Migration Reports
Week of September 23-27, 2013
Canada:
- 1)Name: Bill Dougan
Date: 10/25/2013
Location: Charlottetown, PEI
Weather: Mild, upper 40’s for lows and highs nearing 70.
Snow Cover: Nothing yet, a bit early.
Water Conditions: Good, most of the lakes and marshes are holding near normal water levels.
Feeding Conditions: Improving as the crops are harvested, most farmers are done and are working the fields.
Species and Numbers: Local Canada geese are around; the migration from the north has not started yet. Some black ducks and mergansers are present with mallards in spots.
Migrations: The major push is a little ways off, the early season birds are primarily residents.
Season Stage: The open season begins October 1st and will run until December 31st.
Hunting Report: We are all anxiously awaiting the opening day next week; early goose season was fair to good for most hunters.
Gossip: Hoping to see some colder weather soon!
Pacific:
- 2)Name:
Date: September 23rd, 2013
Location: Newport, Washington
Weather: Temperatures have been average with above average precipitation. Low temps in the 40’s and high temps in the 60’s. Cloudy with rain and thundershowers the past week and the same forecasted for the coming week.
Snow Cover: No snow as of yet
Water Conditions: We have received higher than normal precipitation for the year. River level is running a little below average and sloughs, ponds and lakes are full for the most part.
Feeding Conditions: Excellent
Species and Numbers: Canada goose populations are a bit above average. We seem to have held a few more geese this year then years past. Duck numbers have varied but reports are that the numbers seem to be a bit higher than normal.
Migrations: No migrations yet – only local birds.
Season Stage: Pre-season
Hunting Report: Early season goose hunters slammed out limits in the basin area and had some success in the NE corner of the state.
Gossip: Everyone is excited to get the season rolling. Lots of birds in the state right now and feeding conditions are excellent.
- 3)Name:
Date: 9-23-2013
Location: Fernley, NV
Weather: 60-70 for highs, lows in the upper 40’s.
Snow Cover: Got about an inch with last cold front in the mountains.
Water Conditions: Worst I’ve ever seen. Most areas have little to no water.
Feeding Conditions: Same as water. Not looking to good.
Species and Numbers: Got the local boys now. Honkers and a few puddlers.
Migrations: Have seen some geese on the move. Not much.
Season Stage: Oct.12 is the opener.
Hunting Report: Does look good with the water conditions.
Gossip: More chukar hunting might happen this season.
Central:
4) Name: Mike Clement
Date: 09/23/13
Location: Devils Lake, ND
Weather: Highs in the upper 60’s/Lows in the mid 40’s
Snow Cover:
Water Conditions: Plenty of water in medium to large sloughs with smaller sloughs pretty dry.
Feeding Conditions: Ducks and geese have been feeding in mostly wheat fields and a few bean fields.
Species and Numbers: There are plenty of local ducks and geese for great hunting opportunities.
Migrations: There have been a few new groups of Canada geese moving into the area.
Season Stage: Early
Hunting Report: There are plenty of opportunities for great hunts in fields and sloughs. There has been a little more rainfall in the region which has kept sloughs with more water than other parts of the state also keeping for good crop conditions. Wheat fields are slowly getting tilled over, but there are still plenty of fields with birds and good hides.
- 5)Name: Kirk
Date: 09/24/13
Location: Lincoln, NE
Weather: Seasonal, highs in the upper 70’s to 80’s with overnight lows around 50.
Snow Cover: None
Water Conditions: Good, area lakes are much better than last year.
Feeding Conditions: Small amounts of corn and beans have been harvested, opening fields for feeding birds.
Species and Numbers: Some teal with a few big ducks.
Migrations: Good teal migration last Friday.
Season Stage: Teal season is now closed. Zones 1 and 2 open on October 5th.
Hunting Report: Fair to good teal hunting action over the weekend.
Gossip: Nothing at this time.
- 6)Name: Jared
Date: 09/24/13
Location: Scottsbluff, NE
Weather: Varying from highs in the 80’s to highs in the mid 60’s with lows as low as 40.
Snow Cover: None
Water Conditions: The N. Platte has risen some since the end of irrigation season. Local ponds are at about average height due to some late season rains.
Feeding Conditions: Primarily alfalfa and chopped corn: however, due to the dry summer an early bean harvest has already begun.
