2007 Duck & Goose Migration Report

RR, Feel free to mention my interest in the Herters dekes to Boardhead.
He is worthless at communication unless he needs something himself.
I will be sitting on my hands living through IDA for the next 10 days. Then I hope to jump on the migration with the divers and northern mallards (Quack Eah, Quack Eah).
I have to believe that we are going to start seeing some talk here this week about signs of the migration.
I do not beleive in the swan theory, but a number of the old timers I know argue that swans are a sign that the migration is in full swing/migration is nearing its end.
My dad had more swans in the Brainerd/Nisswa area this past weekend, than ducks and geese combined.
Good luck
cheers

RR, Feel free to mention my interest in the Herters dekes to Boardhead.
He is worthless at communication unless he needs something himself.
I will be sitting on my hands living through IDA for the next 10 days. Then I hope to jump on the migration with the divers and northern mallards (Quack Eah, Quack Eah).
I have to believe that we are going to start seeing some talk here this week about signs of the migration.
I do not beleive in the swan theory, but a number of the old timers I know argue that swans are a sign that the migration is in full swing/migration is nearing its end.
My dad had more swans in the Brainerd/Nisswa area this past weekend, than ducks and geese combined.
Good luck
cheers

The migration is most definately(sp?) happening. Geese and ducks both. I havent been following any migration reports but I am seeing plenty of evidence. Fishing on Lake Nokomis in Minneapolis on thursday I was witnessing lots of later flying duck flocks that werent mallards(anyone around the minneapolis lakes knows all we have is mallards). Flocks of 10-30 birds were common, along with flock after big flock of honkers both greaters and lessers. I’ll bet I seen more than 1000 geese in the last 20 minutes of light.. It sounded like LQP out there.

Hunting on Sunday morning in the SE part of the state off the river was showing most of the teal and woodies moved out, and got replaced by Gadwalls and Widgeons. A few small flocks of mallards were around that were willing to respond to calls and work the decoys. These ducks used a completely different fly pattern than the weeks past and obviously werent locals. I havent heard of any Bluebills being shot yet, but plenty of ringers and a few redheads are still being dropped. We had one nice Canvasback fly over the decoys we forgot to shoot at also.

The Cormorants are around some areas by the millions it seems, The pelicans are growing in numbers also. No swans in the SE that I have seen yet.

The migration is most definately(sp?) happening. Geese and ducks both. I havent been following any migration reports but I am seeing plenty of evidence. Fishing on Lake Nokomis in Minneapolis on thursday I was witnessing lots of later flying duck flocks that werent mallards(anyone around the minneapolis lakes knows all we have is mallards). Flocks of 10-30 birds were common, along with flock after big flock of honkers both greaters and lessers. I’ll bet I seen more than 1000 geese in the last 20 minutes of light.. It sounded like LQP out there.

Hunting on Sunday morning in the SE part of the state off the river was showing most of the teal and woodies moved out, and got replaced by Gadwalls and Widgeons. A few small flocks of mallards were around that were willing to respond to calls and work the decoys. These ducks used a completely different fly pattern than the weeks past and obviously werent locals. I havent heard of any Bluebills being shot yet, but plenty of ringers and a few redheads are still being dropped. We had one nice Canvasback fly over the decoys we forgot to shoot at also.

The Cormorants are around some areas by the millions it seems, The pelicans are growing in numbers also. No swans in the SE that I have seen yet.

We hunted the WI second opener this weekend and did pretty good. Not as good as the last couple years, but can’t hardly complain .

Two guys Saturday got our 12 ducks by 9am….4 mallards, 4 woodies, 2 pintails, GWT, a Spoonie and a coot (neither of the last two were shot by me )….We were a little dissapointed in the mallard numbers. Thought we’d see more after what we found scouting durning the week.

Snuck out between rain showers Sunday afternoon and did well again….very high wooduck numbers where we were….but again, mallards didn’t show like we had hoped. 6 woodies and 4 mallards for three guys….not bad for a mid afternoon hunt in October . Quit because we didn’t want to get overly wet.

Off to NoDak….See yall in a week

We hunted the WI second opener this weekend and did pretty good. Not as good as the last couple years, but can’t hardly complain .

Two guys Saturday got our 12 ducks by 9am….4 mallards, 4 woodies, 2 pintails, GWT, a Spoonie and a coot (neither of the last two were shot by me )….We were a little dissapointed in the mallard numbers. Thought we’d see more after what we found scouting durning the week.

