Spring rains are falling across much of the country’s mid-section pushing the snow line and the snow geese, north. But a strong cold front driving inland from the west coast is on track to bring colder weather back to the heartland and could halt the migration again.
Hello folks, and as always, welcome to Waterfowler.com.
As the tug-of-war between winter and spring continues, waterfowlers across the country are waiting for the early reports on the harvest of the 2005-2006 regular waterfowl season.
Speculation is that harvest will be up overall but not everyone is reporting a better than average season. Drought and wildly fluctuating weather patterns turned this year’s migration sort of inside-out. Early winter weather moved a lot of birds southward but by mid to late December, a dramatic warm up had most of the nation’s duck and goose hunters talking about reverse migrations.
Stay tuned to Waterfowler.com as the latest data becomes available in the coming weeks.
Waterfowlers who aren’t out chasing snow geese are keeping one eye on the nation’s capital and the other on the breeding ground. Over the next few months, key issues regarding the future of waterfowl production will be in front of Congress and the Supreme Court, while on the prairie Mother Nature will be making the final preparations for this year’s breeding effort by North American waterfowl.
Waterfowler.com user forums are a great place to keep up to date on the latest news, issues and opinions concerning the world of waterfowl. With a broad base of members from across the country and around the globe, participation in any of the Waterfowler.com interactive areas is a great way to stay in touch with the world of waterfowl hunting and conservation.
And now, on to the Light Goose Migration Report.
At last, a warm-up is on the way for the upper flyway. As temperatures rise the east coast snow goose migration should get into full swing. Light goose numbers have remained strong along a line from eastern Pennsylvania to the New Jersey shore, but warmer weather is likely to push the main body of birds north toward the Canadian border over the next few days.
In the Mississippi and Central flyways a warm up is also on tap this week. Rain across much of the nation’s mid-section will melt snow and thaw ponds throughout many mid-tier states. As the snow cover line recedes, the leading edge of the light goose migration should begin to push into northern South Dakota and the farthest southern reaches of North Dakota.
The front edge of the migration is traditionally the older, wiser birds, and therefore a bit tougher to decoy. These birds provide the most challenge for the spring hunter.
The southern fringe of the migration is still strung out across a ragged line from northern Arkansas west into Oklahoma, but with each passing day the trailing edge of the migration is moving father north and tightening the overall ranks of north bound light geese.
More cold and snow is forecast to move out of the Rockies and into the Plaines over the next week. As the birds push north this cold front is likely to create a significant back-up of snow geese along the South Dakota/ North Dakota border.
Fair numbers of birds should continue to move northward through portions of Iowa, Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska, but the hottest action is almost definitely going to be in the Dakotas.
