The spring snow goose season is getting fast and furious. A major warm-up in portions of the southern flyway has light geese making a major jump north this week. As the warm up continues, goose hunters are watching the snow cover line closely and fine tuning their plans to intercept the migration as it heads toward the breeding grounds.
Hello folks, and as always, welcome to Waterfowler.com.
Federal Premium Ammunition kicked off its Federal Ultra-Shok royalty program last week with a $30,000 check to Ducks Unlimited. The Ultra-Shok royalty program will help fund one of DU’s great conservation initiatives, Grassland for Tomorrow. In partnership with DU and through sales of Ultra-Shok, additional funds will be raised to help secure critical grassland habitat across the North American “Duck Factory.” To learn more about this partnership and the Grassland for Tomorrow program visit www.ducks.org.
The list of new non-toxic shots that will be available for use in waterfowl hunting is growing. Four new non-toxic shot types were approved this winter for use in hunting waterfowl. The new offer promises improvements in down-range energy, knockdown power and patterns. Watch for new non-toxic shot shells from companies you have come to know such as Remington, Environ-Metal and Federal Premium.
And now, on to the Light Goose Migration Report.
CENTRAL and MISSISSIPPI FLYWAYS
Warm weather has returned and the light goose migration is in full swing. In the Mississippi and Central Flyways, the high temperatures (around the eighty degree mark) in many southern tier states have the last of the light geese moving north toward the Mason/Dixon line before the weekend.
Reports from Colorado to Missouri show the birds on the move and eager to make their way north. Thus far the hottest action appears to be along the western edge of Missouri and along the Nebraska/Kansas border.
There are still some birds passing through some of the eastern portions of the flyway, along the Mississippi River, but the overall flight in that area seems to have dropped off with the rising temperatures.
A front moving across the Rockies should keep the temperatures down for the Dakotas and prevent the bulk of the light goose migration from moving much farther north than the southern edge of South Dakota.
ATLANTIC FLYWAY
Winter weather will maintain its grip on the upper flyway through the weekend. With no real warm-up in store for the region, snow goose numbers should hold steady for the far northern end of the flyway, though they are likely to be lower than average for this time of year.
Recent cold weather pushed a good portion of the snow geese back south. As long as snow and freezing temperatures are in the forecast for the upper flyway states, these birds are not likely to make another attempt at a northward push. Though this isn’t the best news for Atlantic light goose hunters, its better than if the migration had already passed.
