Spring is here and the return migration is moving north at full speed. With a warming trend in place for most of the US, it’s a great time to get out to the woods and waters and witness the spectacle. Waterfowl are dressed up in their finest and putting on a show as they prepare for the nesting season.
Hello folks, and as always, welcome to Waterfowler.com.
It looks as though spring growth is no stranger to our internet waterfowling world. From a slough of new members to a fresh batch of the latest and greatest gear in our OnLine ProShop, WFC is growing with the season. We would like to extend a special welcome to all our new members and encourage you to stop by the New Member Lobby and introduce yourselves to the WFC regulars and irregulars. After that, settle in and make yourself to home in the OnLine Lodge, or anywhere else for that matter. New faces and new ideas are always welcome, and it keeps the rest of us from having to tell the same old stories and jokes.
The growing season is evident in the WFC OnLine ProShop as well. New items, like the Ure-a-duck motion decoy and the latest from Boty, Drake and Mad Dog are being added regularly. Waterfowler.com Members receive special discounts on every item in the OnLine ProShop, and the selection of top notch gear at great prices just keeps growing.
Members old and new are reminded to keep an eye on their member profiles to ensure that we have a correct email and mailing address. Also be sure to renew or upgrade your WFC membership so you won’t be left out of the best deals and the latest news from the waterfowling world.
And now, on to the Migration Report.
Above average temperatures are in store for most of the country this week. From coast to coast the snow is melting and the birds are driving hard for the breeding ground.
Last week’s cold snap had light geese a bit bogged down, but as the warming trend takes hold, look for the bulk of the migration to shift into the Dakotas and possibly across the border into Canada.
From IA to CO small numbers of snow, ross and blue geese can still be found, but the numbers are thinning. On the back end of the migration it looks to be only a matter of days before the last of the stragglers will be but a memory. So get out there and hunt before you have to consider a road trip to wrap up the season.
The warming trend will extend into the upper east caost and should provide good opportunity to intercept the snow goose migration there over the next few days. These birds have, however, been delayed and will most likely shift as far north as possible as the snow melts and waters open.
The best bet for getting in on high concentrations of returning light geese is most certainly the Dakotas, with North Dakota gaining ground as the temps rise. Keep one eye on the weather channel and the other on the Light Goose Tracking Page to get your seat on the X as the white wave moves into the top of the nation before making the last leg of its journey to the tundra.
In many areas of the country, the return migration of other ducks and geese provides waterfowlers the opportunity to see ducks and geese in concentrations only dreamed of during the hunting season. Masses of returning birds in full mating plumage are a sight to behold. It is also a great way to introduce young people to the other wonders of what it means to have waterfowling in your veins. Taking time to explain the process of renewal and the importance of our roles as stewards of the resource gives young hunters a groundwork of reality that will serve them well as they grow older and become the keepers of the flame for our time-honored tradition.
