The polls are closed, the votes counted, and the migration is kicking into high gear. November is here, and the movement of ducks and geese down all four of our Nation’s Flyways is picking up speed as the Holiday Season draws near.
Hello folks, and as always welcome to Waterfowler.com.
Issue #14 of Waterfowler.com Journal should begin arriving in mailboxes, alongside Christmas catalogs, by the end of next week. In this issue of WFC Journal we took a bit of a break from some of our regular features to bring members a sort of Hunting Extravaganza issue. From early geese to afterthought diver hunts, this issue is all hunting. A few of the regulars are there—member questions, photos and, of course, good old J.J. We hope you enjoy it all.
A slough of new products is slated to show up this week in the WFC OnLine Proshop, just in time for Santa and his elves to load up on the best of waterfowling gear. Look for new products from Eberhart Decoys, Boneyard Decoys, Iverson Calls, Sean Mann, MallardSplash, Wiley FlexTone and many, many more, at great savings for WFC members.
As a reminder, VFE appointments for the remainder of the year will only be done for states having less than four active VFEs. If you have submitted a VFE application in recent weeks, please be patient, new VFE appointments are in the works and should be completed by the end of next week.
With the migration getting rolling, be sure to renew your WFC membership or Join Today. With realtime migration mapping and tracking, nationwide field reports and much more, your WFC membership is a vital tool to hunting success as the birds make their way down the flyways.
And now, on to the Migration Report.
CANADA
A lot of ducks are still holding up with our neighbor to the north. Lack of significant snowfall combined with an abundance of food has a web footed traffic jam happening across much of the lower-central Canadian provinces.
The longer these birds stay, the more pressure they are getting, and most hunters are reporting increasingly wary birds.
A strong cold front looks to be in the works for much of the country over the next few days. As the water locks up, the birds may begin to move south, but without snow cover the larger portion of the swarms will likely hold tight.
PACIFIC FLYWAY
A fresh push of ducks and geese has started down out of British Columbia and is serving to reinforce waterfowl numbers from the Puget Sound to the Snake River and as far south as the California-Oregon border. Wigeon numbers in the upper flyway are climbing and new mallards are showing up in fair supply.
Southern portions of the flyway have also seen a rise in overall waterfowl numbers in recent days. White fronted geese, small ducks and some mallards are moving far and wide into the lower Pacific Flyway.
Numbers should continue to improve for everyone as the weekend draws near. A new cold front is moving into British Columbia and Alberta and will most likely serve to push more birds towards their wintering grounds.
CENTRAL FLYWAY
Movement of light geese and ducks into the Dakotas has increased significantly over the past week. Though a bit late, the rise in snow goose numbers in North Dakota is a sure sign that the migration is ramping up for the flyway.
As smaller bodies of water along the US/Canadian border freeze up, birds are either staging on open lakes or getting ahead of the holiday travel rush by heading south. From South Dakota all the way down to the Texas coast, light geese and ducks are beginning to move.
Snow does not look likely for the Dakotas for another week, but from field reports in the central and southern parts of the flyway it appears our web-footed friends are getting a jump-start and moving south before the white stuff starts piling up.
MISSISSIPPI FLYWAY
From Minnesota to Ohio, much of the upper flyway continues to hold a respectable number of ducks and large numbers of Canada geese. Divers are beginning to raft up on the upper flyway lakes, and across most of the Upper-Tier, puddle duck numbers are on a slow but steady rise. Mallards are becoming more abundant and a lot of the teal are holding for the time being.
Central and southern portions of the flyway have begun to see movement of light geese and some of the earlier migrating species of ducks such as gadwall and pintail. Pockets of mallards can be found, but thus far, the most significant build-up from the Mason/Dixon south is of smaller puddle ducks and the first wave of snows and specs.
With a brief freeze in store for many upper flyway states over the next week, both duck and goose numbers should increase for the lower portion of the flyway.
ATLANTIC FLYWAY
Seaduck and mallard numbers jumped again last week in the far northern states. With a strong storm taking aim on the region, the chance of a shift of birds both into and out of the area is likely.
Mid-coastal and southern states may see a push of birds down out of the New England states as the storm rolls in, while the upper Atlantic is almost certain to see new birds moving in from the north and the west—either with, or just ahead of, this next storm system.
Though it might be slow for some, the overall picture for this week is of a respectable movement of birds along their traditional migration paths.
November always seems more like the real kickoff to fall, and with the elections behind us and cold weather ahead, it sure seems to be shaping up to be a memorable month. Be safe, have fun, and get out as often as you can.
