Waterfowl migration report for week of Nov. 23
This week’s regional waterfowl migration report from the Avery Outdoors Pro-Staff :
Pro-Staff member: David Rearick
Date: Nov. 26
Location: Washington, Pa.
Weather: Cold, lows in the teens and up to the 30’s during the days.
Snow cover: 1-3 inches.
Water conditions: Freezing up fast, all large bodies have an ice edge and small bodies are mostly locked up tight.
Feeding conditions: Good, there is plenty of corn under the snow. Most corn is down with little left standing.
Species and numbers: Good numbers of resident geese and a few ducks in the area. No major pushes to speak of.
Migrations: Reports of migrators up in the northwestern corner, not much activity here.
Season stage: The season is in full effect, with RP goose closing Saturday.
Hunting report: Good hunts have been had when birds are scouted out the days prior. There are some ducks to be found, they are just holding on any open water.
Gossip: Lots of guys have given it up for bear and deer, but those out are having moderate success. Get out and scout and you will have good success.
Pro-Staff member: Bob Chaplin
Date: Nov. 25
Location: Lorain County, Ohio
Weather: Cold and wet 32 to 36 degrees depending on where you are.
Snow cover: None to 2 inches.
Water conditions: Great, a lot of little ponds are frozen over, and some of the inland lakes have started to ice up as well, but with the warmer temps thing will start to open up again. And even with some things freezing, you can still find open water.
Feeding conditions: Great with a lot of corn still standing, and farmers are still cutting as they need to. Still a lot of corn on the stalk.
Species and numbers: Lots and lots of new birds that came down with the front from last weekend and have decided to stay. Huge numbers of black ducks, and mallards are in the area. There are still some teal and wood ducks. Geese seem to be in every little spot of water they can find.
Migrations: Seems to be the first real push of birds for us here, it sure is nice to see.
Season stage: We are only days away from the north zone split.
Hunting report: With all the new birds the hunting will only get better if you are willing to do your homework.
Gossip: Everyone is worried about the water that is frozen; there is talk that the birds are flying past us because of it.
Pro-Staff member: Michael Bard
Date: Nov. 25
Location: Rochester, N.Y.
Weather: Extreme cold and snow for the last week. The temps have been in the single digits and never above freezing with a lot of lake affect snow.
Snow cover: A couple inches to two feet of snow, depending on your location relative to Lake Ontario.
Water conditions: Most ponds are frozen over with several bays on lakes having ice. Be sure to check launches the day prior to hunting, as many are frozen in.
Feeding conditions: Poor. The snow has limited access to feed in fields and the ice in bays makes it hard for birds to find aquatic feed at this time.
Species and numbers: Canada geese are still around in fair numbers, but their numbers have reduced. Mallard and black duck numbers at near average for this time of year, however diver numbers remain low.
Migrations: There has been a migration of birds leaving the area and heading further south below the snow/freeze line. No new geese this week, however new mallards and black ducks have been moving in and though the area.
Season stage: Mid-season
Hunting report: Birds are more condensed now and for those who find them, the hunting has been good. Conditions however have been very tough with the cold and snow to access the birds – be careful!
Gossip: Much of Northern New York is frozen up at this point, with three weeks left in the duck season there. This is one of the earliest freeze ups I can recall.
Pro-Staff member: Jason Mears
Date: Nov. 25
Location: Hutchinson, Pa.
Weather: The past week has brought very cold temperatures with lows in the mid to low teens and daytime highs in the upper 20’s. Temps in the 30’s are expected this week with rain and snow in the forecast.
Snow cover: No snow in the lower elevations with several inches still remaining at higher ground.
Water conditions: Water levels are still below normal due to the past several months being dry.
Feeding conditions: Little feeding was seen over the weekend as many birds sat most of the day conserving energy. Most birds spotted moving were high flying flocks moving south.
Species and numbers: Mallard and black duck numbers are still strong with some ducks moving out of the area. Canada geese numbers have dropped slightly with some birds moving out with the recent cold front.
Migrations: Heavy swan movement has been spotted in the region with some flocks of snow geese also moving through. Large flocks of migrating Canadas have also been seen moving through and out of the area.
Season stage: The late season in the RP zone began Nov. 15-29, and Dec. 22-Feb. 28 for Canadas. Duck season in the South Zone opened Nov. 15 and runs to Jan. 15.
Hunting report: This past weekend was slow hunting for many as many areas froze up and waterfowl began moving out of the area.
Gossip: Hunters are hoping for slightly warmer weather this weekend before migrating waterfowl pass through and move out of the area.
0 评论: