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Snow geese have reached Churchill, Manitoba and the survey flights for the pond counts are underway. With early goose broods popping up all across the country, the signs of renewal are all around. The earliest of the early season is less than five months away and its time to start planning for next year’s waterfowl season.

Hello folks, and as always, welcome to Waterfowler.com.

Sure, summer isn’t even here yet but now that we have past the half way point on our return trip to opening day of the early season, it’s prime time to start making plans and stocking up for the 06 – 07 waterfowl season. Continue reading

May is an important month for waterfowl, and waterfowl hunters across North America. The annual survey of May Ponds takes place this month and one of the primary indicators of the nesting potential for North American waterfowl. This survey also plays a major role in determining the season length and bag limit for the waterfowl hunting seasons ahead. As the surveys get underway conditions are mixed across the US and Canadian breeding grounds, but the overall picture looks promising, so far.

Hello folks, and as always, welcome to Waterfowler.com.

The Spring Cleaning Inventory Close Out is still under way at Waterfowler.com. While supplies last, members can save as much as 60% on everything from clothes to calls. Supplies are limited to in-stock items. A list of available products and discounted prices is posted in the members Online Lodge Open Forum. Prices listed reflect all discounts. And don’t forget, for all sale items we are offering flat rate shipping. There are still a ton of great deals available. Full details are available in the Online Lodge Open Forum. Place your order today. Continue reading

Reports are starting to come across the desk of some early goose broods in several parts of the US. All across the breeding grounds the spring renewal is building. With conditions on the breeding ground steadily improving the duck factory looks to be primed and ready for production.

Hello folks, and as always, welcome to Waterfowler.com.

Though the snow geese have not made it home just yet, the bulk of North America’s waterfowl are settling in to their summer homes across the upper tier of the flyways. In just a few short weeks the May Pond Count survey flights will begin, and the first glimpse of the waterfowl season to come will begin to take shape. Continue reading

The latest Status and Trends of Wetlands in the Conterminous United States claims a net gain in wetlands, but the truth may not be that simple.

On March 30, 2006, former Secretary of the Interior, Gale Norton, announced that the US had turned the corner on wetland loss and had, in fact, seen a gain in wetland acres over the time period of the latest report. But as is too often the case, the devil is in the details.

The wetlands inventory report does not differentiate between storm water, retention ponds and shallow marshes — lumping everything from fish ponds to cypress swamps into one, big, wet lie. While we may be gaining areas that are wet, we are not gaining quality wetlands. Continue reading

With warm weather on tap, the light goose migration is heading into Canada at a break neck pace. But, with three more weeks, and enough birds still on “this side”, the hunting isn’t over just yet.

Hello folks, and as always, welcome to Waterfowler.com.

Spring appears to be holding its ground. All across the country reports are coming in of nest initiations and a few early hatchlings have even been spotted in some of the mid and southern tier states. As the cycle of renewal ramps up, all eyes are on the breeding grounds. North America’s waterfowlers are keeping their fingers crossed that timely spring rains will lead to a bumper crop of ducks and geese for next fall.

So far, conditions on the breeding grounds are looking good, maybe not excellent, but good. With wide variation in conditions across the Prairie Pothole Region, cautious optimism is the gut feeling for early nesting conditions. Precipitation or lack thereof, over the next four to six weeks will be pivotal for this year’s nesting efforts.

WFC NEWS – The limited offer, pre-order for the new WFC LogoWear shirts and hoodies ends this week. Demand for these two designs has been very high, but the offer is about to end. Visit huntersproshop.com today and place your order. Pre-Order deadline is 9:00 A.M. CST, April 17th, 2006. Don’t miss your chance to get one of these great looking shirts.

And now, on to the Light Goose Migration Report.

Spring has sprung and the light goose migration is in high gear. With temperatures across the upper tier of the Central Flyway roaming around the 70 degree mark and south winds pushing hard out of the lower flyway, the bulk of the migration is due across the Canadian border any day now.

The majority of US snow goose hunters have already packed up their gear and called it a season. But there are still enough birds around in the northern half of North Dakota, to make it worth a try.

While the overall numbers on the US side of the border are low, the lack of pressure and smaller flock size can make for some very good gunning as the season winds down. Even with the south wind and warm spring weather, there is a good chance scattered pockets of light geese will remain in the north and central, portions of ND for at least a week or two.

The real action, however, will be taking place in portions of Manitoba and Saskatchewan as the birds push hard to reach their tundra breeding ground. Reports out of Canada are too scattered to pinpoint the migration’s front line, but as more reports come in we will update this report.

So, if you are a Canadian snow goose chaser, or a US light goose fanatic roaming the Canadian back-roads, be sure to file a report and let us know where the white wave has reached.

Happy Easter to everyone from all of us here at Waterfowler.com.

Spring rains across the upper Midwest and northern Plaines have made for some very tough hunting conditions over the past week. The good news is, the light goose migration is in full force from the southern Dakotas into the southern provinces of Canada, and the gunning has been stellar for those who have toughed it out.

Hello folks, and as always, welcome to Waterfowler.com.

The new Waterfowler.com LogoWear t-shirts are still available for pre-order, but the window of opportunity is narrowing. These two designs will be offered in a limited production and must be pre-ordered. Stop by Huntersproshop.com today to order your new shirts.

As spring gets into full swing, the first glimpses of the nesting season are starting to take shape. Overall, the picture for North American Waterfowl, where nesting habitat is concerned, looks promising. Current precipitation models indicate that as of April 1st we are entering the breeding season with the best water conditions the nesting ground, on the US side of the border, has seen since 1999. Continue reading

A significant warm-up for the Upper Midwest has light geese making major headway toward their arctic destination. As more spring-like weather dominates the forecast over the next five to seven days, the bulk of the migration is sure to make a major jump northwards toward the Canadian border.

Hello folks, and as always, welcome to Waterfowler.com.

Waterfowler.com unveiled two new WFC LogoWear designs this week. The new Locked and Loaded and Hunt Snows/Blues T-shirts and hoodies are now available for pre-order through our online store, huntersproshop.com. The limited run designs are available in 100% cotton t-shirts and hooded sweatshirts. The distinctive designs are available for a limited time only, and only through huntersproshop.com. Order yours today. Continue reading

This week marked the official start of spring, but in many areas of the country you may have not noticed. Snow storms and below average temperatures, along many parts of the Mississippi and Central Flyways, caused havoc in the light goose return migration, for both geese and hunters. With a snow cover line in the central US that looks more like early January then late March, snow goose hunting will be tougher than usual this weekend.

Hello folks, and as always, welcome to Waterfowler.com.

The weather might not be the best news for snow goose hunters, but the precipitation on the breeding grounds is happening at a very opportune time. Late winter and early spring snowfall events are often crucial to obtaining sufficient water for nesting. As March winds down, the focus on nesting conditions, ramps up for waterfowl and waterfowlers in the US and Canada. Continue reading