Migration Alert: Teal Hunting, Habitat Reports Vary Across the Great Lakes Region

Midwestern hunters are back in the saddle with early teal and goose seasons opening across the region. Flights of migrating teal are often triggered by cool north winds, which drive birds southward as early as August, and the main push continues well into September. This year, exceptionally cool temperatures have kick-started the teal migration, but as is often the case when chasing bluewings, early cold weather can be a blessing or a curse.

Located in southeast Michigan, Joe Robison with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources says most of the teal in his area left two days before the season opened. “Here today, gone tomorrow is the teal story here,” he laments.

On the upside, Robison reports that early goose hunters have been having good success. It is safe to assume Michigan hunters will have another crack at teal as the latest cold front will push more birds into the state from the north.

To the west, across Lake Michigan, Wisconsin waterfowlers also had mixed success on opening weekend. “We certainly did have reports of good numbers of teal on our larger wetland complexes, but the consensus is we also lost quite a few birds before the season opened due to the cooler temperatures,” says Taylor Finger, game bird biologist for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

In Minnesota, the early teal season opens Saturday, Sept. 6. Impressive numbers of bluewings and some greenwings typically funnel through the backwaters of the upper Mississippi River as well as along the Big Muddy’s major tributaries.

Teal season will also open this weekend in Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. These mid-flyway teal staging areas always provide hunters to the south with a good idea of what’s to come. According to Josh Osborn of the Forbes Biological Station in Havana, Illinois, vegetation and water levels look pretty good in his area, and fair numbers of teal were present during last week’s aerial inventory. “This week, I observed 9,890 and 1,160 blue-winged teal along the Illinois and central Mississippi Rivers, respectively, and even saw a few pintails, green-winged teal, and shovelers,” Osborn reports.

The Forbes team will conduct another aerial inventory on Friday, Sept. 5.

Indiana is not known as a teal hotspot, but the Hoosier State can have its moments, and wetland conditions have improved in recent weeks, putting a lot of shallow-water habitat back in play. Many of these wetlands were heavily vegetated with moist-soil plants that teal utilize during migration, which should boost teal numbers.

In northwest Indiana, Willough Slough Fish and Wildlife Area is often mobbed by teal pushing south. According to Indiana Department of Natural Resources property manager Mike Schoof, a recent lake enhancement project was just completed on the area and lots of “duck food” is waiting for additional water. Schoof reports that decent numbers of teal are present on the property, along with a few other duck species.