far less than expected.
Hello folks, and, as always, welcome to Waterfowler.com.
As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday, ducks and goose season will be open from coast-to-coast and border-to-border across the United States. From now until the seasons begin to close in the north, WFC’s servers will transfer over a terabyte of data to hardcore waterfowl hunters around the globe.
As we reach the peak of our 10th season of Migration Tracking and Reporting, WFC would like to thank all of our members for their ongoing support and contributions.
WFC also encourages our readers to continue to post waterfowl activity reports in the Migration Mapping system each day. It only takes a few seconds once per day to help provide the data necessary to create a real-time, visual report of current waterfowling conditions. So be sure to bookmark or add the Migration Map to your favorites menu, and visit it once a day to input a report for your area.
PACIFIC FLYWAY:
Waterfowl hunters in the Pacific Northwest were treated to some of best migration activity in the nation over the past 10 days, as ducks and geese moved south in force from Washington to Northern California. Mallard numbers increased dramatically along the Columbia and Snake Rivers, to the Sacramento Valley. White-fronted goose numbers were on the rise throughout the northern portion of the flyway, and hunter success on specs rose significantly over the past week. Pintail numbers were also good to excellent in the north-central and central portions of the flyway, and gadwall, teal and widgeon continued their journey into the southern portions of the flyway. Diver numbers in Utah increased over the past week, and hunter success was good to excellent on big water.
CENTRAL FLYWAY:
Migrating ducks and geese pushed through North Dakota last week and Canada and Snow Goose numbers soared in the northern portion of the flyway. In survey areas along the Missouri River in South Dakota, snow goose numbers jumped over 400% from the previous week and duck numbers remained steady across the state; though most ducks moved from the northern portions of the state to the central. In North Dakota, divers and mallards remain on open, larger bodies of water and along the Missouri corridor. Hunting in Colorado is good to excellent across the state with duck and goose numbers excellent for this time of year. Snow goose, mallard and Canada goose numbers surged over the past week as migrating birds arrived on favorable winds. Waterfowl numbers in Nebraska were fair to good across the state, with mallards increasing and gadwall, teal and widgeon steady compared to the previous week. From Kansas to Oklahoma, ducks numbers remained fair to good, with teal, wood ducks and gadwall filling the primary bag.
MISSISSIPPI FLYWAY:
Duck hunting success was fair to poor for hunters across the northern portion of the flyway, and the storm that could have been, and should have been, did little to improve duck numbers. While the season will likely go down as the “Great Fly By” for early migrating waterfowl, hunters in the north await the flights of mallards from Alberta and Ontario. Hunter success has been best along the Mississippi River, where counts remain slightly below the long-term average.
Gadwall, widgeon and teal numbers continued to climb in the central portion of the flyway, as birds continue to move in from the north. Hunter success remains consistent and high in Missouri and White-fronted geese continued to push south to Louisiana, where speck numbers are well above average for this time of year.
Snow goose numbers increased dramatically from Arkansas to Louisiana, this past week, as the long-range migrators arrived in droves. As states in the south prepare for their opener, waterfowl numbers are good to excellent for this time of year, with gadwall, widgeon, teal and wood ducks all above the long-term average.
ATLANTIC FLYWAY:
Sea duck numbers continue to rise along the north portion of the flyway, and hunter success is good to excellent on scoters, eiders and old squaw. Diver numbers increased slightly over the previous week with bufflehead numbers good to excellent for this time of year. From New York to the coast, teal numbers are good to excellent, mallards and black ducks fair. Canada goose numbers increase slightly across the northern portion of the flyway, and goose numbers in Pennsylvania jumped significantly over previous weeks. From Virginia through the Carolinas, wood ducks and teal remain the predominant species, with all others low.
Exceptional drought conditions continue to persist in the southeast and waterfowl are concentrated in those areas holding water in Georgia and Alabama. In Florida, the first substantial numbers of ringed-neck ducks have begun to arrive, and teal and wood ducks remain good to excellent as waterfowl fly-by the drier regions to the north.
Until next week, hunt safe and hunt often.