Species and Numbers: Lots of teal as of recently. The doves have also started migrating and good numbers have been observed within the past week.
Migrations: A steady move of teal and doves has been observed throughout the month of September.
Season Stage: Teal season is now closed out here. Anxiously awaiting the youth waterfowl season opener the 19th and 20th of October followed shortly thereafter by regular duck season on the 23rd of October.
Hunting Report: Due to the 2013 survey we are anticipating a great season out here.
Gossip: All gossip has been confirmed regarding a three day possession limit and a five bird goose limit!
- 7)Name:
Date: September 22, 2013
Location: Longmont, Colorado
Weather: Warm and clear (Highs in the upper 70’s), some afternoon thunderstorms. In the past few days, evenings have been cooler and a brisk north wind may be signaling the start of fall here in Colorado.
Snow Cover: None along the Northern Front Range
Water Conditions: Water conditions are the best they have been in five years. Recent heavy rains have caused extremely flooding. Nearly every major river system has broken its banks and caused nearby fields to flood. All lakes and reservoirs are full for the first time since I can remember.
Feeding Conditions: Cornfields have not been harvested. Harvest is expected mid-to-late October, but recent flooding may push back harvest. Most geese are feeding in grass fields or alfalfa.
Species and Numbers: The local resident Canada goose population is strong. Up and down the Front Range, feeds of several hundred birds can be found. Teal numbers were strong opening weekend (Sept 14), but recent storms and flooding have moved most of the teal out of the area. Local duck numbers are strong, as good numbers of Mallards have moved down from the higher elevations (North Park, Walden, etc.) down to the Front Range along with some widgeon and other puddle ducks. All birds are local.
Migrations: No real migration has started. Lesser Canada geese will begin to show up around the second week of November. No real push of ducks from up north yet.
Season Stage: Early teal season/youth waterfowl weekend
Hunting Report: Teal hunting was great until the storms and flooding pushed a lot of birds out of the area and spread out the birds that stuck around. The best places to hunt for teal out on the eastern plains of Colorado (South Platte River system) are inaccessible due to bridges and roads being washed out from the flooding of the South Platte. We are now in a two-week split before early resident Canada goose and the first split of duck season opens. Time to head to Canada or stick to shooting doves.
Gossip: Very few people are enjoying consistent success right now. As is usually the case with early season hunting in Colorado, there is a small window of opportunity to get after the blue-wings before they move out. Should be a great resident goose opener and first split of duck season with the number of local birds around.
- 8)Name: David Williams
Date: 09-24-2013
Location: Choctaw, OK
Weather: Seasonably warm, highs in the 80’s, low in the 50’s and 60’s.
Snow Cover: None
Water Conditions: Water conditions are good. Much improved levels from past couple years.
Feeding Conditions: Corn has been cut, farmers are currently preparing fields for winter wheat seeding.
Species and Numbers: Very isolated groups of blue-winged teal. Low numbers overall.
Migrations: Light pushes of teal with northerly winds.
Season Stage: September teal season open until Sunday, September 29th.
Hunting Report: Low success on teal.
Gossip: Improved water and food conditions have Oklahoma duck hunters excited about the upcoming season.
Mississippi:
- 9)Name: Ben Brettingen
Date: 9/22/13
Location: Pine River, MN
Weather: 70’s light wind, sunny
Snow Cover: None
Feeding Conditions: Geese hitting scattered wheat fields and returning to loaf on wide sections of the Pine River. Wood ducks and blue-winged teal are sticking to rivers, lakes and sloughs of the areas.
Species and Numbers: Canada’s 500. Solid local population of BWT and Wood ducks
Migrations: A few geese have been filtering down but it is pretty stagnant.
Season Stage: Early
Hunting Report: Hunters have reported success hunting lakes and sloughs in the area for Canada geese. Floating small nearby rivers has produced a bounty of early season species.
Gossip: Focus on backwater sloughs near the river!
10) Name: Steve Esping
Date: 9/23/13
Location: Big Lake, MN
Weather: Sunny, mid 60’s
Snow Cover: None
Water Conditions: Better the past few days due to recent rain showers.
Feeding Conditions: Birds are feeding more often with the cooler temps.