Snuck out between rain showers Sunday afternoon and did well again….very high wooduck numbers where we were….but again, mallards didn’t show like we had hoped. 6 woodies and 4 mallards for three guys….not bad for a mid afternoon hunt in October . Quit because we didn’t want to get overly wet.

Off to NoDak….See yall in a week

I just talked to my buddy from Bemidji, who is presently hunting in the Cass Lake area.
He confirmed that the “early birds” are gone.
Shoting this morning has been exclusively at Ringers and a few Broadbills.
They have seen several mallards, but they are flying high and disinterested, even in a heavy rain
One more week and I will hit the trail
Hope everyone has a good weekend
Good Luck
cheers

I just talked to my buddy from Bemidji, who is presently hunting in the Cass Lake area.
He confirmed that the “early birds” are gone.
Shoting this morning has been exclusively at Ringers and a few Broadbills.
They have seen several mallards, but they are flying high and disinterested, even in a heavy rain
One more week and I will hit the trail
Hope everyone has a good weekend
Good Luck
cheers

OK. I’m not writing this to start an argument, BUT: Some say the migration is on and in full swing. I say there is no way we are into it yet.
Yes, our local fair weather ducks may have moved on slightly and you may be seeing a few “new” birds around, but look at the weather for Canada. Saskatoon, Winnepeg, etc., all 50-60 sunny Degree’s forcast for every day in the next 5. At night it may hit freezing there, but it’s still sunny and warm right away in the AM again. Unless there is a BIG change in the northern weather, all you’ll be seeing around here is a few stragglers moving in. Northern birds will not really move/push down until freeze-up and/or the snow covers their food sources. They may bunch-up and move here and there, but they’ll hang out up north until something pushes them out. …..Nothing is there to “push” yet.
I’ve already spent two separate weeks hunting in Central Manitoba since their opener. I can tell you, they are not moving down. When the northern weather changes so the temps stay low during the day and the snow starts to come a little, then we’ll start seeing bigger numbers of new birds. With the geese, I think you’re seeing family groups being broken-up (shot-up) and remanent groups reforming into larger flocks. These larger flocks are warrier and will change their patterns from the norm. As for the ducks, until the weather changes, I think we in MN can plan on shooting ring-bills, a few mallards and some more woodies for a while.
….Just my. $.02.

OK. I’m not writing this to start an argument, BUT: Some say the migration is on and in full swing. I say there is no way we are into it yet.
Yes, our local fair weather ducks may have moved on slightly and you may be seeing a few “new” birds around, but look at the weather for Canada. Saskatoon, Winnepeg, etc., all 50-60 sunny Degree’s forcast for every day in the next 5. At night it may hit freezing there, but it’s still sunny and warm right away in the AM again. Unless there is a BIG change in the northern weather, all you’ll be seeing around here is a few stragglers moving in. Northern birds will not really move/push down until freeze-up and/or the snow covers their food sources. They may bunch-up and move here and there, but they’ll hang out up north until something pushes them out. …..Nothing is there to “push” yet.
I’ve already spent two separate weeks hunting in Central Manitoba since their opener. I can tell you, they are not moving down. When the northern weather changes so the temps stay low during the day and the snow starts to come a little, then we’ll start seeing bigger numbers of new birds. With the geese, I think you’re seeing family groups being broken-up (shot-up) and remanent groups reforming into larger flocks. These larger flocks are warrier and will change their patterns from the norm. As for the ducks, until the weather changes, I think we in MN can plan on shooting ring-bills, a few mallards and some more woodies for a while.
….Just my. $.02.

Agreed
Here is an email from a friend that just got back to MN after 2 weeks in Canada:
“Manitoba hunting was slower for us this year than in the past. The season had been warm and very wet with strong south winds…no resaon for the big flocks of cans and redheads to move. We did manage to shoot some trophy ducks but all and all a slower season. We saw lots of puddle ducks in the ditches and many geese around Dauphin, Winnipeg, Steinbach and Lundar MB yesterday. I plan to spend a long weekend in the layout in NW MN.”
Regardless of what is zipping around in MN, these are the people I listen to
Looking forward to hearing some reports from this weekend too
The folks hunting north of hwy 210 that are shooting mainly ringers and some broad bills, are still shooting resident ducks I beleive. When they start moving, everyone south of that line starts screaming “migration” because they are suddenly seeing divers
I am waiting in great anticipation for the migration to happen in earnest, but nothing really seams to be happening anytime soon.
Good luck
cheers

