Migration Reports
Canada:
Name: Zach LaBorde
Date: October 14, 2013
Location: Lake Lenore, Saskatchewan, Canada
Weather: Mostly sunny, highs in the upper 50’s and low 60’s. Over the course of the week we had a good 15-20 mph wind most days.
Snow Cover: No snow to speak of north of Miles City, Montana. We hit blizzard conditions in Wyoming and southern Montana last week, but all the snow was melted off by the time we returned a few days ago.
Water Conditions: Water conditions looked great in the region. Most potholes were full or near full and almost every body of water was holding birds. Large rainfall a few weeks ago replenished many of the potholes. However, it has been dry the past few weeks so potholes are beginning to shrink.
Feeding Conditions: Most farmers are done with harvest in the region, with the exception being a few canola fields. Farmers reported having one of the best wheat harvests in the past 30 years, and feeding waterfowl were abundant in harvested fields.
Species and Numbers: Large concentrations of snow and Ross’ geese were in the area all week. Some non-mating blues and adult snows were around at the beginning of the week and gave way to a large push of Ross’ geese and juvie snows. Large numbers of mallards, pintails, and gadwalls were observed in the area throughout the week.
Migrations: Large flocks of snow geese were observed riding a strong north wind south towards the border later in the week. A large push of dark geese, primarily lesser Canadas, came through the area the last day we were in the region. Some ducks moved south throughout the week (mainly Gadwalls), but a push of colored up Mallards arrived in the area the last two days we were there.
Season Stage: Prime time for Saskatchewan and other Canadian provinces. Hunters in the states should be seeing a strong push of birds in the coming weeks.
Hunting Report: The hunting was phenomenal. Truly an experience every waterfowler should have. Limits of ducks were reached every day and several days were perfect for snow geese. Hunters looking to plan a trip to the region should aim for mid-to-late October.
Name: Bill Dougan
Date: October 14, 2013
Location: Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
Weather: Temperatures for the coming week will be ranging from lows of 8 to highs of 15. Mostly sunny for most of the week with moderate winds, maybe some showers on Thursday.
Snow Cover: Hopefully none for the next few months.
Water Conditions: The water levels are still low in some ponds. It has been a very dry fall
so far this season.
Feeding Conditions: Silage corn fields are all cut now, with the cob corn done in about
two weeks. The potato harvest is in full swing also. Grain fields that were cut early are
very green.
Species and Numbers: There are good numbers of both ducks and geese here now.
Most of the blue-wings have left as we have had some frosty mornings.
Migrations: A lot of birds arrived during the first week of the season. Just waiting on
some bad weather in Labrador to push in some new birds. Temps are in running in
around +7 with some north winds being called for later in the week in Labrador.
Season Stage: We are just starting our third week of the season which opened on
October 1.
Hunting Report: Some guys are having some great shoots in most areas with lots of
ducks and geese being harvested.
Gossip: Some guys have seen a rare flock of snows along the north shore of the island. I
am sure they are being watched very closely.
Pacific:
Name: Kent Contreras
Date: October 14th, 2013
Location: Newport, Washington
Weather: Temperatures over the past week have been average with little precipitation. Low temps in the upper 20’s and high temps in the 50’s. Cloudy with thundershowers this past week. The forecasts for the coming week predict good weather with average temps and precipitation.
Snow Cover: Snow in the mountains and higher elevations.
Water Conditions: We have received higher than normal precipitation for the year. River level is running above average and sloughs, ponds and lakes are full.
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. Mallard numbers are above average, wigeon are plentiful and the pintail seem to be above average also.
Migrations: No migrations yet – only local birds.
Season Stage: Official opening weekend!
Hunting Report: Hunters were very successful with the local birds this weekend. Limits of ducks and geese were taken in short order. Heard a lot of shooting up and down the river as well as around lakes and ponds in the area. An excellent start to the season!
Gossip: Looks like we are off to a great season. Reports from the Spokane and Moses Lake area were excellent as well as the rest of the state.
Name: Allen Riggs
Date: 10/14/2013
Location: Metaline Falls, WA
Weather: Cool, highs in the 50s and lows in the upper 20s.