Species and Numbers: Seeing a lot more geese in the area, ducks are still pretty brown
Migrations: Seeing lots of flocks moving in the area
Season Stage: Early
Hunting Report: The opener was successful, lots of ducks and the geese were responsive
Gossip: Seeing better numbers in the past 2 weeks. Recent rain has allowed more areas to hunt.
11) Name: Eric Wolf
Date: 9/23/13
Location: Waconia, MN
Weather: High’s in the 70, sunny.
Snow Cover: None
Water Conditions: Most sloughs are still holding water.
Feeding Conditions: Birds have been using wheat fields, and starting to transition to chopped corn fields as the corn is starting to be harvested now.
Species and Numbers: We have a bunch of geese in the area along with a lot of wood ducks, teal, and some mallards.
Migrations: Late last week we got a push of new geese in the area.
Season Stage: Beginning of the regular waterfowl season.
Hunting Report: The duck opener was pretty successful according to everyone I talked to. Nobody was disappointed.
12) Name: Richard Shamla
Date: 09-24-13
Location: Clara City, MN
Weather: Highs in the 60’s and 70’s, night time lows in the 40’s. We had a nice cold front with some wind come through on opening weekend, but now it’s warmer with mild winds.
Snow Cover: None
Water Conditions: Lower than average rain for the region has left most sloughs, lakes and river with low water levels.
Feeding Conditions: Ducks and geese are feeding in silage fields and wheat fields in the area. Bean and sugar beet harvest started this week in the area.
Species and Numbers: Geese numbers are about average. Duck numbers were strong prior to the duck season. Good numbers of mallards, teal and wood ducks are present in the area.
Migrations: Prior to duck opener I saw a couple of migrating geese flocks, but nothing major.
Season Stage: Week one of the duck and goose season.
Hunting Report: The duck hunting was good for all parties I spoke to. The bag was mixed as group’s harvested mallards, teal, wood ducks, pintails and gadwalls. A lot of brown ducks and drakes were very hard to identify. The early season for geese was average. The larger bag limit helped as when u had a good field you could shoot more geese. Several groups harvested above average numbers of geese. The dove hunting was excellent when it opened most are gone from the area now.
Gossip: This is start of another dry year for the region and usually that translates into good harvest of duck concentrated in the remaining water. The pheasant count is down for the area.
13) Name: Shawn Lewis
Date: 9-23-2013
Location: Midland, MI
Weather: Sunny and warm. Highs in the high 60’s to 70.
Snow Cover: None
Water Conditions: Low, we had a moderate drought through mid-summer. Water seems down even with all the rain and snow this winter/spring.
Feeding Conditions: Corn will be late. They just started making silage and the corn is still very wet. Navy beans are coming off but soybeans are still very green. Wheat is grown up, tilled or sprayed.
Species and Numbers: Looks like we had a great duck hatch and the Molts are making up for our poor goose hatch.
Migrations: Molt Migrators are still coming back and geese are abundant.
Season Stage: Regular goose season in the middle, all closed down south and up north just went wide open last weekend.
Hunting Report: Our goose hunting has really picked up. Numbers are up and pressure is down.
14) Name: Gerry Mazur
Date: September 23rd, 2013
Location: Morenci, Michigan
Weather: Cloudy with temps in the lower 50’s. Highs just at 60.
Snow Cover: Luckily too early
Water Conditions: Levels seem to be a little better with water in habitat areas about shin deep. The overall look to breeding grounds seems to have improved.
Feeding Conditions: Cut wheat is few and far between with the norm for crops being corn and beans.
Species and Numbers: Good number of mallards in the area especially hens. Canada’s are grouped up and steady.
Migrations: Appears some new birds arrived on the past full moon.
Season Stage: Michigan 3 day season for goose just ended.
Hunting Report: Fair from all accounts, birds are not patterning.
15) Name: Russell Brzezinski
Date: September 21st, 2013
Location: Saginaw, Michigan
Weather: Sporadic rain, low ceiling, northerly winds
Snow Cover: N/A
Water Conditions: N/A
Feeding Conditions: Hunting beans and cut corn – good amount of feed
Species and Numbers: Good numbers of mallards sited and wood ducks. Geese are coming in nicely
Migrations: Molt migrators are in and decoy readily. Start of the regular goose season here.
Season Stage: Beginning of regular goose season
Hunting Report: Canadas are decoying readily. New birds are moving in riding the northerly winds down and easy limits can be had.
