As November comes to an end and December gets its feet on the ground, winter looks to be making an early arrival in many parts of the US. The return of cold weather has put the birds on the move and hunter success in many states has been exceeding expectations.
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As the first of the northern season close and the last of the southern seasons open timely cold fronts have been pushing ducks and geese down out of Canada and northern tier states, boosting duck and goose numbers in the mid tier and southern portions of the flyways. While it is still way too early to be sure, it looks as though December is shaping up to be a great month for waterfowling across much of the nation.
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And now, on to the Migration Report
PACIFIC FLYWAY
With cold weather still on tap for the upper flyway the prospects for the upcoming weekend look good. With temperatures along most of the flyway remaining below average, ducks and geese should continue to filter southward out of Canada and toward the southern flyway.
Overall waterfowl abundance is fair to good in most areas, but heavy gunning pressure over the Thanksgiving weekend has made most birds a bit call shy and tough to decoy. With a little luck, the weather for the first December weekend will refresh local waterfowl stocks and improve overall gunning along the flyway.
CENTRAL FLYWAY
Several reports of major goose migrations have been rolling in over the past few days. From Montana, southward into Kansas and Nebraska reports are of a large migration of dark geese. From South Dakota down into Oklahoma and Texas it is light geese and white fronts that appear to be on the move.
Duck numbers appear to be stronger in the southern portions of the flyway this week. Heavy concentrations of both puddle and diving ducks have been reported from the northern Oklahoma border all the way down to the coast of Texas and portions of New Mexico.
In all likelihood this trend will continue as the winter weather patter remain dominant over much of the northern plains.
MISSISSIPPI FLYWAY
As the first season closes in the upper flyway, the lasts are opening in the lower. Duck concentrations are already in good shape for the lower flyway, though some of this may be attributed to birds being very concentrated by an overall lack of available water.
With the northern tier icing up again this week and the possibility of more snow falling around the southern Great Lakes, the migration in the Mississippi Flyway is in high gear. From Southern Minnesota across Illinois and into Indiana and Ohio there are strong reports of a major push of ducks and light geese.
The migration activity does not end up north though. On the heels of the latest cold front another good push of ducks and a major wave of light geese have moved southward into Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee.
The build up of new birds should continue for the lower mid-tier states as well as in the lower flyway this week.
ATLANTIC FLYWAY
With the latest cold front now moving into the upper Atlantic states dark goose numbers have been on the rise for the upper flyway, with a lesser rise in diver and puddle duck numbers.
Mid coastal states should continue to see regular refreshing of migrating birds as the weather is turn colder for their northern neighbors.
In the southern flyway, reports out of Florida indicate a better than average early season. The most dramatic change from the typical early season in the Sunshine State is the early arrival of a good concentration of mallards.
Some speculate that the early abundance of waterfowl in the state is attributed to the destruction of wintering habitat along the Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas coasts brought about by hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
No matter what the reason, it seems clear the lower end of the flyway is having an unusually productive start to their season.
December is here and it looks like Santa is delivering some early gifts to many waterfowlers across the country. As the migration gets rolling again there also appears to be a waterfowler’s bug going around. Bosses from across all realms of the business sector report many of their duck and goose hunting employees calling in “sick” as the weather has turned fowl.
