The spring light-goose season has been ushered in by a series of snowstorms and blizzards this past week – holding snow geese at their southern most destinations. With snow cover blanketing areas of New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Arkansas, it has become clear that this abnormal weather will make for a very abnormal spring migration. Hello folks, and, as always, welcome to Waterfowler.com. The State of the Union is cold and snowy. While there is a difference between Lewis Carroll’s Wonderland and our nation’s current Winter Wonderland, weather conditions can best be described as “Curiouser and curiouser!” Continue reading

As duck hunting continues into the final week of the general waterfowl season, ducks are thick in the Deep South around the Gulf coast and scattered to the Mason Dixon Line in the Central, Mississippi and Atlantic Flyways. Without a doubt, the 2010-2001 Duck Season was a good as it could get for many states, with hunters reporting record harvests. While the drought conditions in many southern states did limit public hunting opportunity, those who found water or pumped private land this season were rewarded with a consistent harvest when the water was free of ice. Hello folks, and, as always, welcome to Waterfowler.com. Old Man Winter provided another dose snow and cold temperatures to the nation this past week – adding a bit of icing to that big duck hunting cake. Continued cold weather has kept the bulk of the migration at their southern most destinations, with ice, gunning… Continue reading

If there is one thing you can count on in the world of migration tracking this season it’s change – and what a difference a new year can make. A warming trend during the first week of the year ignited a number of reverse migration events, and birds returned to a number of previously snow-covered states. Duck numbers in southern Illinois, southern Missouri, Kentucky and Arkansas rebounded significantly over the past week, as waterfowl totals on the Illinois Natural History Survey reached number nearly two times the 10-year average for the lower Mississippi survey area. Hello folks, and, as always, welcome to Waterfowler.com. With the final month of the General waterfowl season underway in the south, moderate to exceptional drought conditions persist in much of the south. With temperatures rebounding in the central tier of the United States, ducks that were driven south by ice and snow are rebounding northward… Continue reading

Ducks and geese are on the move in the Atlantic Flyway as yet another “perfect storm” greets the 2010 waterfowl season. For the first time in over 100 years, areas in the southeast were treated to White Christmas and serving of migration a la mode. Waterfowl activity increased from Delaware to Georgia throughout the weekend with duck hunters in Florida receiving a special holiday treat as ducks head for the Sunshine State. Hello folks, and, as always, welcome to Waterfowler.com. After a series of perfect storms in the Central and Mississippi Flyways so far this season, it was hard to imagine the duck season could get any better for so many hunters. When snow began to fall in the southeast over the weekend, duck hunters in the Carolinas, Georgia and Alabama had a very good reason to do a happy holiday dance. While the storms may have forced the closure… Continue reading

As we approach the Winter Solstice and the lunar start of the winter season, we take a look at current weather and habitat maps to help explain the current state of migration. While the official start of winter is a few days away, Old Man Winter has done his job to move ducks south over that past week. Of course, he and Old Mother Nature seem to have opposing plans for the south – as the little water that exists in areas of the south has seen a lot of ice. Hello folks, and, as always, welcome to Waterfowler.com. With a few areas of the south between their split seasons, ducks are packing in to available water and the re-opening of the season is expected to kick of with a bang for many hunters this weekend. Continue reading

Snow and ice continue to build in the north as a small clipper system moves across the Great Lakes and towards the northeastern seaboard. As a second storm moves in, freezing temperatures will slide into the deep south this weekend bringing much needed rain and additional flights of ducks. Hello folks, and, as always, welcome to Waterfowler.com. The migration continues to move at a rapid pace as the snow and freeze line slides further south. Weather systems in the Pacific, Central and Mississippi Flyways this past week ignited migration activity, and fueled an increase in hunter success in many areas. While hunters in the Central and Mississippi Flyway have been justifiably distracted by the task of hunting ducks, wildlife officials have continued to monitor clean up efforts in the Gulf coast, as migrating birds arrive in the areas affected by the spill. With a lack of water and drought conditions… Continue reading

Duck and goose hunters in the northern and central tiers had a lot to be thankful for this past holiday weekend. With mallards moving in mass over the past week, the Thanksgiving table was complimented by the sights of migrating waterfowl swirling over fields in that breath-taking tornado fashion. Hello folks, and, as always, welcome to Waterfowler.com. Reader activity peaked this weekend on Waterfowler.com along with the waterfowl migration in many areas. The ducks that everyone was waiting on have arrived and much needed rain has been falling in the south. Snow in the northwestern quarter of the United States has fueled the pace of the migration and the steady trickle of birds from October and November have begun to compress in the central parts of the continent and hunter success has improved dramatically in many areas. Continue reading

As Thanksgiving weekend approaches, the migration, number of hunters in the field and traffic at Waterfowler.com reaches it’s peak activity level across the U.S. While ice has locked up the far reaches of the Central and Mississippi Flyway the past week, ducks and geese have been moving south at a much better pace. With many areas in the south suffering from abnormally dry conditions, the question on every hunter’s mind is, “Where will they go when they get here?” Hello folks, and as always, welcome to Waterfowler.com. With Thanksgiving upon us, duck and goose hunters across the U.S. have a lot to be thankful for. The migration pattern thus far this season as been constant with moderate levels of birds. With snow and ice confined to the far northern reaches of the Pacific, Central and Mississippi Flyways, birds are compacting in the middle tier states and expected to provide excellent… Continue reading