The regular season kicked off this week in portions of Canada and some US states got their early teal seasons underway. Fall is just a few weeks away and as it nears, the seasons, and hopefully the birds, will begin to move southward.
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And now, on to the Migration Report.
Warm weather greeted our neighbors to the north as the first of the Canadian waterfowl seasons got underway this week. Success with geese and ducks was on the fair to good end of the scale, despite the less than favorable weather. Reports are, however, starting to roll in of a decent push of geese, both light and dark, making their way southward as a western front moves inland from the Pacific coast.
As the front moved through Northern Alberta and Saskatchewan, the geese began moving as well. With temps in the Arctic falling and the possibility of snow for that region increasing, Northern portions of both Alberta and Saskatchewan should being to see a steep increase in goose numbers this week.
Reports have also come in of Snows and Whitefronts moving in to Central Manitoba over the past few days. With any luck, cooler weather should reach the area by the weekend and improve conditions.
Here in The States, teal hunters and early season goose hunters are still reporting better than average shooting. Coastal areas on the lower ends of the Flyways are yet to open but are still holding high numbers of Bluewing teal.
Further north concentrations are more scattered but still abundant as far north as Nebraska and southern Iowa. Low water conditions in the mid-tier states of the Central Flyway have the birds concentrated to the limited areas holding water, but this week’s rains may flood some low-lying areas just in time to hold birds.
Early season goose hunts are producing well across much of the country, but as the pressure continues, the birds are getting smarter. Hunters in most areas are finding that the resident flocks are on a three to four day feeding rotation. That is, the birds often are not in the same field every day but every third or fourth day. Careful notes and regular scouting will dictate success for the remainder of the early goose season.
Now that guns are ringing across the flyways the long wait is over. Somehow just knowing that the season is open somewhere makes the spirits soar. Traces of fall have begun to appear, and soon the leaves will turn and that first crisp morning will greet us as we turn our eyes northward and feel the drumming anticipation that beats within the chest of the waterfowler. The pre-game warm-up is underway and the main event is on the near horiz