Snow Cover: N/A
Water Conditions: Rivers and streams are high and cold.
Feeding Conditions: Birds are feeding in fields and loafing and feeding in the river.
Species and Numbers: Mallard, pintail and wigeon numbers are average. Canada goose numbers are average.
Migrations: Migrations have not begun yet.
Season Stage: Week one of the season.
Hunting Report: Hunting was good, plenty of local ducks and geese in the area.
Gossip: The season looks good so far.
Central:
Name: Mike Clement
Date: 10/14/13
Location: Devils Lake, ND
Weather: Highs in the mid 40’s lows in the 30’s.
Water Conditions: Water conditions have remained stable with recent rainfall.
Feeding Conditions: Mostly in wheat stubble and bean fields.
Species and Numbers: Species numbers have been slowly on the rise with more ducks showing up in the past few days. Few more Canada geese have started to show up with very few snow geese still.
Migrations: The weather over the week should continue to push more birds down.
Hunting Report: Field conditions have been very wet the past week with the recent amount of rain fall. Atv’s have been about the only option to get into fields to get decoys out. Drier conditions in the forecast this week should help start to slowly dry out fields.
Name: Kirk Steffensen
Date: 10/16/13
Location: Lincoln, NE
Weather: Seasonal, daytime highs in the 50’s and overnight lows in the 30’s.
Snow Cover: None
Water Conditions: Good, area lakes are much better than last year.
Feeding Conditions: Bean harvest is almost completed with a few corn fields picked.
Species and Numbers: Fair numbers of teal and increasing numbers of big ducks.
Migrations: A few more big ducks in the area.
Season Stage: Early, zones 2 and 4 opened on October 5th and Zone 1 opened on October 12th. Zone 3 finally opens on October 23rd.
Hunting Report: Good number of ducks taken, mostly teal but the numbers of big ducks taken are increasing.
Gossip: Nothing at this time.
Name: Doug Steinke
Date: Oct. 14, 2013
Location: Grand Island, Nebraska
Weather: Mild temps, cold front moving in Monday night.
Snow Cover: None
Water Conditions: Improving surface water levels in marshes and ponds.
Feeding Conditions: Marsh based, no crop feeding yet.
Species and Numbers: Coots, cormorants, wigeon, early phase pintail and mallards, blue and green-winged teal, specklebelly geese.
Migrations: In process.
Season Stage: Transition of teal to bigger ducks.
Hunting Report: Up until Friday of last week there was a substantial population of teal still residing in the Basin Areas of central and eastern Nebraska. It was even estimated that 2-3000 teal were using Fuunk WPA alone south of Kearney. With wind switching to the north overnight Friday a good portion of those teal were gone by Saturday morning. From talking to other hunters in the basins most were seeing a declining population from Friday’s numbers. There is still a good number of ducks in the basins just not as many. Also, a good migration of cormorants, coots and specks were seen migrating through on Sunday. The eastern sandhill region has been quite hit or miss this season. It has been another dry summer here and the amount of marshes with water is even less than last year. Subsequently the holding power of the sandhills for ducks and geese will be less this year. The opposite can be said for the western sandhills region by Hyannis. State game warden, Terry Brentzel has reported a strong population of waterfowl and surface water on area marshes and lakes.
Gossip: With the government closing of the federal WPAs we had the luxury of having several more roosting areas where waterfowl could reside unmolested and built up in numbers. The WPAs I visited this weekend were still holding good numbers of ducks for this time of the year even after being hunted Saturday and Sunday.
Name: Jared Shepard
Date: 10/14/13
Location: Scottsbluff, NE
Weather: It looks as if we are finally going to see a fall season out here! This past week saw highs in the lower 60’s but mostly highs in the 50’s. Lows dropped into the 30’s and lower 40’s for most of the week. Predictions for this coming week include highs in the 50’s with overnight lows in the 20’s and 30’s.
Snow Cover: None at this time.
Water Conditions: Water levels are pretty much the same as last week and about average for this time of year. The river might be up a touch due to the rain we have received over the past couple weeks.