Gossip: N/A
16) Name: Floyd Decker
Date: September 21, 2013
Location: Bloomingdale, Michigan
Weather: Roller coaster sums it up the best. In the past few weeks we have soared into the mid 90’s all the way down through our first frost advisory of the season. Looks like fall is upon us as least for the next week or so with temps holding in the 60’s to low 70’s with little rain forecasted.
Snow Cover: None
Water Conditions: Local water levels are normal for the most part. The Kalamazoo River near Saugatuck is very low. If you decide to navigate it make sure to stay between the markers or you WILL be pushing off a sand bar.
Feeding Conditions: Pasture ponds and the few picked corn fields are proving to be the most active as of late.
Species and Numbers: Good numbers of local Canada geese. Not as many wood ducks as we have seen in past years.
Migrations: Mostly local birds present.
Season Stage: Early goose season closed on 9-15, regular goose season is open through 9-22 with a 2 bird limit, and then all seasons closed until October 12.
Hunting Report: Early season proved a little harder than expected with bird patterns shifting as often as the weather. We were able to bring a few new waterfowl hunters into the sport helping to get their first birds as well.
Gossip: I can’t believe season is already here again! Good luck to everyone hitting the field!
17) Name: Greg Owens
Date: 9/22/2013
Location: Lacrosse, WI
Weather: Lows in the 40’s highs in the 60’s
Snow Cover: N/A
Water Conditions: Very low!
Feeding Conditions: The rice crop is very healthy this year, the ducks should find plenty of waste grain to feed in.
Species and Numbers: Quite a few wood ducks, teal, a few mallards and geese.
Migrations: None noted
Season Stage: Opening weekend
Hunting Report: As always, the opening weekend crowds were out in full force.
Gossip: There was quite a bit of shooting out there and from what I heard, most groups did OK.
18) Name: Nathan Bender
Date: 9-24-2013
Location: Lake Geneva, Wisconsin
Weather: Mostly clear skies with temperatures during the day reaching highs of 70 degrees and at night dropping to the low of 40 degrees
Snow Cover: None
Water Conditions: Average year for water in most potholes with local lakes being fairly higher than normal after recent rainfalls.
Feeding Conditions: Honkers have been feeding both in the mornings and afternoons. Depending on temperatures and weather conditions, it has been pretty regular to see birds in fields during the middle of the day as well.
Species and Numbers: Local Honker population is high with Migrators moving in whenever we have had North winds. It seems as though we have had our first wave already move in and move out with the recent north winds.
Migrations: Whenever a north wind is present, migrating Canada geese have filled the skies. We received a strong push of migrators in early September with many still following the exact routine during the past two weeks.
Season Stage: Early season
Hunting Report: Hunting has been exceptional if you can find a field that they are feeding in or if you are able to get under the migratory birds that are headed south. Many guys have been shooting limits in the area with the strong population of resident honkers but the migrators have made up a vast majority of the bag the last couple weeks.
Gossip: Duck season starts up this weekend for the state of Wisconsin and many are talking about the big push of blue-winged teal that we received in the area with the North winds this past week. The blue-winged teal are using the backwaters on lakes as well as the secluded sloughs around the area. Wood ducks are here in good numbers just like in years past and will make up a lot of what Wisconsin hunters will harvest this first weekend of the season. Good luck to all that will be heading out for opening weekend!
19) Name: Justin Weber
Date: Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Location: Cottage Grove, Wisconsin
Weather: Mid 60’s with Sunshine
Snow Cover: None
Water Conditions: Most ponds have water with last week’s rain
Feeding Conditions: Geese are hitting freshly cut Silage Fields
Species and Numbers: Lots of mallards and woodies. Normal goose numbers for this time of year.
Migrations: Teal seemed to have left the area with the last cold front we had. More should be coming shortly.
Season Stage: Early season
Hunting Report: Northern duck opener last weekend was hit and miss with good numbers of ducks in certain areas. Teal were non-existent it seemed like. Geese are feeding in groups of 50-100 in fields with a few migrators here and there.
Gossip: Good wood duck hatch compared to last year!
20) Name: Jeff Onstot
Date: 21-24 Sep 13
Location: Indianola, Iowa
Weather: Clear, warm. Cooler temps at night.