Agreed
Here is an email from a friend that just got back to MN after 2 weeks in Canada:
“Manitoba hunting was slower for us this year than in the past. The season had been warm and very wet with strong south winds…no resaon for the big flocks of cans and redheads to move. We did manage to shoot some trophy ducks but all and all a slower season. We saw lots of puddle ducks in the ditches and many geese around Dauphin, Winnipeg, Steinbach and Lundar MB yesterday. I plan to spend a long weekend in the layout in NW MN.”
Regardless of what is zipping around in MN, these are the people I listen to
Looking forward to hearing some reports from this weekend too
The folks hunting north of hwy 210 that are shooting mainly ringers and some broad bills, are still shooting resident ducks I beleive. When they start moving, everyone south of that line starts screaming “migration” because they are suddenly seeing divers
I am waiting in great anticipation for the migration to happen in earnest, but nothing really seams to be happening anytime soon.
Good luck
cheers

We got 5 BWT Saturday, which is really odd for mid-late October. Did see a few big strings of calendar ducks (cans) moving south Saturday though.

We got 5 BWT Saturday, which is really odd for mid-late October. Did see a few big strings of calendar ducks (cans) moving south Saturday though.

Drake, Your on the mark as usual. We have seen a movment of northern birds over the lst week. (Northern MN) The hunting locally is better than it was because of the snow north of 210. Unfortunalty the recent rain has alot of birds scattered due to the extra standing water. I have not been on the water but the afternoon reports are far better than the AM reports. I think this is due to the water in feilds where their feeding. I hope to get out this friday for an afternoon shoot on a body of water they look to be roosting on. I’ll take some pictures if I get out.

MEA is over! It’s time to hunt.

Drake, Your on the mark as usual. We have seen a movment of northern birds over the lst week. (Northern MN) The hunting locally is better than it was because of the snow north of 210. Unfortunalty the recent rain has alot of birds scattered due to the extra standing water. I have not been on the water but the afternoon reports are far better than the AM reports. I think this is due to the water in feilds where their feeding. I hope to get out this friday for an afternoon shoot on a body of water they look to be roosting on. I’ll take some pictures if I get out.

MEA is over! It’s time to hunt.

Hunted some flooded corn fields in Kanabec County yesterday afternoon and did pretty well. We hunted for about 2 hours and saw huge flocks of mallards that were always going to other fields. .

The woodies on the other hand were dive bombing the watering hole constantly. There were a ton of them up there. We ended with 4 woodies (2 guys) and 2 drake mallards that I jumped from a flooded portion of the field when we arrived. A true double… should have been a triple, but I missed #3.

Overall, I was very pleased with the amount of birds in the air last night. I haven’t had that much fun as of yet this year.

Lars

Hunted some flooded corn fields in Kanabec County yesterday afternoon and did pretty well. We hunted for about 2 hours and saw huge flocks of mallards that were always going to other fields. .

The woodies on the other hand were dive bombing the watering hole constantly. There were a ton of them up there. We ended with 4 woodies (2 guys) and 2 drake mallards that I jumped from a flooded portion of the field when we arrived. A true double… should have been a triple, but I missed #3.

Overall, I was very pleased with the amount of birds in the air last night. I haven’t had that much fun as of yet this year.

Lars

Here is a migration report on northern ND. Just got back today, was there Th-M.

J. Clark Salyer – snows are just now starting to show up in huntable numbers, as of this am. Not peak or even close, just huntable numbers. The first three days we were there, we had to head east to Rugby and beyond to find birds.

J. Clark area is in a 2 year drought cycle. Very little water and local ducks. This starts at Rugby and west. Doesn’t mean the snows and mallard flights won’t go through there, they will, but are not there in force yet.

If you plan to free lance ND, stay between Grand Forks and Rugby, preferrably in the middle of this area. My trip took me from Hwy 2 and north, did not explore south of 2. In contrast to J. Clark, this area has plenty of water and lots of PLOTS.

I prefer the field hunting of the J. Clark area so my trip was sub-par and was forced to hunt outside of my known area. Too early this year, last year, same time, frozen out.

Go figure! Good luck!

Eric

Here is a migration report on northern ND. Just got back today, was there Th-M.