Feeding Conditions: Primarily alfalfa and chopped corn with a variety of beans. Field corn is also starting to come off at a fairly quick rate.
Species and Numbers: Mostly just local mallards and Canada geese still.
Migrations: I was excited to hear my first migrating Sandhill cranes this last Friday morning at around 4:00 AM. The cranes are definitely moving now but as far as huntable fowl I have yet to see the first push arrive.
Season Stage: Youth waterfowl season opens the 19th and 20th of October followed 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: Still nothing.
Name: Andrew Schlueter
Date: 10/15/2013
Location: Lincoln, NE
Weather: 55/34-3 MPH (w)
Snow Cover: None
Water Conditions: We did get over an inch of rain yesterday.
Feeding Conditions: The geese are feeding twice a day. Most of the beans are picked along with some of corn.
Species and Numbers: Local birds.
Migrations: Did not see any birds moving, very minimal migration at this time.
Season Stage: Early
Hunting Report: Geese are feeding twice a day. They are moving in family groups.
Gossip: Nothing at this time.
Name: David Williams
Date: 10-15-2013
Location: Choctaw, OK
Weather: Cool and wet.
Snow Cover: None
Water Conditions: Water conditions are good.
Feeding Conditions: Corn has been cut and chiseled, winter wheat is in.
Species and Numbers: Mostly teal and wood ducks, but low numbers overall.
Migrations: Light migrations with northerly winds.
Season Stage: All seasons are closed.
Hunting Report: None, all seasons closed.
Gossip: Improved water and food conditions have Oklahoma duck hunters excited about the upcoming season.
Mississippi:
Name: Will Harvey
Date: 10/14/13
Location: Glenwood, MN
Weather: Clear skies most of last week, rain Friday-Saturday. Cooler temps coming this week finally!
Snow Cover: None
Water Conditions: Water levels are a little low, but looking ok.
Feeding Conditions: Lots of corn is coming out, unfortunately farmers are following the combines with the plows.
Species and Numbers: Numbers of everything were poor over the weekend. Did a lot of driving and did not see much activity.
Migrations: Most of our local ducks are gone, need some cold weather up north to move some ducks in, supposed to be cold this week-hoping to see some movement!
Season Stage: Early
Hunting Report: Pretty poor over the weekend. Put on lots of miles to see little to nothing.
Gossip: The locals are gone and we haven’t seen the weather to move new birds in, everyone is looking forward to cooler temps this week and fingers are crossed hoping for new birds!
Name: Steve Esping
Date: 10/11/13
Location: Big Lake, MN
Weather: Cloudy, cool temps with strong wind.
Snow Cover: None
Water Conditions: Still low
Feeding Conditions: More corn is starting to be harvested.
Species and Numbers: Geese are still strong with more ducks showing up.
Migrations: Seen a decent increase in ducks. Starting to see more coloration on the birds.
Season Stage: Mid-season
Hunting Report: We did fairly well, the birds were working nice.
Gossip: There weren’t a lot of hunters out but the ones we did speak to had some luck. Some groups only seen a few birds at day break and others had shooting up to about 9:00 am.
Name: Eric Wolf
Date: 10/15/13
Location: Waconia, MN
Weather: High’s in the 50’s, lows in the 40’s. Rain the past couple days.
Snow Cover: None
Water Conditions: Sloughs are in good shape with all the rain we’ve been getting lately.
Feeding Conditions: Geese, mallards, and wood ducks have been feeding in silage and combined corn fields.
Species and Numbers: A few birds have left the area and we are waiting for a cold front to push some new birds in. There are a lot of geese around with lower numbers of ducks currently.
Migrations: A lot of birds moved out of the area. There is a bunch to the north yet that will make their way to us during the next cold front.
Season Stage: Just a few weeks into the regular season.
Hunting Report: Hunting has been fair. A lot of hunters struggled the past week while the guys who put the time in to scout shot a good amount of birds.
Name: Richard Shamla
Date: 10/15/13
Location: Clara City, MN
Weather: Raining and good wind with daytime highs in the 50’s and night time lows in upper 30’s.
