Posted By:
Al-Faber
Field Editor
Central Ohio 10-11-2009 18:37
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 50-60 Degrees
Great weather approaching and ducks and geese are moving around the area. Spent the weekend in Port Clinton and scouted big numbers of divers, puddle ducks, and geese.
South through Marion large flocks at sunset tonight. Small farm ponds are ideal right now.
Central Ohio forecast calls for a cold front and rain WED-SAT next week 🙂
Should be a great opener!
Be safe, teach a youngster to hunt & respect the great outdoors…and pass on the hens…!
Posted By:
Anthony-Santoli
Field Editor
10-05-2009 08:27
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We were up at the marsh putting on the final touches for the opener and did some scouting in the process. A good influx of birds has occurred with these recent cold fronts. Bluewings were all gone. Good amount of Blacks… Mallards increased considerably along with Gadwalls,Greenwings and a good amount of Wigeon. Geese were hitting the surrounding fields hot and heavy (they are picking them right now) along with a few snows mixed in for good measure. Tons of Cormorants littered the Bay and there were several pods of divers zipping around. All in all I would say duck and goose numbers more than tripled since the early cold fronts came in.
Posted By:
Anthony-Santoli
Field Editor
10-01-2009 08:04
– – 35-40 Degrees
Useasonable weather patterns have really got the birds on the move these days. We have had some serious showers throughout Ohio as well as high winds and temperatures dropping twenty degrees. Geese have been flying regularly and ducks are on the move.
Spoke to a colleague on Lake St Clair/Walpole Island and they had a terrific opener. Very good numbers of Mallards,Pintails,Greenwings and Redheads made up the bag. Within the island marsh potholes, Ringnecks and Woodducks are arriving hot and heavy with unusually high numbers building on a daily basis.
Get ready….its gonna be a gunfight.
Posted By:
Anthony-Santoli
Field Editor
09-24-2009 09:22
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Okay,,,,I know this debate has been covered here and there,,,but what gives??? I have been noticing several other state getting an early Woodduck season along with their Teal season,,,not Ohio though… TN,KY,FLA,,, maybe IA and IL, the Carolinas ??? etc… yet we are North of pretty much all of them. A few quick cold snaps in Ohio sends a good amount of OUR Woodducks South to these other states. I believe Ohio is one of the big Woodie producing states so What??? Anyone have some thoughts or insight here??
Number next: Reporting wise, it looks very good for the opener next month. Geese are starting to come around,,pods of Mallards are getting agile in the sky with all of the young of the year taking flight. We should be in for a very good year. My synopsis is as follows: I do not think there will be one “BIG PUSH” of birds this year due to the El Nino effect. Instead, we will get some nice trickles of birds throughout the entire season. Birds will come down, stay for several days,,,get shot at then continue South for warmer climates, while at the same time fresh birds will come and take their place on a continuous cycle. Variety will be good this year with the abundances of Greenwings,Mallards,Gadwalls,Shovelers… Pins and Wigeon floating thru here and there and smatterings of varied Divers.
[Edited By Anthony-Santoli on 2009-09-24 09:23]
[Edited By Anthony-Santoli on 2009-09-24 09:23]
Posted By:
Al-Faber
Field Editor
Central Ohio 09-15-2009 14:27
Sunny & Clear, Morning Fog – 50-60 Degrees
Opening weekend on local marshes was great! Took limits of 4 Teal both Saturday and Sunday.
Key was early scouting and being where the ducks wanted to go at first light. Took 2 geese on Monday (Labor Day). A friend’s son also took his first banded goose as well.
Lot’s of ducks and geese in Central Ohio right now, looking for more teal this coming weekend. The unusually warm weather may hold even more and a few chilly nights may also push new ducks into the area. Farm ponds seem to be increasingly popular with teal around the Columbus area.
Looks like sunny weather through the end of the early season, so early shoots will be the norm.
Be safe, teach a youngster to hunt & respect the great outdoors…and pass on the hens…!
Posted By:
Anthony-Santoli
Field Editor
sandusky bay region 09-14-2009 07:50
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Hunted Sunday up at the marsh. Shot some greenwings and a few geese. Good amount of birds…. but not a bluewinger anywhere…all greens. Cold night and clear skies have sent all of the bluewings in my area to the South. Nice bunches of Greenwings though,,,most appear to be fresh birds and decoyed very easily with a good teal call. Numbers of geese still are way down in the areas though. Lowest numbers that we have seen in years. Bunches of woodducks have moved in from the north and we even had 2 drake Redheads come right into the decoys. Pintails,Gadwalls and Hooded Mergs as well.
Posted By:
Anthony-Santoli
Field Editor
09-09-2009 07:34
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Teal opener was pretty good,,,,could always be better,,but pretty good. Had a nice pod of 9 10 feet from the blind 15 mins till shooting time..let them lift off on their own. Ended up with 4 geese, 1 blue and 2 greens. Saw a fair amount. One pod of a few dozen were buzzing around all morning. Most were 2’s and 4 packs. Good amount of shooting from the surrounding marshes and out across the bay fairly steady all morning. The teal are all around,,,just a matter of when they come down and move thru. Bluewings do not stay around long…here one day and gone the next. Steady pushes should continue on from here out. PAY ATTENTION TO THE OTHER STATES REPORTS. As you can see large groups of Bluewings are in Texas,LA,etc…which is far South of Ohio. Try to get a reading on States that are parallel and to the North of us,it will help you out. Not many people post up on the migration map here anymore,,the Ducks Unlimited migration mapping system is very informatable when it comes to this.
Posted By:
Shawn-Philbrick
Field Editor
Killbuck saturday, Medina co Monday 09-09-2009 06:45
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Killbuck was a bust for teal….didn’t see one where I was, and heard very little shooting on Wright marsh. Saw few ducks period…and the geese were already wise, and headed out before shooting time in the fog, and landed in Pine Tree lake after feeding.
Monday I hit Medina for doves….saw some, but numbers have dwindled…we need a good cold front.
Posted By:
Shawn-Philbrick
Field Editor
Lorain co opener. Medina county after 09-04-2009 06:54
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Tuesday we hit lorain county for geese and doves….geese were sporadic…doves were plentiful
hit Spencer lae on thursday evening…nothing really flying til close to 7 oclock….a couple dozen doves gave us a look and we took some….we were loading the truck when the geese came in for the night…..
clear skies and full moon suck
Posted By:
Al-Faber
Field Editor
Central Ohio State Park 09-02-2009 08:24
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 60-65 Degrees
The Migratory Bird Season opener was a great one!!! Started the morning limiting with Doves on State Park land. There are literally thousands of Dove to make for exciting and fast-paced shooting. Then transitioned to Geese in the afternoon on local big water and called a flock into a cove they had been frequenting; taking 2 on one pass. Local Geese and Ducks are plentiful right now and marshes are holding good numbers of teal. Talked with wildlife biologists who are also seeing strong numbers in the area. Teal season opener looks good and the weather should be mild and make great shooting at first light.
Be safe, teach a youngster to hunt & respect the great outdoors…and pass on the hens…!