Snow Cover: N/A
Water Conditions: LOW! Still seeing effects of summer draught
Feeding Conditions: Harvest slowly beginning
Species and Numbers: Teal/decent numbers
Migrations: Teal, some early Canadas.
Season Stage: Early duck only season open.
Hunting Report: Word I am getting from others as well as my own hunting experience over the weekend is that there were more ducks around Saturday than expected and almost none on Sunday. I also have not seen a duck moving since the weekend.
Gossip: With only early duck season the only thing open as of right now there is not much to report. Here is the south zone of Iowa the Canada goose season opens on 5 Oct and there seems to be more geese around right now that this same time in recent years. This has been an odd year with way higher temps and little to no rainfall, it seems to have all other migrations a bit behind schedule from a “normal” year.
21) Name: Tad Hartwig
Date: 9/24/13
Location: Garner, Iowa
Weather: Partly cloudy, high’s in the lower 70’s.
Snow Cover: None
Water Conditions: Low
Feeding Conditions: Fair, some fields harvested and geese are finding them.
Species and Numbers: Plenty of resident wood ducks and mallards around for opener. Blue-winged teal were still around but not in big numbers as last week.
Migrations: Had an early push of blue-winged teal before season opener.
Season Stage: Early duck season just started.
Hunting Report: Most guys did well opening morning.
Gossip: More hunters out for duck season this year than anyone has seen in the past. A lot of guys were concentrated in the few wetland areas holding water.
22) Name: Bill Grabe
Date: 9/23/13
Location: Cedar Rapids, IA
Weather: Sunny days 75-85, cool evenings 50-55.
Snow Cover: N/A
Water Conditions: Below average
Feeding Conditions: Ideal
Species and Numbers: Blue-winged teal and local geese.
Migrations: Nice groups of blue wing teal moving into the area
Season Stage: Early season
Hunting Report: Wood ducks, teal, mallards
Gossip: Last front pushed more blue-wings into the area.
23) Name: Shaun Patrick
Date: 9/25/13
Location: Troy, MO
Weather: Highs in the 80’s lows in the 50’s.
Snow Cover: N/A
Water Conditions: Getting back to normal. Spring flooding put us under water for over 80 days, followed by drought conditions starting in late July. Recent rains have helped out however.
Feeding Conditions: Harvest is just getting under way. Moist soil vegetation is great in some areas.
Species and Numbers: Blue- winged teal, pintails, and wigeon.
Migrations: Some of our early migrants have started showing up, even though most hunters experienced a very slow teal season, due to having very small and quick pushes of blue-wings through the area.
Season Stage: Teal season out, early goose opens Oct. 5.
Hunting Report: Worst teal season I have had. Some guys managed to bring down a few on a consistent basis, but the shooting was sporadic at best.
Gossip: Hunters are truly having mixed feelings about the coming season. Some are worried about poor grain crops in some public areas. Only a few clubs were able to plant corn to flood in the bottoms, due to spring flooding. Others are optimistic, due to the fact that 2008 was also a flood year, and also one of the best years for most in recent memory. The weather allowed for great moist soil habitat, if the areas managed their ground correctly.
24) Name: Jay Hayter
Date: 9/23/13
Location: Shreveport, LA
Weather: Mid 50-80’s, some rain last week.
Snow Cover: N/A
Water Conditions: Low, conditions of late have been dry.
Feeding Conditions: Ok, some crops have been harvested but many fields remain untouched.
Species and Numbers: Blue-winged teal, a few green-wings mixed in.
Migrations: Some observed with the last front over the weekend.
Season Stage: Teal season ends on the 29th.
Hunting Report: Mixed results, there are still a lot of teal to the north.
Gossip: A warm end to the summer has put the blue-wings behind on their migration south. Maybe we will have some around for the regular season opener.
25) Name: Jason Campbell
Date: 09/23/13
Location: Lafayette, Louisiana
Weather: Late summer, very early fall, high temps in the 80’s.
Snow Cover: N/A
Water Conditions: Recent heavy rains after a moderate drought.
Feeding Conditions: First crop of rice harvested, marshes healthy!
Species and Numbers: Historically low teal numbers until this week.
Migrations: Just got a late push of birds over the weekend with a mild cold front.
Season Stage: Second week of September teal season.
