By David Draper

After last week’s report stating freezing temperatures up north were sending ducks winging south into Texas, several readers in the Lone Star state chimed in to say they were waiting, maybe not so patiently, for birds to show up. Thus is the nature of a late, and spotty migration. Hunters on one side of the road can be into birds, while nearby waterfowlers watch empty skies and wait. Still, as duck numbers up here in the north continue to decrease in direct proportion to the amount of ice on area lakes, hunters down south should continue to see more birds.

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By David Draper

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas on the Central Flyway as winter storm Draco pushed across the northern plains this week, bringing snow, freezing temperature and high winds with it. Hopefully this equates to an early gift of new ducks for hunters as the mallard migration works its way down the Flyway, where hunters have been impatiently waiting all season for a push of greenheads. [ Read Full Post ]

By David Draper

Although most hunters here in the Nebraska Panhandle target big geese, we’re starting to see more and more lesser Canadas moving into the area and, depending on the weather, staying for most of the season. Problem is, many local honker hunkers unaccustomed to dealing with such large flocks of birds are having difficulty decoying them. After hunting along Colorado’s Front Range last weekend, where waterfowlers have figured out how to handle the lessers, I can share a few tips. [ Read Full Post ]

By David Draper

Perhaps no other hunters are as dependent on weather as waterfowlers. They not only depend on cold fronts to push birds down the flyway, but they also typically need a little weather to keep birds moving during the day. While those of us here in the Central Flyway did get the cold weather needed to usher birds south in early November, warm temperatures since then have made for some challenging hunting conditions. Still, with bird numbers up in the central and southern sections of the Flyway, many of you can still shoot a limit of ducks and geese as long you can shoot straight during the first hour or so of the day. After that, you will be mostly just working on your tan.

According to the latest reports, bird numbers in North Dakota have been on a steady decline for the past three weeks, with many of the ducks disappearing daily. Some refuge counts are now below 1,000 birds as smaller waters and wetlands freeze over. What ducks are in the area are roosting on bigger lakes and flowing water in large, tough-to-decoy flocks. The Low Plains zone closed yesterday, so duck hunters there are already dreaming of next season. The High Plains zone opens back up December 8 and runs through December 30, giving hunters out west a final crack at any birds remaining on the Upper Missouri River.

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By David Draper

As expected, last weekend’s winter storm in the northern Central Flyway finally got ducks on the move. The snowy conditions were accompanied by sub-freezing temperatures that locked up the sheet water and smaller impoundments up north, pushing waterfowl down the flyway and onto the mid-Plains states where hunters have been waiting for fresh birds since the October openers.
 
My contacts in the Dakotas all reported seeing high migrators passing them over on Sunday, a day or so after the storm first hit. In South Dakota, Chris Hull sent in the following e-mail, complete with capitalization to better get his point across that the birds are really on the move: [ Read Full Post ]

By David Draper

This time of year, any rumor of a storm can get waterfowlers worked up and ready for new birds to arrive, and it seems the cold fronts that pushed their way across the northern Plains late last week finally got some ducks and geese moving south. And none too soon, as forum posters were bemoaning that this is the worst season ever, despite the fact it’s only October and bird counts are at record highs. I can only hope those poor-mouth hunters got their perpetually half-full cups filled up with a dose of ducks over the weekend.

I heard from my friend Phil Francone who hunts just outside of Winnipeg. He’s been putting the hurt to the geese for the past few weeks, but says ducks there have been few and far between.

“I am surprised by the lack of ducks in and around Winnipeg,” said Francone. “We shot 40 geese last weekend, and only two ducks. Granted, we were hunting corn fields and there were groups of ducks flying around, but I would guess the goose to duck ratio was 100 to 1 or better. There are so many stinking geese around here it is amazing.”

Francone did mention he has heard reports... [ Read Full Post ]