As cabin fever reaches it’s peak in the hearts of the northern waterfowler and we head into the final days of the 2007-2008 general Waterfowl Season, WFC takes a look back at the season’s results and sets our sights on the coming Spring Conservation Action for Mid-continental Light Geese.
Hello, folks, and as always, welcome to Waterfowler.com.
In the areas not stricken with extreme to exceptional drought conditions, the 07-08 Season will go down in the books as a season for the south. Abundant waterfowl populations, favorable migrating winds for early species and an abundance of snow all contributed to facts that moved waterfowl south in force this year.
A number of states in the south are expected to post their highest harvest in the past few years, and some may even approach a record high.
In short, the early migrating waterfowl, such as teal, gadwall, widgeon and pintail (the grey ducks) arrived early and settled in for a long season’s stay. Heavy snow and ice in the north added the icing to the cake, as “short-stopped” birds finally had a reason to move to their southerly most destinations.
With increasing forage opportunities in the north, due to the expanding no-till farming practice, snow cover has become the single most important factor in moving mallards and dark-geese south.
The hunting opportunity provided by the snow cover this fall will continue to influence the spring migration of light geese back to the north. When the geese begin their hard and fast journey north, they will push to the edge of the snow-line and advance with the melt. In previous years, the snow-pack was insignificant and the conditions and the reverse migration were rapid. Considering the volume of snow in the north this year, with any luck at all, the spring migration of light geese will progress at a slower pace and provide increased hunting opportunity during the coming months.
Each year, WFC encourages our readers and members to take advantage of this incredible spring hunting. If you have yet to participate in a spring hunt for light geese, to say the very least, you are missing out on some of the most exciting, productive, and adventurous hunting available to waterfowl hunters today.
As a WFC Member, you are part of the most passionate waterfowl hunting community online. Each season, hundreds of WFC readers expand their hunting opportunity by reaching out to other members with a simple private message, or a post on one of our interactive forums. Your next memorable hunt is only a click away. Make time to reach out to your fellow waterfowl hunters and plan a spring snow goose hunt this year. We assure you, you will not regret it.
An now, on with the season summary:
PACIFIC FLYWAY:
From the Columbia River to the Great Salt Lake, there were no surprises this season. Migration progressed according to previous trends and harvests were normal to above average for many waterfowl hunters. Goose hunting was good to excellent throughout the north portion of the flyway. While white-fronted goose numbers in the Sacramento Valley were slightly lower than the exceptional number last season, the hunter success remained excellent again this year. The rains came a little late to salvage the season for many hunters in the southern portion of the flyway. Drought conditions in southern California plagued the efforts and success for many hunters this year. About the time the hope of a season was nearly lost, the wind and rains arrived to spark a last-minute flurry of waterfowl activity and harvest for hunters in California, Nevada and Arizona.
CENTRAL FLYWAY:
With exceptional production on the Prairie Pothole Region this past spring, hopes were very high for many hunters in the flyway. Reports from Alberta and Manitoba trickled south all season touting the abundance of waterfowl and above average harvests in Canada. As the early migrating species began to move on favorable winds, they blew through North Dakota and settled into Colorado and South Dakota. With much of western Nebraska experiencing a drought, hunter success was best along the Missouri River and the central portions of the flyway. Until the weather arrived to push waterfowl south in force, hunting was slow through the south-central regions of Kansas and Oklahoma. When the dangerous ice storms arrived, early migrating birds flew over these states to their southerly destinations. Thankfully, the ice receded and snow accumulated in the north, providing excellent late-season opportunity for the entire southern portion of the flyway. While eastern New Mexico did struggle with drought conditions, it still remains one of the gems of the Central Flyway for waterfowl hunting.
MISSISSIPPI FLYWAY:
Despite a massive flyby of early migrating ducks in the northern portion of the flyway, harvests were good to excellent in the early portions of the season. The increase in Pintail numbers was very apparent this year in both the aerial surveys and hunter reports. Considering the ongoing concerns of Pintail production, it was a welcome relief for many waterfowl hunters to witness the increase with first-hand field observations. The mallards arrived with the ice and snow in the north and held hard to the edge of the snowline in their journey south. As the icy grips of winter pushed further south, and snowfall accumulated in the north, hunter success and hopes were high in the south for the first time in many a season. While hunters in eastern Kentucky and Tennessee struggled with drought conditions, there is little to complain about if you hunted in the Mississippi Flyway. From the Canadian Border to the Gulf Coast, hunter success was the norm, not the exception. Canada goose hunting was good to excellent this year in the north and north-central portions of the flyway, and hunters throughout the flyway reported exceptional numbers and activity for white-fronted geese. Snow goose numbers continue to burgeon at the seams, and the spring season is shaping up to be a grand event. As expected, Missouri continues to be the hotspot in the flyway for the most consistent success season to season. In summary; ducks are back in Arkansas, Iowa’s harvest is expected to be near a record, and from opening to closing day, if you wanted to be in a position to shoot ducks every day, Louisiana was the place to be.
ATLANTIC FLYWAY:
Of the four flyways, the most unpredictable, surprising and difficult to track from season to season remains the Atlantic flyway. With quickly changing weather conditions, ongoing mild winters and an extended, severe drought in the southeast, hunting in the Atlantic Flyway was difficult at best. From season to season the most predictable arrivals have become the divers and sea ducks along the coast. Hunter success was good to excellent on Scoters, Eiders and Long-tailed ducks along the New England coast, and diving species were good to excellent from the Chesapeake Bay into the Carolinas. Wood duck harvest totals are expected to drop slightly from previous years throughout the flyway, with blue and green teal average. Canada goose hunting remained good to excellent throughout the northern portion of the flyway, and hunter success was fair to good on puddle ducks. Unfortunately, some of the best migration activity occurred during the season splits in the north. As the waterfowl moved south, drought conditions kept them congregated on larger impoundments and above average temperatures reduced activity and degraded hunter success. From Georgia to Florida, early season success was below average on teal, wood ducks and ringed-neck ducks, with the late season providing a minimal increase in hunter success.
As we close our tenth season of reporting on the annual waterfowl migration, Waterfowler.com would like to thank all of our participants who share their vital hunting information to make these reports possible. The magic of the annual migration is only surpassed by the passion of those who head to the field to witness it. We thank you all very much for 10-years of discovery and adventure.
Until the opening of our Spring Snow Goose Tracking Updates, enjoy the last few days of the season and plan a spring adventure today.
