With nearly 400,000 diver species counted in this week’s survey of the Upper Mississippi River, waterfowl activity in the northern third of the nation is heating up as temperatures drop. As canvasback numbers continue to increase this week to nearly 230,000 along the Mississippi River in Southern Wisconsin, hunters are reminded that the canvasback season is closed this season and to use extreme caution when identifying diver species for harvest.
Hello folks, and, as always, welcome to Waterfowler.com
The annual waterfowl migration is moving at an increasing pace this past week, as calendar ducks begin to move south. These are the species that move more on timing as opposed to strong weather fronts. Canvasback, scaup and ring-necked ducks are trudging south in from the Pacific to the Mississippi Flyways along traditional migration routes.
The mapping of these routes, pioneered by the late Frank Bellrose, along with WFC reader reports help us to unravel the mysteries of the migration each week. Waterfowler.com encourages our members to continue their real-time entries on the Migration Mapping system each day. It only takes a few minutes and the information is valuable to us all.
For more additional information on migration routes of canvasback and dabbling ducks, please visit the USGS website at:
http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/birds/migratio/routes.htm
If you are unfamiliar with the incredible contributions Frank Bellrose made to modern waterfowl biology, management and conservation, make time read the following memoriam and biography at:
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3793/is_200510/ai_n15935654
Over the past 10 years of reporting, the first harsh weather systems to move dabbling ducks in force have occurred during the first two weeks of November. As we approach this window of opportunity, now is the time for WFC readers to monitor weather systems to help plan successful days in the field.
Using the weather quick-links at right, and any number of online weather sources, waterfowl hunters should be looking for the typical “Alberta Clipper” weather systems that drop out of Canada into the United States. These systems are traditionally know to move waterfowl in force, with sudden drops in temperature and favorable migrating winds.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to guess that weather will move ducks. What’s important to note in these systems is the path of the jet stream, and how far south it moves before it turns again, and “button-hooks” north. It has been our experience, based on 10-years of real-time reporting, that wherever the jet stream hooks, this is where the bulk of migrating waterfowl are deposited. Of course, this is only specific to most dabbling duck species. Dark geese will generally move to annual stomping grounds and remain there until significant snow cover forces them to move. Snow geese, on the other hand, will surge to their southern most destinations, once the first storm of the season finally makes them move, and the full migration from the far north to the deep south can occur in less than 48 hours.
As we await the first major flight of the season, WFC readers are reminded to update their email address in their reader profile to insure they receive our email Migration Alerts. To update your email address, sign in to WFC in the login box in the upper left and click on your username to access your profile. Update the contact information for your account and save the information. When waterfowl activity increases dramatically this season, you will receive an email alert notification to help you plan your days in the field.
Detailed state-by-state reports can be found by clicking on the “FIELD REPORTS” button in the gray menu bar above or the pop-up menu at right. Simply select the state information you wish to access and be sure to post information for your area.
An now, on with this weeks migration update for each flyway:
MISSISSIPPI FLYWAY:
Divers are down in the Upper Mississippi River. Canvasback, scaup and ring-necked duck numbers are good to excellent for this time of year and increasing each day. In Minnesota, redheads and ring-neck numbers are good to excellent with scaup numbers fair. Green-wing teal are good to excellent in Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois. In Michigan, diver numbers are on the rise and puddle ducks are low. Canada goose numbers are excellent for this time of year across the Great Lakes Region. As harvest continues in the corn-belt, scouting can mean the difference between success and failure for the avid goose hunter. Gadwall, widgeon, wood ducks and green-winged teal remain the most prevalent species in the northern region. Pintail have been moving steadily the past few weeks and the bulk of these early migrating birds have already pushed into the bottom two-thirds of the flyway – with some already in Louisiana, where the first white-fronted geese have begun to arrive.
CENTRAL FLYWAY:
Gadwall, widgeon, and green-winged teal numbers are good to excellent from the Dakotas into Colorado and Kansas. In Montana, mallard numbers are fair to good with a fair number of gray ducks moving out over the past week. Redheads and Pintails are fair to good, and other diving species are on the move in the northern half of the flyway, with scaup, canvasback and ring-necked ducks good. A steady flow of Canada geese have been moving southward, along with the sandhill cranes. Goose hunting is good to excellent in active feeding fields, and less productive for those running traffic between the roosts and feeding areas. White fronted goose activity is low and snow goose numbers are spotty at best. In the southern portion of the flyway, teal numbers remain good to excellent in Nebraska, Texas and New Mexico, with pintail, gadwall and other early migrating waterfowl low.
PACIFIC FLYWAY:
In Washington and Oregon, local mallards, wigeon and teal are good to excellent with pintail average for this time of year. Canada goose numbers are good to excellent in the northern half of the flyway, with notable increases in both geese and mallards in Idaho and Wyoming over the past week. Green-wing teal numbers remain excellent from the Klamath Basin North, with gadwall numbers good to excellent in the eastern portions of the flyway. In California, white fronted goose numbers are average for this time of year, with pintail low, and teal good to excellent.
ATLANTIC FLYWAY:
Wood ducks, gadwall, and teal comprised the primary bag limit in northern portions of the Atlantic flyway this past weekend, with local mallards only filling a few slots. Green-wing teal numbers are good to excellent from Maine to Pennsylvania and east into New Jersey. Wood ducks are excellent throughout the New England states, with gadwall and widgeon good and all others low. Canada goose numbers are on the rise in the north portion of the flyway and increased significantly since the resident seasons. In coastal New Hampshire, mallard and black duck numbers are good for this time of year, and appear well above the long–term average. From the Carolina’s south, teal and wood duck numbers are fair for this time of year. With wood ducks beginning to stage in the north, the numbers should increase substantially in the coming weeks.
Until our next report, hunt safe and hunt often.