Snow Cover: None
Water Conditions: Water levels came up with close to 2 inches of rain in the area.
Feeding Conditions: Waterfowl are feeding in the harvested bean and corn fields.
Species and Numbers: Geese number went up this week but not in heavy numbers. Duck numbers are about the same with some locals leaving and some new birds in the area.
Migrations: Slight migration of ducks and geese into the area but nothing major.
Season Stage: 5th week of the duck and goose season
Hunting Report: Reports remain pretty good with limits of ducks and geese being taken in the area. Birds worked the decoys better with the front bringing clouds, rain and wind.
Gossip: This season is on pace to be one of the better ones I’ve experienced in quite a while.
Name: Russell Brzezinski
Date: October 12th, 2013
Location: Saginaw Bay, Michigan
Weather: Warm, low 70’s, calm and sunny.
Snow Cover: N/A
Water Conditions: Calm, SSE winds
Feeding Conditions: Flooded corn and buckwheat.
Species and Numbers: Good numbers of wood ducks, teal and geese. Mallard numbers seem down.
Migrations: Geese, mallards and teal. Start of the regular duck season in the southern lower zone of Michigan.
Season Stage: Beginning of regular duck season.
Hunting Report: Canadas decoying readily. A good number of hunters were out with good action for the first hour, then, with the rising sun it just died off. It was a very warm and mild opener.
Gossip: N/A
Name: Floyd Decker
Date: October 15, 2013
Location: Bloomingdale, Michigan
Weather: Broke out the gloves for the first time! Very “ducky” weather on tap for the next week as the temps drop to the coolest of the season with a chance of rain almost every day.
Snow Cover: None
Water Conditions: Local lakes are looking great but even after a great deal of rain still remains cautious if navigating the rivers especially the Kalamazoo.
Feeding Conditions: Picked fields have been holding great numbers of birds with more fields being picked daily.
Species and Numbers: Ducks and geese everywhere! Good numbers of greenheads as of late.
Season Stage: Regular season is open in the south zone for both ducks and geese.
Hunting Report: Our group had a banner day to kick off the opener on Saturday taking several mallards and woodies. We got out Tuesday and found a few green tops one of which was banded! Unfortunately, due to the government shutdown, we are unable to get the band info until further notice.
Gossip: Good luck to everyone hitting the fields and water!
Name: Shawn Lewis
Date: 10-11-13
Location: Midland, MI
Weather: Lows in the 40’s and highs in the mid to upper 70’s.
Snow Cover: None
Water Conditions: Low it’s been a dry summer and early fall. We hunted north of here and the water was way up from last year in a few spots.
Feeding Conditions: Beans are coming off and they are chopping lots of corn.
Species and Numbers: Local duck populations were up for the opener. Geese are in big bunches.
Migrations: Geese still seem to be arriving daily.
Season Stage: The whole state will be open after this Saturday.
Hunting Report: Tons of pressure for the opener. Remember to be patient and not let greed get the best of you. Work with your neighbors and the hunting will be way better. Also you will have a lot more success if you let them leave the ozone before you start poking at them.
Name: Gerry Mazur
Date: October 15th
Location: Graytown, Ohio
Weather: Highs in 60’s and cooling off at night into 40’s. Front coming through and a full moon.
Snow Cover: No thanks.
Water Conditions: Fields were still damp enough that farmers can’t get in.
Feeding Conditions: Plenty of grass to loaf on and no pressure from the refuges.
Species and Numbers: Very light numbers on ducks but geese have gained a few.
Migrations: Hoping full moon and front does the trick.
Season Stage: Michigan and Ohio are open. Check with your lawyer on Ohio zones.
Hunting Report: Spotty at best, but to use the old adage….birds are where ya find’em.
Name: Nathan Bender
Date: 10-15-2013
Location: Lake Geneva, Wisconsin
Weather: Partly cloudy skies with temperatures during the day reaching highs of 60 degrees and at night dropping to the low of 36 degrees
Snow Cover: None
Water Conditions: Recent rains have helped raise water levels all across the board and will definitely benefit the hunters as we move into the early stages of fall. Most sloughs that were dry during the summer months have at least a few inches of water now with the rain we have had in the past couple of weeks.
