2009 Duck & Goose Migration Report

Shot 8 birds out of our Oronoco field tonight, not many birds around but there was a nice last half hour of light flury of birds. No ducks seen.

next week is either going to be a bust, or lights out green. i’m hoping for the latter…

Just checked a 10 day forcast. Wendsday-Thursday snow 10-20 mph wind from NW. Snow and the temps staying below freezing up north. Please send some down!

a few bigger flocks are staring to work the decoys, making me think there are a COUPLE of new birds trickeling in. been only shooting at singles pairs or flocks of 3-5. still VERY dismal for this time of year. turkey week is usually one of my best weeks of the season. the divers have yet to show up in numbers, and ive yet to break ice! i have hunted 10 out of the last 14 days, and have had some great hunts, and some not so great hunts. average is about 3-5 birds per 2 people, if i go by my self, i usually have my chances for a limit of greenheads if i can shoot straight. i see nodak is getting a good hard freeze, not sure about canada, but all i can say is its about time. now for a good wind!

Kris,

since when were you one step ahead of me??

All quiet in Central MN. I scouted the usual haunts from Upsala to Grey Eagle to Long Prairie down to Sauk Centre and back through Melrose, Freeport, Farming and back up to Upsala. There isn’t a duck to be found. The large pockets of geese I spied on Monday and Tuesday have moved on. It’s pretty ugly around here right now.

I haven’t heard of any new birds or activity from anywhere this weekend
cheers

I read on another website that the Bemidji area had seen heavy increases in Mallard activity. Could be someone hit a pocket or it’s an overall account. As with everything, take it for what it’s worth.

Probably my good friend Ole’s report?

He’s as hardcore as they get and his hard work pays off. I hope to get a chance at some of those mallards soon.

I don’t have a report. I haven’t duck hunted since Friday the 6th! Crazy to even say that, but this weather has been too nice. The weather is finally going to change a little upon our final weekend.

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Probably my good friend Ole’s report?

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I never identify sources…

It’s not like it’s hush-hush with those reports out there…

I saw a trickle of birds, mostly divers, rafting on big water. Hopefully tomorrow and through the weekend more will migrate. Looks like the major cold and jet stream shift will happen a couple days after our season is over.

I just checked and here in WI our season is already over That just leaves me with geese for a couple more weeks, I’m already getting nervous that I am running out of things to chase.

I put on 150 miles this morning in Wright-Mcleod county and have not seen anything in new birds yet.

The skies are filling up this afternoon. My recommendation is to be hunting in the morning.

Nothing to report from a morning shoot in the Morris area. The few ducks that I saw have been around for awhile. There are more geese than anything and they are hitting the turned-over cornfields.

I zigzagged from Morris back to Sauk Centre and the land is virtually void of waterfowl.

I did see a trickle of a handful of migrating flocks this evening near Upsala, however. I am hoping I was ahead of the curve this morning in western MN but time is running short.

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The skies are filling up this afternoon. My recommendation is to be hunting in the morning.

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Where? They certainly were not in La Crosse.

i will be out tomarrow with my back to the nw wind. shoulda had this weather 2-3 weeks ago. me and 2 other guys shot a total of 5 today. still very sad

I’ve been receiving very mixed reports, but the good news is that a few more birds are being shot and seen.
I’ve had three groups in the the Bemidji-Grand Rapids area reporting limits over the past two days. Mostly divers.
I’ve had a couple of reports from the west, Alexandria and Hutch/Litch area, Saying lots of new birds over the past 24 hours! No hunting reports though from that area
I’m held up through the weekend
My last hope will be for Monday-Tuesday
I will be anxious to here what others are getting or seeing.
Good luck
cheers

Well here’s how my last two days went… Started early on P9 with a friend of mine who guides on 9,10, & 11. Like everyone else, he has been having mediocre hunts over the past two weeks. We assembled in Lansing for a brief evening filled with a couple of beers, food and then home to a friends cottage along the river for a short night’s sleep. Up at 3 to leave and claim one of the best spots on the river, we left the landing at 4:30. Once the spot was secure, we had an hour of conversation before ‘coys could go in. Once the dekes were in, it was sit and wait, and while there were plenty of ducks to watch, none were willing to commit.

