This week marked the official start of spring, but in many areas of the country you may have not noticed. Snow storms and below average temperatures, along many parts of the Mississippi and Central Flyways, caused havoc in the light goose return migration, for both geese and hunters. With a snow cover line in the central US that looks more like early January then late March, snow goose hunting will be tougher than usual this weekend.
Hello folks, and as always, welcome to Waterfowler.com.
The weather might not be the best news for snow goose hunters, but the precipitation on the breeding grounds is happening at a very opportune time. Late winter and early spring snowfall events are often crucial to obtaining sufficient water for nesting. As March winds down, the focus on nesting conditions, ramps up for waterfowl and waterfowlers in the US and Canada.
Currently, conditions across much of the Prairie Pothole Region are looking good for the upcoming nesting season. There is, of course, plenty of room for improvement, but the general outlook is positive at the moment. Short term, seasonal forecast continues to indicate the potential for above average precipitation across much of the breeding ground. If the forecast proves accurate, the extra moisture, combined with improved ground moisture levels, should make for good conditions on many key nesting areas across the US and Canadian prairies. So, as we move into spring, the prospects are looking bright, but it’s a long way from here to the first hatch.
And now, on to the Light Goose Migration Report.
The recent snow storm that plowed through the mid-tier of both the Mississippi and Central Flyways caused havoc for hunters and birds alike. Ample snowfall and ample birds overlapped in many areas, and though it might seem that snowfall and snow geese would go well together, it just wasn’t the case. The fast moving storm caught many hunters on the road without proper concealment, and with vast white decoy spreads that disappeared as much as their brown blinds stood out.
The weather related difficulties were made even more frustrating by the fact that the storm pushed much of the leading edge of the migration back south, combining older, wiser birds with the somewhat less challenging juveniles of the latter part of the migration.
In some areas, this blending of birds worked out to the hunter’s advantage, but by and large the older birds made decoying the larger flocks even more of a challenge over the past week.
Temperatures this week will moderate slightly, but the ample snowfall in many parts of the mid-flyways will be slow in melting. Until the weather moves back toward more spring like temperatures, the bulk of the migration is not likely to make any major moves north.
For now, the migration is likely to be further south than typical for this part of the year. In fact, many hunters are finding themselves making plans to revisit areas they had pulled up stakes from earlier in the season.