Hunting Report: Very poor opening weekend, this last push of birds might save the season for some.
Gossip: Aerial surveys showed this was the lowest teal count since surveys began in the early 1990’s. A mild cold front and heavy rains did push a few birds down for the second week of the season.
26) Name: Shannon Housend
Date: 9/23/2013
Location: Des Allemans, Louisiana
Weather: 75-85
Snow Cover: N/A
Water Conditions: Little higher than normal but going down!
Feeding Conditions: The grass has grown like never before, all the ponds are covered! If they come they will stay awhile!!!!
Species and Numbers: A few blue-wings, nothing else!
Migrations: The little front pushed a few down.
Season Stage: Second week of teal season
Hunting Report: Didn’t make it yet, I’m gone Wednesday!
Gossip: Hmmm, don’t have much now but I’m sure after this week is done I’ll have something for ya! Went for a ride yesterday, they had a few, not many but a few. Enough for this country boy to chase for sure! Got a special guest coming make a hunt this week, hopefully we can make it happen!
Atlantic:
27) Name: Eric Bartlett
Date: 9/23/13
Location: Hollis, Maine
Weather: Seasonable temps around 50 in the morning rising to around 70 during the day.
Snow Cover: None
Water Conditions: Cool but nice.
Feeding Conditions: Abundant feed available from recently cut hay fields and corn, with waterways providing ample aquatic life and dropping acorns.
Species and Numbers: 70 Canada geese, 12 green-winged teal, 30, wood ducks, 20 green heads
Migrations: Not many birds are moving south right now. Perhaps some geese, but several geese and ducks are still in family flocks around the area.
Season Stage: This is early goose season, Open season starts Oct.1st.
Hunting Report: Lots of scouting has been fun and hopefully productive. Many species of ducks seem to have done well this year and can be seen everywhere while we are still taking advantage of open water fishing.
Gossip: Abundant birds keep us hopeful that Mother Nature cooperates for the fall season and sends birds to our decoy spreads on a nice fall breeze.
28) Name: Mike Bard
Date: September 23, 2013
Location: Syracuse, NY
Weather: Overcast, windy and cool.
Snow Cover: None
Water Conditions: Low
Feeding Conditions: Fair, but improving as corn is starting to be harvested.
Species and Numbers: Average numbers of local ducks. Good numbers of Canada geese are here.
Migrations: Small pushes of molt migrators occurring now.
Season Stage: Early
Hunting Report: Hunting has been good for the past week with the arrival of fresh birds.
Gossip: None
29) Name: Marshall Starkey
Date: 9/22/13
Location: Essex, MD
Weather: Seasonal temps expected with highs in the 70’s and night time lows in the 50’s.
Snow Cover: None
Water Conditions: Average to slightly above average water levels
Feeding Conditions: Cut agricultural fields and various marshes and impoundments
Species and Numbers: Green and blue-winged teal, although in unremarkable numbers. Very first flocks of migrating geese have made their way onto the Upper Shore.
Migrations: Still a few teal around, but the big news on the shore was the first arrivals of flights of migratory Canada geese.
Season Stage: Resident goose season remains open in the western counties. Teal season remains open.
Hunting Report: The teal have been hit or miss this year. The resident goose hunting was good for those who had fields cut early.
30) Name: Sean M. Fritzges
Date: 23 September 2013
Location: Bel Air, MD
Weather: Cool. Temps are beginning to fall as fall has arrived. Very dry conditions with not much rain during weeks past.
Snow Cover: None at this time.
Water Conditions: Chesapeake Bay tide levels are normal. Local fresh water ponds are low due to small rain amounts.
Feeding Conditions: Resident Canada geese are feeding on cut corn fields and picking through hay fields. No beans cut to date.
Species and Numbers: Resident numbers low.
Migrations: During the past week, I’ve noticed three flocks of migrating Canada geese flying high.
Season Stage: Closed.
Hunting Report: Resident season proved to be slow due to the heat. SO hunters who took advantage of hunting around ponds were successful.
Gossip: Bow hunters are taking advantage of the cool air in our region. No word of any large bucks being taken so far. Hunt clubs also using the great weather to prepare for the coming waterfowl season, performing maintenance on pits and blinds.
31) Name: Bryn Witmier
Date: 9/24/2013
Location: Strausstown. PA
Weather: Very seasonal temperatures. It has been pretty dry the last few weeks.