Feeding Conditions: Honkers have been feeding both in the mornings and afternoons. They have been hitting silage cut cornfields as of late with the rest using freshly cut alfalfa and old oat fields. Although I have yet to find my first mallard feed of the year, there have been several fields in the area with wood ducks filtering in and out during the early stages of the season. The wood ducks are typically hitting cornfields that have been harvested in the early morning hours as well as in the evenings. Numbers vary from area to area but feeds of 500+ wood ducks can be found especially now that the combining of corn and soy beans is taking place.
Species and Numbers: Local honker population is high with migrators moving in whenever we have had north winds in the forecast. Our duck population as of right now consists almost entirely of wood ducks. Wood ducks are abundant in most parts of SE Wisconsin as of right now with very few other ducks around. Mallards have been hard to come by this early in the season but the numbers should increase as we near the middle of October when the full moon fills and the winds blow out of the north.
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 last several weeks.
Season Stage: Early season–mid season
Hunting Report: Hunting has been exceptional if you can find a field that Honkers are feeding in or if you are able to get under the migratory birds that are headed south. Many guys have been shooting Honker 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. Reports on duck number have been spotty but success should improve as the season moves along.
Gossip: The big groups of blue-winged teal have moved out of the area for the most part but an abundance of wood ducks are all over in the area. North winds this past week moved some of the larger groups of teal out of the area but new arrivals should be coming through the area by next weekend with the forecasted wind and moon phase.
Name: Justin Weber
Date: Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Location: Wisconsin
Weather: Mid 40’s-60’s with clouds
Snow Cover: None
Water Conditions: Recent rains this week have filled up ponds to a good level
Feeding Conditions: Geese are hitting corn fields.
Species and Numbers: Geese aren’t hard to find. Mallards are just starting to appear. Reports are that divers are showing up as well.
Migrations: Divers are slowly coming and going
Season Stage: Mid-season
Hunting Report: Shooting lots of geese and a few migrating mallards.
Gossip: The migration is coming!
Name: Greg Owens
Date: 10/14/2013
Location: Lacrosse, WI
Weather: Lows in the 30’s highs in the 60’s.
Snow Cover: N/A
Water Conditions: Very low
Feeding Conditions: The rice crop is very healthy this year.
Species and Numbers: Quite a few woodies and teal, and a few mallards, and geese are showing up as well.
Migrations: None noted.
Season Stage: The season opened up again on Saturday.
Hunting Report: Success has been spotty.
Gossip: Most people are reporting much lower success on the river than anticipated. There are a couple lakes in the south central part of MN that the hunting is red hot right now.
Name: Jeff Onstot
Date: 15 October 2013
Location: Dubuque, Iowa
Weather: PAST WEEKEND/Mild temps and little to no wind. TODAY/50-60’s/Windy
Snow Cover: N/A
Water Conditions: Average to slightly above average water levels right now.
Feeding Conditions: Fall harvest is in full swing in most areas. Also it seems with the lack of rain throughout the area this summer; farmers did not get as good of hay crop as usual. That means that many of them are baling the corn stalks in the fields after the corn has been picked. This really spreads the waste grain out and breaks it up, making it way easier for the birds to find and eat.
Species and Numbers: Good numbers of blue-wings and Canada geese. A few more flocks of mallards were also observed this past weekend.
Migrations: Early migrators seem to be moving steadily.
Season Stage: Beginning.
Hunting Report: Last weekend was youth duck season in our area. The kids in our group had no problems taking full limits of teal. Canada season is also open and limits were taken both days.
Gossip: N/A
Name: Bill Grabe
Date: 10/14/2013
Location: Cedar Rapids, IA
Weather: Sunny days 55-68, cool evenings 35-45.
Snow Cover: None
Water Conditions: Close to average.
Feeding Conditions: Ideal.
Species and Numbers: Teal leaving and nothing taking their place yet.
