Hello, folks, and, as always, welcome to Waterfowler.com.
As the 2002-2003 waterfowl season marches south it looks as though the weather may cooperate, from a hunter\’s point of view. A series of cold waves riding down out of Canada have begun to make this year\’s migration a reality. The \”Big Push\” has yet to hit, but as reports from last week show, the weather is getting the birds up and about and at last putting the mosquitoes to bed for the year.
And now, on to the Migration Report.
CANADA
British Columbia will hang onto its birds over the next week. Average to slightly above average temps forecast for most of the region will do little to drive out waterfowl staging in lower portions of the province, so hunters can expect a slow build in area fields and lakes.
In the central portion of Canada, snow goose numbers are on the rise. The heaviest concentration of light geese remains in central Saskatchewan and central Manitoba. Puddle duck numbers are spotty but as cooler temps begin to freeze out the more shallow potholes and marshes, hunters should see birds begin to hit harvested grain fields and local rivers. As of yet, there has been no concentrated report of divers on any of the big inland waters.
Hunters from Ontario are either keeping the good news to themselves or not ready to admit to bad luck. Reports from that area have been slim to none from the past week with only a few claims of a snow goose and diver migration on tap for the next week.
PACIFIC FLYWAY
Western Oregon and the bulk of Idaho opened this past weekend with better than average results. Idaho hunters found a fresh batch of mallards using the Snake River and its surrounding fields and lakes. In Oregon the West Zone opener took some of the pressure off Summer Lake birds in the south of the state as hunters sought local birds and early arrivals out of Canada along the Columbia and Willamette rivers. No big push of birds was reported, but resident bird numbers have been good; sufficient northerns have filtered in to keep shooting interesting. Pintail numbers are high, making early morning identification crucial in order to stay on the right side of the law.
In Washington the bays of the \”wet side\” are beginning to build rafts of divers and the ever-present wigeon. To the east, basin hunters expected this week\’s cold snap to bring down the first batch of new birds, but found themselves doing more looking for ducks than shooting at them. Temperatures over the next week are forecast to remain in the normal ranges, so hunters should not expect any major push before the weekend.
The California North Zone opener was all about local birds, as expected. Pintail numbers were high and most hunters report a limit of them if nothing else. Teal and local mallards will continue to dominate the bag of California hunters for the next week as no major cold fronts can be expected to move birds down the flyway.
Inland, Nevada and Utah hunters spent the weekend with increasing numbers of teal, gadwall and pintails. Reports are mixed from both states but overall success was higher than expected.
CENTRAL FLYWAY
Numbers of both geese and ducks were on the rise this past weekend in the upper reaches of the Central Flyway, and that trend promises to continue over the next week as a cold front pushes into the region. Mallard numbers in North Dakota saw the biggest rise in the past few days but Canada geese seem to be running a bit slow. With the impending cold burst, however, both light and dark goose numbers should begin to climb by the end of the week, if not before.
Mid-latitude hunters have seen a slight bump in bird numbers with the recent fronts, and hunters scouting along the Texas Coast are reporting a daily influx of specs as temperatures fall.
MISSISSIPPI FLYWAY
The teal and other early migrants that had taken up residence in the Northern Tier have begun to move out, but are quickly being replaced with a fresh batch of mallards out of Canada. Hunter success in the upper flyway was good for most this past weekend with the exception of those hunting the upper Mississippi River, where high water made for tough decoy placement and blinding.
The coming week promises a steady buildup as yet another cold front moves down the valley. Already hunters in Arkansas, Missouri and Northern Mississippi are reporting mallards in the timber and rice as they spend their weekends prepping blinds for the opener and hoping the cold fronts continue. South Louisiana waterfowlers have begun to see a build up of pintails and speckle bellies, though hunting may be tough in the marshes this year as hunters deal with the damage of two consecutive tropical storms.
ATLANTIC FLYWAY
Last week\’s push of new birds along the east coast shut off like a faucet, it would seem. Hunters from New England reported a drop in all but Black Duck numbers in their outings for the weekend. But the good news is that hunters who chase the dark mallards have a good outlook for the upcoming week as the bird numbers on coastal marshes and bays are on the rise.
Further south, wood ducks, teal and local mallards are still in respectable number but becoming more skittish by the second. The chance of another brush with a tropical storm has the forecast for the upcoming weekend as iffy as they come. A see-saw rise and fall of temperature for the next week promises to make scouting a day-by-day necessity as conditions change.
With fronts on the move for much of the Nation, the early portion of the 2002-2003 waterfowl season, to quote the Fab Four, is \”Getting Better All The Time.\” It is still too early to tell if this year\’s season will come through and ease the painful memories of the 2001-2002 season, but so far, so good.
Until next week, good luck to those fortunate enough to have their season open and birds in the spread and to the rest, hang on, it\’s on its way.
