How is the migration going?

MaxxiD · #1 10-18-2023, 08:14 PM

I am new to duck hunting this season, but I have been going out at least once a week and loving it. I always go to the same place because there is always ducks there.

I am just wondering what the migration is like right now or what is it like generally? I don't know if I am seeing the full force of it or it hasn't started really yet? I just don't know.

Not really in a hurry to try elsewhere tbh, because like I said, there's always ducks where I go, not 100s, but enough for me and my buddy anyway

Drewski Canuck · #2 10-18-2023, 09:28 PM

if you live enough years in Alberta, you will learn that the Northern Mallards will hold out up north as long as they can. They only need feed fields and open water.

A good blizzard in the Arctic, and snow in the Peace Country, will push down hundreds of thousands of ducks and geese.

In the mean time we are shooting alot of local birds that are slowly filtering south.

But there is a big wave of BIG birds on their way, sooner or later.

Drewski

elkhunter11 · #3 10-18-2023, 09:44 PM

The northern birds started showing up in central Alberta, about a week ago. Next week things should pick up with the colder temperatures.

fordtruckin · #4 10-18-2023, 10:49 PM

Send them south! All we got right now are resident coots….

3blade · #5 10-19-2023, 07:02 AM

Saw massive flights of snow geese a week ago. Way further west than normal

Also more canadas showing up every week

Strangely only a couple groups of mallards so far

I gotta find a good pond or field this year, need some duck fat in the diet

elkhunter11 · #6 10-19-2023, 07:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3blade

Saw massive flights of snow geese a week ago. Way further west than normal

Also more canadas showing up every week

Strangely only a couple groups of mallards so far

I gotta find a good pond or field this year, need some duck fat in the diet

The greeheads showed up here in large numbers over a week ago, we had a hunt with over 1000 of them , and the landowner has been bombarded with requests for permission, by not only resident hunters, but by outfitters and Americans, wanting to hunt them.

sns2 · #7 10-19-2023, 08:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elkhunter11

The greeheads showed up here in large numbers over a week ago, we had a hunt with over 1000 of them , and the landowner has been bombarded with requests for permission, by not only resident hunters, but by outfitters and Americans, wanting to hunt them.

One wonders if the Americans were clients of the outfitter that the landowner has run off, but is still hunting in the area. You know, the guy in the CRV watching the same birds

elkhunter11 · #8 10-19-2023, 08:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sns2

One wonders if the Americans were clients of the outfitter that the landowner has run off, but is still hunting in the area. You know, the guy in the CRV watching the same birds

It is possible, but I have heard from multiple landowners, that the number of Americans asking permission, has increased significantly this year. The program on Wild TV may be a factor in convincing them to come up here, or it may merely be a coincidence.

BcK · #9 10-19-2023, 10:07 AM

i live in the country on a couple of quarters and i can honestly say that the number of snow geese is crazy. i think they should raise the limits, i haven’t seen so many of them ever and i have been hunting them for 40 years.

PartTimeHunter · #10 10-19-2023, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BcK

i live in the country on a couple of quarters and i can honestly say that the number of snow geese is crazy. i think they should raise the limits, i haven’t seen so many of them ever and i have been hunting them for 40 years.

Raise the limits? 50 a day with unlimited possession for snows now. How much more should it be?

CBintheNorth · #11 10-20-2023, 01:33 AM

Plenty of specks and whites around, but seems like the specks are fewer than a week ago. Which is normally what happens when the whites start showing up in big numbers. They're usually right on the heels of the specks.

Would love to see them give specks their own limit of 8 or 10. The combined limit makes absolutely no sense.
If I can shoot 8, the population can obviously sustain the harvest, so what do Canada's have to do with the speck population? Which is totally exploding if you ask me.

Haven't seen big numbers of northern mallards yet. A field with maybe 1,000 was the most by far.
Haven't seen the large flocks of northern honkers yet either. Should start seeing both next week I think.

H380 · #12 10-20-2023, 07:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CBintheNorth

Plenty of specks and whites around, but seems like the specks are fewer than a week ago. Which is normally what happens when the whites start showing up in big numbers. They're usually right on the heels of the specks.

Would love to see them give specks their own limit of 8 or 10. The combined limit makes absolutely no sense.

If I can shoot 8, the population can obviously sustain the harvest, so what do Canada's have to do with the speck population? Which is totally exploding if you ask me.

Haven't seen big numbers of northern mallards yet. A field with maybe 1,000 was the most by far.

Haven't seen the large flocks of northern honkers yet either. Should start seeing both next week I think.

How far north are you located? See the odd snow here almost to MT. border but not sure Speck in sight.

Sent from my SM-G781W using Tapatalk

sns2 · #13 10-20-2023, 08:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by H380

How far north are you located? See the odd snow here almost to MT. border but not sure Speck in sight.

Sent from my SM-G781W using Tapatalk

CB is in Edmonton.

I took a drive last night to Viking and the boys are having great shoots of snows, and as CB mentions, specs everywhere. Only Canadas are the local birds, and the ducks are scarce still.

Need some cold weather up north.

freeride · #14 10-20-2023, 09:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CBintheNorth

Would love to see them give specks their own limit of 8 or 10. The combined limit makes absolutely no sense.
If I can shoot 8, the population can obviously sustain the harvest, so what do Canada's have to do with the speck population? Which is totally exploding if you ask me.