Hoping that the weather man was affecting the ducks in some part of the Midwest by pushing them nearer to us, I opted to stay and hunt Thursday a.m. There were still ducks around and I had to get off the water by 9. With guys around us leaving by 8 a.m., there was really little movement that was put up in the air that wanted down again fast, so we pulled the plug.

Off course this time of the year, I like to try to use all the networking that I possibly can pull off. So with that said I have heard of numbers on P4, in the Wabasha area and on P7. I will hear more later today as I have friends hunting on 7, 8 & 9 today.

Good luck!!! Unfortunately, I think this was my only chance to get down this year, but this is the time I truly relish on the River!!! Be safe out there fellow duck hunters may your last week be blessed with at least one great hunt to finish the season with!!!

Mark

i dont know who you talked to on pool 4, but i stared at empty skys this morning. one hen mallard was all we could pull off with hardly any shooting coming from anywhere

Kris:

Funny you should say that cause I has friend tell me that Wed. afternoon they spent some time in the marsh on 7 and after shooting hours the ducks just poured in!!! I texted Jake to see if he had heard anything in his Winona area and he told me the same thing you just did regarding his Wed. p.m. hunt and I didn’t press him to tell me where he was at. With ducks less than 60 miles away I was hoping that a few might filter in on 9, but not so. So I plan to keep in contact with good duck hunters like you and this fall live vicariously through your hunts to bring back memories of the great shoots I have had on the River!!!

Mark

the new big lake closed area is sucking in every bird in the area. took a good look out there today with the spotting scope and it made me sick

Pools 2 & 3 are dead right now, i haven’t hunted since last weekend. i’ll probably go one more time this year, just because. but, other then that, I’m done for the year. time to focus on late season roosters and deer.

I was doing some work around the farm the last couple days until almost dark and didn’t see anything flying. I am located directly across from St. Croix Bluffs park on the WI side of the St. Croix river. I usually see some geese at least heading south along the river, I have until the 12th for geese but after a call tonight I may be heading out to SD for roosters in the next week or so.

Things are butt-ugly in Central MN for ducks. Geese can still be found but they are wise in the ways of city limits.

Hunted Thursday morning and it was pretty poor, one hen mallard committed well into my spread but I let her live. Only saw a handful of ducks flying south along with some geese. Tundra and trumpeter swans kept my dog and I entertained when they flew 10′ overhead.

My good friend, Gissert, and I hit a large body of water this morning near home and had some good action with goldeneyes, ringbills, bluebills and mallards flying about. We set up on a nice point in some narrows, and most of the action was pass shooting. We both couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn, but ended with a mallard, ringbill and a merganser. We even spotted one blue winged teal and a spoonbill. There were some geese around, but they were mostly interested in fields to feed.

Some numbers of mallards around to keep us interested, and the big flock of mallards dropped from the heavens and wanted in real bad….too bad we just couldn’t hit most of them.

Looking at the forecast, I’m going to have a bad attitude and pack up the gear for the year. Some cold air is (finally) going to arrive a day late and a dollar short.

Time to bring in the ice season and think fishing again.

Good luck to those who make it in the final days!

CDN –

That was a fun hunt. Wish we could have sat there all day. I love that spot.

a fitting end to the season, just as poor as opener.

The year went by too fast…

Ended the year by shooting 30 ducks, mainly mallards (and a NICE golden eye) and 2 geese over the weekend. Still think most of the mallards are up north. I think it would be a good idea to start the season a couple weeks later and let us hunt until mid December. The past few years, this one included, seems like we are missing the migration…?!?

Already looking forward to next year!

It was definitely a pitiful long weekend out there. No doubt there are birds in the refuges, but they’ve been here so long they have permanent addresses. Yes, they poor out 20 mins after shooting time…..and then back into the refuge in the mornings well before shooting time…..but that really doesn’t do anybody any good. Frustrating for what usually is a great time of year! November has just plain out sucked.

The NW winds blew oogles of swans in late last week, but no ducks to speak of.

6 more days…..even with the cold weather, I question whether another push is coming.

SoDak stole our birds this year!