Migrations: Teal have started to move out of the area due to the cold windy evenings. No new pushes.
Season Stage: Goose hunting is open. North zone duck opened last Saturday and the South zone will open this Saturday.
Hunting Report: Youth weekend was this past weekend, a couple young hunters bagged a couple pintails and four teal.
Gossip: None.
Name: Tad Hartwig
Date: 10/15/13
Location: Garner, Iowa
Weather: Cloudy colder high in lower 50’s.
Snow Cover: None
Water Conditions: Low
Feeding Conditions: Crop field starting to come out, birds using mostly corn fields at the moment.
Species and Numbers: A few new mallards are showing up since the weekend, nothing to get excited about though. Plenty of geese around.
Migrations: Sunday morning was cold, first frost of the year. Saw a few high flocks of geese heading south. No big push of birds to speak of yet.
Season Stage: Both goose and duck seasons are now open for the rest of the fall.
Hunting Report: Local guys are still killing a few geese but not many. Duck numbers were down for the last week. I didn’t hear of too many ducks being killed over the weekend.
Gossip: Not much to speak of, waiting for some new birds to show up.
Name: Kip Strickland
Date: 10/15/13
Location: Baxter, Iowa
Weather: Seasonal, becoming cooler by the week.
Snow Cover: None
Water Conditions: Dry
Feeding Conditions: Few open fields, not many moist soil feeding opportunities.
Species and Numbers: Good numbers of Canada geese, fair numbers of ducks.
Migrations: Teal have migrated through the state recently, larger ducks are starting to show up with cooler temps and northwest winds.
Season Stage: Canada goose is open in the north and south zones, duck season remains is open in the north zone, and opens this weekend in the south zone.
Hunting Report: Local hunters are harvesting fair numbers of Canada geese.
Gossip: Nothing at this time.
Name: Brandon Geweke
Date: 10-14-2013
Location: Anitoch, Illinois
Weather: First part of the week was warm 75, last two days we have had frost advisories with northwest winds.
Snow Cover: 0
Water Conditions: Slightly above normal levels.
Feeding Conditions: All bean fields are picked, lots of geese in fields and mallards are starting to hit the fields as well once this cold snap pushed in.
Species and Numbers: Lots of mallards/Canadas, saw a few lines of divers hitting our bigger water.
Migrations: Canadas are still stacking up, probably the most Canadas we’ve ever had at this time of the year.
Season Stage: Our season opens this Saturday.
Hunting Report: Hunting Wisconsin and killing lots of geese.
Gossip: Nothing at this time.
Name: Steve DeMaster
Date: 10-14-13
Location: Peoria, IL
Weather: sunny and clear skies. Mid 50s to upper 60s during the day and dropping into the lower 50 to upper 40s.
Snow Cover: None
Water Conditions: Plenty
Feeding Conditions: Fresh cut cornfield and natural vegetation.
Species and Numbers: Teal, wood ducks and mallards. Not many, mostly locals.
Migrations: No big pushes yet
Season Stage: Starts next weekend in north zone and youth for central.
Hunting Report: Poor
Gossip: None at this time.
Name: Shaun Patrick
Date: 10/16/13
Location: Troy, MO
Weather: Highs in the 60’s lows in the 40’s.
Snow Cover: N/A
Water Conditions: Good
Feeding Conditions: Good, harvest well underway.
Species and Numbers: N/A
Migrations: Hoping to see a push of birds into the area on the latest cold front that just moved through the area.
Season Stage: We are currently out, but the north zone in Missouri opens in two weeks.
Hunting Report: N/A
Gossip: Season prep is almost complete. Most areas in the central zone of MO began pumping water at the start of this week.
Name: Ralph Harr
Date: 10/15/13
Location: St. Peters, MO
Weather: Cooler with temps in the low 50s highs in low 70.
Water Conditions: Very dry, some rain in the last 24 hrs.
Feeding Conditions: Fair/good
Species and Numbers: Very few ducks around right now, have not had a good push of birds yet.
Hunting Report: N/A
Gossip: Nothing at this time.