Snow Cover: N/A
Water Conditions: About average, even with the current dry spell.
Feeding Conditions: Silage corn was late this year but there is plenty cut. The combines are up and running the past week or so.
Species and Numbers: Resident Canada geese, mallards, and local wood ducks are around in their usual numbers.
Migrations: The first push of migratory Canada’s started arriving the last few days.
Season Stage: Resident goose season closes tomorrow.
Hunting Report: If you can be where the geese want to be you will kill them. That is if they show up. September geese continue to be unpredictable.
Gossip: It is good to be back in the saddle.
32) Name: Shaun Smith
Date: 09-22-2013
Location: Craigsville, PA
Weather: Cloudy, scattered rain showers.
Snow Cover: N/A
Water Conditions: Water levels are good in this area and surrounding areas. 3.5in above drought levels
Feeding Conditions: Farms are starting to cut corn opening up more hunting areas.
Species and Numbers: Resident geese 150-200, wood ducks and mallards 50-100.
Migrations: No new birds for this area at this time.
Season Stage: Last 2 days of PA’s early goose
Hunting Report: Hunting has been slow for this area.
Gossip: The only thing predictable about September geese is that they are unpredictable.
33) Name: Kevin Addy
Date: September 24, 2013
Location: Reading, PA
Weather: Highs in the low 70’s and lows in the mid 40’s.
Snow Cover: None
Water Conditions: Levels are low, we haven’t had much rain since July and the rain last Saturday soaked up pretty quick.
Feeding Conditions: Lots of silage down now and some of it already has cover crop coming up. They just started to combine corn in the last week and there is also plenty of green grass around for the residents to eat.
Species and Numbers: Decent numbers of residents and some migrators have started to trickle in. We have some local mallards, woodies and a few teal around.
Migrations: Some birds moved down with the harvest moon and NW winds
Season Stage: Resident season closes on Wednesday. The north zone duck opens on the 12th followed by the southern zone the next week.
Hunting Report: Resident season has been hit or miss but overall decent.
Gossip: Some are moving to deer hunting mode while others are getting ready for duck season.
34) Name: Richard Foley
Date: 9/24/13
Location: Suffolk, VA
Weather: Has been in the Upper 60’s and low 70’s during the day. At night it’s starting to get a little colder, dropping into the low 50’s.
Snow Cover: None
Water Conditions: Some of the cornfields are still damp after the rain on Saturday. Some of the rivers are lower than usual, but not substantial.
Feeding Condition: Most farmers cut their fields in the last two weeks making feed readily available. Big congregations of birds are rare due to the vast quantity of food available.
Species and Numbers: Early in the season you saw a good number of good sized of resident geese flocks and congregations. Since a majority of the fields have been cut, geese are in smaller groups and are more spread out. The numbers have stayed the same though.
Season Stage: The resident goose season is winding down with one day remaining. Teal season however remains until the weekend.
Hunting Report: It has been tough since the opening day with the geese being so spread out due to the quantities of food available. Most success is being found on cut cornfields near the geese loafing spot.
35) Name: Richard Foley
Date: 9/21/13
Location: Engelhard, NC
Weather: The high temperature has fluctuated between 75 and 65 degrees. The low temperature has been between 62 and 58 degrees. The temperature has been consistent and looks like it will stay the same through the next week.
Snow Cover: None
Water Conditions: Have been stable. Showers came through on Saturday.
Feeding Conditions: The local geese that are there have been feeding in corn fields that have been cut. Teal have been mostly feeding on aquatic vegetation found in the marshes and on Lake Mattamuskeet. The bigger concentrations have been feeding on widgeon grass flats found in the marshes.
Species and Numbers: Few local Canada geese. Teal have been growing in numbers. Still very few big flocks, flocks typically ranged between 5 -10 birds
Migrations: The resident geese numbers have remained the same. They will jump to different fields as they are cut. Teal have been gaining numbers over the past two weeks. They can be found on the lake and in the marsh.
Season Stage: Teal has one week remaining
Hunting Report: Teal shoots have been fast and furious at daybreak. However once the sun and heat comes out there are very few flying.
Gossip: Hopefully we can get one more successful hunt on teal next Saturday and tide us over until regular season come in!!