J. Clark Salyer – snows are just now starting to show up in huntable numbers, as of this am. Not peak or even close, just huntable numbers. The first three days we were there, we had to head east to Rugby and beyond to find birds.

J. Clark area is in a 2 year drought cycle. Very little water and local ducks. This starts at Rugby and west. Doesn’t mean the snows and mallard flights won’t go through there, they will, but are not there in force yet.

If you plan to free lance ND, stay between Grand Forks and Rugby, preferrably in the middle of this area. My trip took me from Hwy 2 and north, did not explore south of 2. In contrast to J. Clark, this area has plenty of water and lots of PLOTS.

I prefer the field hunting of the J. Clark area so my trip was sub-par and was forced to hunt outside of my known area. Too early this year, last year, same time, frozen out.

Go figure! Good luck!

Eric

Just got back from Devils Lake area last night, hunting was poor for us and everyone we talked to was experiencing the same poor hunting.

Left home Friday night and hunted through Wed morning…..4 of us only shot probably 30 ducks for the whole trip. We hunted water, no fields but we hit many different places big and small private and public. The birds we did see didn’t want to decoy well at all. Of the 30 or so we shot only 3 had a layer of fat so I am assuming most everything we shot was local birds.

Driving home yesterday pot holes along Hwy 2 that normally have pretty good #s of birds in them were empty.

Hope for cold in Canada or things aren’t going to change any time soon.
JB

Just got back from Devils Lake area last night, hunting was poor for us and everyone we talked to was experiencing the same poor hunting.

Left home Friday night and hunted through Wed morning…..4 of us only shot probably 30 ducks for the whole trip. We hunted water, no fields but we hit many different places big and small private and public. The birds we did see didn’t want to decoy well at all. Of the 30 or so we shot only 3 had a layer of fat so I am assuming most everything we shot was local birds.

Driving home yesterday pot holes along Hwy 2 that normally have pretty good #s of birds in them were empty.

Hope for cold in Canada or things aren’t going to change any time soon.
JB

Thanks for the reports guys
Unfortunately, I have only the same to offer
I put on over 2,500 miles last week, driving MN for business. I was all the way down to the SE corner of MN, as far SW as St. James, NW as far as Alex. and then all the way up to Bemidji this past weekend to hunt.
NOTHING!
Of course guys are still shooting some birds, state wide. But my week end was terrible. Not even a shot up north.
I plan to get back at this week end, but I do not know where I’m going.
Heavy South winds up north yesterday did not help at all
I have not had a chance to check Canada weather, but I hope there is an ice storm on their calendar, SOON…
Good luck
cheers

Thanks for the reports guys
Unfortunately, I have only the same to offer
I put on over 2,500 miles last week, driving MN for business. I was all the way down to the SE corner of MN, as far SW as St. James, NW as far as Alex. and then all the way up to Bemidji this past weekend to hunt.
NOTHING!
Of course guys are still shooting some birds, state wide. But my week end was terrible. Not even a shot up north.
I plan to get back at this week end, but I do not know where I’m going.
Heavy South winds up north yesterday did not help at all
I have not had a chance to check Canada weather, but I hope there is an ice storm on their calendar, SOON…
Good luck
cheers

I was up just north of the cities yesterday for grouse but we brought the duck gear with just incase we found a spot. Boy did we ever find a spot. only one problem. We sat for 3 hours, We would call for 20 minutes, and stop for a half hour and repeated this. There was not ONE bird in the sky. Infact if took me almost 100 miles of driving south to finaly see 2 lone ducks flying that was it. time to start praying for this winter weather now more than ever!

I was up just north of the cities yesterday for grouse but we brought the duck gear with just incase we found a spot. Boy did we ever find a spot. only one problem. We sat for 3 hours, We would call for 20 minutes, and stop for a half hour and repeated this. There was not ONE bird in the sky. Infact if took me almost 100 miles of driving south to finaly see 2 lone ducks flying that was it. time to start praying for this winter weather now more than ever!

Quote:

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We would call for 20 minutes, and stop for a half hour and repeated this. There was not ONE bird in the sky.

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Quote:

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We would call for 20 minutes, and stop for a half hour and repeated this. There was not ONE bird in the sky.

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Batle lake area sat the 27 my dad did well, all mallards all northern birds!!!!!!!!!!

Batle lake area sat the 27 my dad did well, all mallards all northern birds!!!!!!!!!!