Name: Jay Hayter
Date: 10/14/13
Location: El Dorado, AR
Weather: 60-80s, a coming front will drop temperatures over the weekend.
Snow Cover: N/A
Water Conditions: Normal, the rivers are in their banks.
Feeding Conditions: Good, most of the crops have been harvested.
Species and Numbers: Some local woodies and mallards with a few blue-wings rolling through.
Migrations: Blue-wings have headed south for the most part, waiting on north winds to push in the first of the migrants.
Season Stage: 5 weeks to opener.
Hunting Report: N/A
Gossip: Report not available due to governmentt shutdown!
Name: Shannon Housend
Date: 10/14/13
Location: Des Allemands, LA
Weather: Hot, hot, and hot! A front is due in late this week that will hopefully help.
Snow Cover: Never
Water Conditions: Normal, some more rain would be welcomed by most folks down here.
Feeding Conditions: Same, the native grasses are thick in the marshes.
Species and Numbers: A few blue-wings around, that is all.
Migrations: Not seeing anything yet, hopefully this weekend they will come see me!
Season Stage: Closed!
Hunting Report: N/A
Gossip: Still waiting, they haven’t come yet bro!
Atlantic:
Name: Arliss Reed
Date: 10/16/13
Location: Albany, NY
Weather: Unseasonably warm but a cooling trend is in the long term forecast.
Snow Cover: N/A
Water Conditions: Average
Feeding Conditions: Most of the ducks are still feeding in wetlands, geese are in chopped corn.
Species and Numbers: Tons of Canada geese, average to below average numbers of teal, mallards and wood ducks
Migrations: Canada geese are here. Seems the duck migration is a little bit behind.
Season Stage: SE zone is open; western zone opens 10/26.
Hunting Report: SE Zone opener was better than the NE zone, but duck numbers are still low as a warm weather trend has settled over the area recently. SE winds and highs in the 60’s do not help push the migration along.
Name: Dave Weidner
Date: 10-14-13
Location: Hamilton Square, New Jersey
Weather: Sunny and cool.
Snow Cover: N/A
Water Conditions: Normal
Feeding Conditions: Normal
Species and Numbers: Canada geese/ wood ducks/teal
Migrations: Migration for Canada geese is going strong.
Season Stage: Early
Hunting Report: North season opener resulted in good numbers of wood ducks, but still lower than in previous years and a mix of green-winged teal. Friends did well with singles and pairs of mallards on the Delaware River, but you need to stay long as they fly late. Canada geese continue to pour into the region as more and more crops come down.
Name: Sean M. Fritzges
Date: 15 October 2013
Location: Jarrettsville, MD
Weather: Cooler air is finally here. Temps are in the mid 70’s this week for an average.
Snow Cover: None at this time.
Water Conditions: Levels are back normal, some ponds still low due to the recent lack of rain the past few weeks.
Feeding Conditions: Geese feeding in cut corn and hay fields. No soybeans cut to date.
Species and Numbers: Numbers are very good. There are lots of migratory birds in our area. Birds are hanging around due to the abundance of feeding locations.
Migrations: Late evenings while walking my dog, I hear migrating birds flying high.
Season Stage: Early duck opened Saturday. Canada goose closed at this time.
Hunting Report: Several duck hunters I know had successful hunts on the opener. Bow hunters are out in full showing.
Gossip: Everyone happy the cooler air has finally arrived. Looking forward to the season!!
Name: Marshall Starkey
Date: 10/14/13
Location: Essex, MD
Weather: Cooler temps are forecast for the latter part of the week with night time lows in the lower 40s. Seasonal daytime highs in the mid-60s.
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: There are more Canada geese on the Upper Shore right now than at this time the previous few years. Good numbers of woodies and teal still around.
Migrations: There seems to be very good amounts woodies and puddle ducks in the area. I would not be surprised to see another push of geese into the area over the weekend with cooler temps and northerly winds forecast.
Season Stage: The first split of duck season runs through next weekend.
Hunting Report: The weather was very good for the duck opener and many reports had very good hunting. There are plenty of woodies around this year.
Name: Kenny Gray
Date: Oct 15, 2013
Location: Chestertown, MD
Weather: Mild, daytime temps in the low 70’s, high 60’s.
Snow Cover: None at this time.
Water Conditions: Heavy rains last week brought extra water to ponds, swamps and low lying areas.
Feeding Conditions: Corn harvest is almost complete, beans have started but the heavy rains last week will push the harvest off a week or so while the farmers wait for things to dry out.
Species and Numbers: Good numbers of Canada geese, wood ducks and teal.
Migrations: Appears numbers stayed the same as last week, some birds just moved around a little with the first split of duck season opening last Saturday.
Season Stage: Maryland is currently in a one week ducks season that runs until Saturday, October 19th.
Hunting Report: While I missed the opening day of duck season to help with a youth pheasant hunt in PA, reports were the shooting was fast and furious at first light with several groups limiting out on wood ducks and teal by 9am.
Gossip: Good opening day results and higher than normal goose numbers give promise to the upcoming season.
Name: Bryn Witmier
Date: 10/15/2013
Location: Strausstown, PA
Weather: Unseasonably warm. Highs have been in the 70’s for all of October. Areas just to the south and west of me received up to 10 inches of rain late last week. Luckily we only received about 2. The coastal storm that brought all of that rain has had winds out of the east for almost a week now.
Snow Cover: N/A
Water Conditions: Average. We needed the rain we received.
Feeding Conditions: Tons of acorns, corn and bean harvest is in full swing and has been for weeks.
Species and Numbers: Good amounts of geese around. Wood ducks are the main ducks. It is hard to find a mallard in an area where you can hunt.
Migrations: Canada geese continue to trickle in. Cold front is supposed to hit on Saturday which should bring a few more.
Season Stage: The south zone duck opener is this weekend.
Hunting Report: Should be a good opener for wood ducks.
Gossip: Good luck!
Name: Shaun Smith
Date: 10-12-2013
Location: Lineville, PA
Weather: Temp 50-70 clear and sunny.
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 400-600+, wood ducks200+ and mallards 400+, teal in low numbers.
Migrations: Hearing geese moving late at night, starting to see geese numbers increasing
Season Stage: Opening day of PA’s northwest duck and goose seasons.
Hunting Report: Hunting was great for this area easy to put in an all-day hunt and see birds consistently.
Gossip: I haven’t see this many mallards in this area at this time of the year in a long time.
Name: Kevin Addy
Date: October 15, 2013
Location: Reading, PA
Weather: Highs in the 70’s and lows in the mid 40’s.
Snow Cover: None
Water Conditions: Levels came up a bunch due to the rain on Thurs and Fri.
Feeding Conditions: Most of the silage corn is down and corn continues to be combined. Lots of cover crop coming up in the harvested fields. Acorns continue to fall.
Species and Numbers: The Canada numbers have gone up and the duck numbers are about the same.
Migrations: Saw a few small bunches migrating but no major push.
Season Stage: AP geese open on Nov 15th. The north zone duck opened on the 12th and the southern zone will open on the 19th.
Hunting Report: Hunted the north zone duck opener. Lots of wood ducks around, a few teal and some local mallards. The foggy overcast conditions made for a good staggered flight which resulted in good shooting.
Gossip: Guys are stuck between chasing deer or ducks.
Name: Richard Foley
Date: 10/15/13
Location: Suffolk, VA
Weather: Highs in the mid 60’s and Lows in the Low 40’s. Has been raining for the past week.
Snow Cover: None
Water Conditions: Water has risen significantly due to solid rain for 7 days. Water has filled most swamps around.
Feeding Conditions: A lot more feeding conditions have surfaced due to the rain.
Species and Numbers: Steady amount of wood ducks for the opening split. I have seen few big ducks, but nothing significant.
Migrations: In the early stages.
Season Stage: Early season closed on 10/14.
Hunting Report: Did well on wood ducks and shot some big ducks. Ducks are being found in the swamps regularly.
Gossip: Birds are around; you just have to put time in to find them. Reports have come in that pintails and wigeon were shot in the marshes.
