Migration Alert: Goose Hunting is Great
Late last summer, just before the opening bell on early waterfowl seasons, the chatter among hunters was about the record number of ducks poised to come down the flyway. Now that seasons are closed for many waterfowlers, or at least will be closed in the near future, that cautious optimism has done a 180... Truth is, just like every year, some hunters succeed where others fail.
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Migration Alert: Hard Water Sends Birds South
By most accounts, Texas waterfowlers have been enjoying a banner season, especially during the second half of the split.
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Migration Alert: Low water, limited food spreads birds thin
Dec. 14 - Central Flyway - Kansas: Most of Kansas is dry, just like much of the Central Flyway. But in this drought where can hunters find birds? The first place to look is in the north-central part of the state near Jamestown WMA.
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Migration Alert: South Dakota holding 750,000 mallards
Hardy mallards and Canada geese are well known for holding out in the northern reaches of the Central Flyway until bitter cold temps, ice and snow drive them south. Considering that South Dakota has had little in the way of anything resembling winter weather, it should come as no surprise that there are a few birds still hanging around.
Well, actually, a lot of birds.
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Migration Alert: Oklahoma waterfowlers have reason for optimism
Despite a year of extreme drought and high temperatures, the re-opening of Oklahoma's waterfowl season this weekend should be strong throughout many parts of the state.
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Migration Alert: Migration Moves Into the Mid-Plains States
As expected, last weekend's winter storm in the northern Central Flyway finally got ducks on the move.
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Migration Alert: Cold Weather Should Equal Hot Hunting
For the past few weeks, waterfowlers have been lamenting the bipolar nature of pre-peak-migration duck hunting.
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Migration Alert: Cold front may help Nebraska waterfowlers
In Nebraska, the line of "wait until next week" for waterfowlers is becoming an often-made statement. Warm temperatures and decent water conditions to the north of the state have kept the majority of waterfowl away thus far.
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Migration Alert: Ducks Are on the Move…Finally
This time of year, any rumor of a storm can get waterfowlers worked up and ready for new birds to arrive, and it seems the cold fronts that pushed their way across the northern Plains late last week finally got some ducks and geese moving south.
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Migration Alert: Snows, Whitefronts are winging it, but duck data differs
If Sandhill cranes were leading the charge south in the last couple of weeks, then specks and snows are hot on their tail in the eastern half of the Central Flyway.
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Migration Alert: High Winds Should Push Some Waterfowl South
The wind is blowing a sustained 45 miles per hour outside right now, with gusts to 60. It's a day fit for neither man nor beast, but if you believe everything you read on the Internet, a mallard duck can travel 800 miles in eight hours with a 50 mph tailwind.
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Migration Alert: Sandhill Cranes Signal Migration Kick-Off
One of the first signs of autumn’s migration is the trilling call of Sandhill cranes as they wing their way south for the season. Over the past couple of days, I’ve been hearing cranes, and picking their faint outlines out of the clouds.
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Migration Alert: Severe drought is a challenge for Colorado waterfowlers
Colorado waterfowl hunters are facing tough conditions this season due to low water levels. With more ducks and geese moving south with each cold front, some migrants may pass by traditional areas that are currently dry.
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Migration Alert: Colder weather improves Texas waterfowling
Texas waterfowlers have had steady success throughout the state and cold weather should continue to improve numbers.
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Another Verona Success Story
Ducks Unlimited's Verona Wetlands Complex is now providing even more habitat for waterfowl. DU has recently completed another wetland restoration project on Verona, DU's flagship conservation effort in the Rainwater Basin, one of the most important habitats in the Central Flyway.
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Waterfowl Migration Flyways
Banding research helped waterfowl managers map the major migration corridors followed by ducks and geese, which are known today as flyways. For management purposes, North America is divided into four flyways—the Atlantic, Mississippi, Central, and Pacific.
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DU Projects: Central Flyway
The Central Flyway is massive, covering more than one million square miles across North America’s interior. From Canada’s boreal forest and parklands across the Great Plains down to the Texas Gulf Coast, this flyway is home to a large percentage of North America’s ducks and geese. In the U.S. portion of the Central Flyway, DU and its partners have conserved almost 1.2 million acres of waterfowl habitat.
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2010 Waterfowl Forecast
Waterfowl populations remain at high levels overall thanks to favorable breeding habitat conditions
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Southern Great Plains
An overview of Ducks Unlimited's habitat conservation work in the Southern Great Plains priority area.
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Mississippi Alluvial Valley - More Information
More information about DU's Mississippi Alluvial Valley conservation priority area and the region's history.
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