Migration Alert: Warm Weather Slows Hunting in Wisconsin

With warm weather settling in across the Great Lakes and Upper Plains, duck and goose migration and waterfowl movement in general have been limited this week. Last weekend, gale-force winds blasted through the region, bringing some rain and substantial temperature drops on the backside of the front, which kicked the migration into motion. However, it is true that there can be too much of a good thing. As additional zones open across the region this weekend, some hunters may find fewer local ducks. Early migrants that had taken up temporary residence have also fled for fresh food sources farther south.

Mixed reports from Wisconsin suggest plenty of ducks stopped in the big-draw waterfowl hotspots, and hunters may be sitting on way more ducks than they realize.

“With the frost we had late last week, we have seen some migrators move in. Along with our local mallards and wood ducks, people are getting into pintails, wigeon, gadwalls, and greenwings,” says Taylor Finger, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) game bird ecologist. “I hunted Green Bay this week, and there is a pile of divers on the bay.”

According to Finger, scaup are present in good numbers, as well as redheads, canvasbacks, buffleheads, and a handful of goldeneyes.

“As for local birds, I’m hearing reports of excellent wood duck numbers, and some hunters are still shooting blue-winged teal this week. All in all, I would say we had a good push of migrators during the cold snap late last week, but with the warm weather, they have stuck around for a bit,” Finger says.

This past summer and now fall, Wisconsin has dodged the same weather systems that managed to bring substantial rainfall to neighboring states. A little bit of rain is better than none, but the question is whether sufficient rainfall will provide relief from the dry conditions and recharge wetlands full of moist-soil vegetation that will provide plenty of food for waterfowl. “Regarding conditions, I don’t think it has rained more than an inch since the season began, so it’s very dry. This concentrates waterfowl on big wetland complexes, but it also concentrates hunters,” Finger explains.

Thankfully, Wisconsin is known for its outstanding concentrations of diving ducks, and species such as ring-necked ducks, scaup, redheads, and canvasbacks consistently migrate by the calendar. While the big numbers haven’t shown up yet, there are decent numbers creeping in around most of the state, especially along the Mississippi River, where hunters may encounter hundreds of thousands of ducks, the bulk of which are often canvasbacks.

DU River Valley Chapter Area Chair Frank Lemcke reports that the first few cans showed up on Pool 4 over the weekend. “Some have been sighted and a few harvested, but numbers are still low,” Lemcke says. “There are also some pintails around, which have been here for a while. Ringnecks, wigeon, and gadwalls are here as well.”

Given hunter reports from around the state, there is no question new birds have arrived in some areas. However, others have a conspicuous absence of duck numbers that hunters normally expect. In addition, summerlike conditions have slammed on the brakes and reduced waterfowl activity substantially this week.

“It’s beautiful weather—it’s 60 to 65 degrees! We are shooting a few puddle ducks, but it’s pretty slow up here given the weather. There just isn’t much here yet,” says Dave Heath of Heath Outdoors, who runs his trips in the big water around Door County.

One bright spot is early-morning and late-afternoon feeding forays into recently picked cornfields by mallards and Canada geese. As always, success is dependent on thorough scouting, often over large areas.

Late October can often test the mettle of waterfowlers in the Great Lakes region, but warm, mundane weather cannot last forever. With November on the horizon, the best waterfowl hunting of the season is yet to come. Wisconsin waterfowl hunters should keep their eyes on the skies.