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2009 Waterfowl Reports

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fishgutz77 Proficient

fishgutz77

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I've been seeing lots of birds going out to feed just before it gets dark due to pressure in the area. Only about 400-500 geese around and 300-400 mallards and a few divers on the river. Friday only 2 greenies and Saturday one mallard and one goldie.

This is the least amount of geese I've ever seen here this time of year but all the big water up north is still open and all the lakes here are wide open with only the shallow ponds freezing up. Sure wish it would drop into the teens the next couple of nights that would force all the still water birds to the river. With no snow cover mallards will feed up north till bleep freezes over.

all the birds we have been shooting are very warey and are looking hard several times before returning.

good luck everyone, even if I knew there was not a single bird left to come Chester and I would still be on the riv. thats how much we love it.

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BrdHunter01 Proficient

BrdHunter01

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I would guess all the birds sitting in the NWR's in SE Iowa and Missouri got the memo.

You'll figure it out after you get a few seasons under your belt Brdhunter.

Until then, keep on believing in that mass December migration and 'Ol Saint Nick! wink I'll just keep on keeping on and shooting migration Mallards all season long, no matter how small the migration is.

May your duckstap be full, and your chimeny large enough to allow the man in the red suit to fill your den with presents.....

LOL

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BrdHunter01 Proficient

BrdHunter01

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Chub, Are you going to share your calander with us please!?!?!?!

When you say they migrate by calander you are basically saying that waterfowl migrate for the fun of it. They wake up and say "its oct 23, time to migrate a couple hunderred miles today!" LOL. Say it were 80 degrees with constant S winds all the way through Dec and into Jan. Would they still migrate? Why did they ever start migrating thousands of years ago? Did they think it was going to be fun? They wanted to see new places and maybe hit up the new strip joint in FL? HUH? You have got to be one of the most educated duck hunters ive ever come accross..... PLEASE show me the calander!!! PLEASE PLEASE

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MinnetonkaMan Enthusiast

MinnetonkaMan

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Here's a first hand report from a reliable source that wanted me and my dad to jump in the truck with him and head into Mainitoba, Canada for a Tuesday morning hunt before thanskgving but college classes and no passports stopped us dead in our tracks. The report mallards coming into the area hard ninty miles north of the ND border. Eatng in pea fields. The kill 129 greenheads had their last meal. Problem is they have no reason to leave Canada for us boys in Mn or the dakotas, open water at refuge at plenty of feed with no hunting pressure at all. I am so mad I couldnt go that Im getting my passport tommorw. No ducks in Mankato area with most ponds frozen and every field plowed up. Theirs going to be a non stop flight from Canada to the Gulf for the big mallard migration which happens every year. Good luck to all but Im chasing roosters now that the corn is down!

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fishingguy Community Regular

fishingguy

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brdhunter, there is truth to what chub is saying. Several studies have been done, and some birds do migrate on or near the same date, or week every year. In normal weather years that is. They go on the move on the first strong NW winds, cold front of the fall and head out. Thats why in most years you may see mallards a good portion of the season. They are not the same birds you are seeing over and over again every weekend. They may be calander migrators. No one really knows for sure why, but it does happen.

No one also knows why some fields, no matter how good they look, birds will not touch in the fall. But in the spring they hit it hard. Several outfitters I know talk about it. It happens a lot in SD during the snows and blue fall and spring migrations. Its almost like they know, and save them for they're return. For sure, no one knows. But there is a pattern.

That being said this year is not a normal weather pattern year. From spring on, its been a peak and valley year. Everything, hatching, molt, and migrating has been all screwed up.

If you interested in more info on it. Check it out on the net. Do a search on it. Pretty interesting reading.

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cutter08 Collaborator

cutter08

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Originally Posted By: chub

I would guess all the birds sitting in the NWR's in SE Iowa and Missouri got the memo.

You'll figure it out after you get a few seasons under your belt Brdhunter.

Until then, keep on believing in that mass December migration and 'Ol Saint Nick! wink I'll just keep on keeping on and shooting migration Mallards all season long, no matter how small the migration is.

May your duckstap be full, and your chimeny large enough to allow the man in the red suit to fill your den with presents.....

LOL

ALL the birds are sitting in Iowa huh? "birds" may be the key word their.. not "mallards" I don't see why all the birds wouldn't have migrated with the near record setting weather we've had! Man has it been harsh! It "might" make it down to 32 degrees tonight!

BTW: I've been a die hard duck hunter for about 15 years now, I think you might need a couple more seasons under your belt... Be careful though we wouldn't want you to get to cold now....

Originally Posted By: cutter08
So all you guys that told me that i was wrong and the birds Haven't migrated yet because its to warm, WELL the cold weather is here and i don't see all the ducks that are supposedly still in Canada??????? Like i said that weekend where we had 30 mph winds out of the north was going to be the big push. I have been seeing goldeneyes for the last 3 to 4 weeks and correct me if I'm wrong but arnt they one of the last birds to head south?????? I'm not calling it quits for the year and i will be out there this weekend. There are some birds around and so I'm hopen to finish the regular season with at least a few birds and then its on to late season goose. Should be a good late season. Lots of geese in and around the metro.

You call this cold? LOLOLOL It was colder than this in Oct! Amost the warmest Nov ever recorded must have really pushed all those birds through...

BTW: Big fat canadian mallards are the last brids to migrate

Yeah i do call it cold. There is ice on the lakes. And if there is ice down here in MN then I would bet there is thicker ice in Canada. Didnt see this much ice in Oct now did ya? Thats what i thought. Talked to a good friend in Sak Canada yesterday and said there hasnt beeen any birds in a few weeks. Oh wait the big push is on. We shot one green head this morning. And only saw a hand full. You keep telling yourself that the big push is still in canada LOL

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chub Experienced

chub

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I'm done trying to explain it to him fishinguy, he's obviously much more up on this duck hunting thing than myself. Wouldn't be so bad if he didn't attempt to make his arguement by taking much of what I say and twist it up, but that's what some do.

Hunted again today. Shot some again. Nothing earth shaking, but it's alright.

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BrdHunter01 Proficient

BrdHunter01

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Fishingguy, I understand that most teal, woodducks, gads, widgeon, ect, ect do migrate with the first NNW winds. But I'm talking about the stuburn canadian mallards that wait until they aboslutly HAVE TO LEAVE. They don't migrate by calander or the 1st or sec or third NW wind they see. They migrate with the weather. They stay tight up in CA until everything freezes. Even when everything freezes they will still stay until their food is covered with snow because many times big bodies of water/rivers/streams are still open for them to get a drink. I could really care less about the teal, woodducks, gads, ect. Don't get me wrong I like hunting and shooting them but the migration I wait for every year didn't come down yet.

I think MinnetonkaMan's report from Manitoba just about sums up our season for an MN duck hunter! And proves the fact that the mallards haven't come yet! Like I have said a million times.... Why would those canadian mallards migrate when its one of the warmest november's ever recorded? Come on guys, lets be realistic..... The major migration of canadian mallards has not happened and will never happen (within our legal shooting dates) with one of the warmest Novembers EVER recorded!

Obviously you guys that say the major migration of mallards is south of us have NEVER taken part in or seen the real mallard migration....

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BrdHunter01 Proficient

BrdHunter01

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Did you guys read the reports from MinetonkaMan or are you just oblivious? Did you not read the thread where a wildlife biologist explains the facts and our own MN DNR agrees? You call temps in the 40s cold? OH MY what do you do during the winter?

You guys must be the ones that just stop duck hunting once a little ice is on the lakes.... Thats why you have never seen the real migration... Now I understand

I'm also waiting on this "so called" calander..... I'd like to take a look. You guys really think the big mallards have come down with weather like this? "yes I do call it cold" LOL get a clue boys...

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BrdHunter01 Proficient

BrdHunter01

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By the way Chub, You don't have to explain anything to me.... I've seen it, you obviously haven't. I know what kind of weather it takes to move those big old Canadian mallards down here to MN, you don't. Not a big deal.... No need to feel like your trying to explain anything....

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chub Experienced

chub

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Here, I'll make it easy for you.

http://mdc.mo.gov/hunt/wtrfowl/

You might have to open up some different pages, but if you can read and reason, you should be able to see, that a very substantial amount of Mallards, yes Mallards are in not only the MDC conservation areas, but in the NWR's down that way also.

Now if you would care to go back and find where I stated that ALL of the Mallards are south of us, I will get my own picture taken with me on Santa's lap. I know they're not all down there yet, because I am killing them as they come through, like I have been for the last month and a half.

Now I've got to rest old sage one, for I have to take some more people out tomorrow, so they can shoot some of the Mallards that are migrating through the state instead of continuing to argue with the uninformed.

Good luck out there tomorrow to those that get out.

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BrdHunter01 Proficient

BrdHunter01

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Yes I did, but have you looked at a map recently? Sak is over montana.... Have you watched the weather lately? Its been a lot colder west of us in Mon and such. Back to the map.... Do you see those huge bodies of water in Manitoba? Do you think those are froze yet? Now..... Did you read the report from Manitoba yet?

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BrdHunter01 Proficient

BrdHunter01

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chub,

Those hundreds of 1,000s of mallards in Missiouri.....thems just local ducks.

Thems not canadian mallards. Canadian mallards eat snow and ice...thats why theys so big and stong.......and spectical

SNOW???? Where's the snow and ice? If my eyes arn't playing tricks on me i think winnipeg has been in the 40 and 50 degree weather over the last month or so. I didn't know snow fly's with those temps? let alone ice freezing.... Wow! I must be way out of the loop

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cutter08 Collaborator

cutter08

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Have you looked at a map? Most of Manitoba is over North dakota. And yeah i know about the big water in Manitoba. We have a cabin about 4 hrs north of Winnipeg on Ceader lake. And on top of it the dakotas are so wet this year that much of migration has gone throught or is still in the dakotas. Anyone can sit online and say whatever they want. You have your beliefs and i have mine. Lets just leave it at that and keep this thred to reports.

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