I was actually thinking about this the other night too. The only thought I had was someone could get a speck and canada mixed up when in flight. Yes I know they sound different, look different... but To some people a dark goose is a dark goose. You could limit out on Canada's then accidentally shoot another couple by thinking they are specks.

Well that was the only reason I could think of.

sns2 · #15 10-20-2023, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by freeride

I was actually thinking about this the other night too. The only thought I had was someone could get a speck and canada mixed up when in flight. Yes I know they sound different, look different... but To some people a dark goose is a dark goose. You could limit out on Canada's then accidentally shoot another couple by thinking they are specks.

Well that was the only reason I could think of.

They could easily bump dark geese to 15 person and it would do sweet bugger all to the population.

CBintheNorth · #16 10-20-2023, 03:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by freeride

I was actually thinking about this the other night too. The only thought I had was someone could get a speck and canada mixed up when in flight. Yes I know they sound different, look different... but To some people a dark goose is a dark goose. You could limit out on Canada's then accidentally shoot another couple by thinking they are specks.

Well that was the only reason I could think of.

While I can see your point, I don't think that was a consideration for fish and wildlife. The limit used to be 8 combined, with no more than five specks. The situation you're referring to would have been a problem then as well.

Within reasonable shotgun distance, there's no mistaking species.

CBintheNorth · #17 10-20-2023, 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by H380

How far north are you located? See the odd snow here almost to MT. border but not sure Speck in sight.

Sent from my SM-G781W using Tapatalk

Give it a week, you're going to be seeing a whole bunch lol.

Drewski Canuck · #18 10-20-2023, 03:47 PM

We FINALLY have a hard freeze at the Arctic Circle. -30 C to be exact!!

The Cold descends to Alberta, the snow starts to fall, the birds push south out of the Peace Country.

Tough part of this year was the fact that with temperatures as high as it was, alot of birds simply sat on the water and fed on the water. No need to fly out to the fields some days.

But that is all about to change, and with the number of fields that have been worked up, there will be fewer viable feed fields for the birds.

Drewski

CBintheNorth · #19 10-20-2023, 04:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sns2

They could easily bump dark geese to 15 person and it would do sweet bugger all to the population.

100% agree. There are so many birds, and with specks and snows being so weary, not everybody is shooting limits every time. Most wouldn't want to.
God knows I wouldn't want to clean 100's of whites in an evening.

Would love to see a weekly limit for birds actually.
With how expensive fuel is nowadays, when you can finally make a good shoot come together, it would be nice to capitalize.
Whether I shoot 24 birds in a day of the week, or 8 birds on 3 days of the week, is irrelevant.
This could easily be managed through the app by digitally 'tagging' birds.
My thoughts, anyway.

Drewski Canuck · #20 10-23-2023, 07:19 AM

Things will kick into high gear this week! Thanks Mother nature!

Drewski

elkhunter11 · #21 10-23-2023, 08:49 AM

While shooting skeet yesterday, there were thousands of geese flying to and from the lagoons beside our skeet field. We probably saw 20.0000,-30,000 geese in a couple of hours.

Drewski Canuck · #22 10-28-2023, 09:17 AM

Steady cold is finally freezing off the small ponds and sloughs. Small lakes are still open and birds are starting to get the idea to push south, but there are concentrations of birds coming down.

Hope that the cold keeps pushing the birds south. Its only now starting to get good!!!

Drewski

MaxxiD · #23 10-28-2023, 05:24 PM

...now it's cold and icy, is it still worth going out? We've been hunting a little pond that is probably frozen now. If I smash the ice open and put my decoys out am I gonna be eating my time?

elkhunter11 · #24 10-28-2023, 05:31 PM

Still some Canada geese watering on the lagoon and feeding on a nearby field, but not much around. I drove to Rrd Deer and back Thursday, and saw two lakes with some birds in holes on the ice, but it was a huge change from a few days earlier.

I’d rather be outdoors · #25 10-28-2023, 06:22 PM

There’s still some pockets of ducks on larger water, but feels like the mass pushed through already. Could be wrong though.

Puma · #26 10-28-2023, 07:16 PM

WMU 214. Oct 28th
Lots of flocks of Snow Geese and Trumpeter Swans passing through. Some Canadas.
Most water is frozen over.

MaxxiD · #27 10-28-2023, 09:35 PM

Well, sounds like it's over for a novice waterfowler like me. See you next year ducks!

CBintheNorth · #28 10-28-2023, 09:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaxxiD

Well, sounds like it's over for a novice waterfowler like me. See you next year ducks!

There are still birds around, but only Canada's and ducks. And they're concentrated on what little water is open, but spread out heavily for feeding. If you see 100 Canada's in a field, that's a lot.
Ducks are in huge flocks now.
I would say that migratory birds will be pretty much gone central Alberta in a week.

32-40win · #29 10-29-2023, 07:54 AM

Went to Taber on Thurs, certainly no issue in finding a good shoot around there now on snows, didn't see much for specks, good amounts of honkers too.
What I saw on the way down was from around Scandia south, 5-6 shoots just on Hwy 36, easy 10k birds ea, there were some 20-30k shoots there too, another 5-6 from Taber to Leth, then we went up 864 to 525(?), and across to Hwy25 and back to Leth on Thurs aft, another 4-5 there. Went east of Taber on Fri, few more there. And then back up 36 to just east of Champion, 4-5 there easy. Honkers were 100-400 bird shoots, lots of them around, didn't really pay much attn to them. Saw more birds there, than what I saw thru Sept-Oct combined, from Hwy9 to Hwy 2 this year.