Northern mallards

[slingshot]

Anyone see any migration of ducks in our province

[KegRiver]

They have moved south a bit, but no sign of them migrating yet.

Not here at least. We never have a lot of ducks and as near as I can tell what we do have are still all here. All be it, about a hundred miles south of where they spent the summer.

[tikka250]

How in God's green earth would ducks not be migrating yet? Iv watched sloughs fill and empty multiple times with migrating birds. Have had a few hunts now that were full of wads and wads of pintails and malards that definately did not grow up locally. This whole idea that birds migrate mid October just baffles me. If that's the case someone tell me where the millions of specks and snows are nesting in local Alberta.

[slough shark]

They’re absolutely migrating, I work in Nunavut and the birds are gone, things are freezing up. I just got back and went out hunting yesterday and it seems to me there were more waterfowl than usual in the spot I was. Perhaps the migration has slowed down a bit here due to warm weather and the birds haven’t felt the need book it south. I’m guessing with cooler temps coming there will be a pretty heavy migration coming up soon.

[KegRiver]

Originally Posted by slough shark

They’re absolutely migrating, I work in Nunavut and the birds are gone, things are freezing up. I just got back and went out hunting yesterday and it seems to me there were more waterfowl than usual in the spot I was. Perhaps the migration has slowed down a bit here due to warm weather and the birds haven’t felt the need book it south. I’m guessing with cooler temps coming there will be a pretty heavy migration coming up soon.

You might be right. I can only relate what I see here and I haven't seen it here.

Two days ago there were thousands of Ducks and Geese around Peace River and Grimshaw,
Today my brother told me he has good flocks of ducks staging on a slough on his land. Good flocks for here that is.

We're planning a group hunt for later this week. They need my decoys.

[slough shark]

Originally Posted by KegRiver

You might be right. I can only relate what I see here and I haven't seen it here.

Two days ago there were thousands of Ducks and Geese around Peace River and Grimshaw,
Today my brother told me he has good flocks of ducks staging on a slough on his land. Good flocks for here that is.

We're planning a group hunt for later this week. They need my decoys.

Good to be needed and loved hey 😉
Yeah I’m guessing this will lead to some pretty good hunting the next week or 2 as I’m thinking we may have more birds than usual in Alberta as some of the local birds have been moving slower and the northern birds have come down. Hoping to hit them a couple times anyways before the rifle comes out

[maxwell1000]

Just returned from our annual bird hunt in the Peace Country, best mallard year ever. with massive swarms of birds. Lots of food for them still and its been pretty warm, so they are in no hurry to leave yet, however its is going to happen soon. What is interesting is there are also very high numbers of swans, and the ducks seem to prefer to feed with them rather than the geese this year.

Absolutely amazing watching these flocks numbering in the thousands of mallards swirling around. Lots of fully dressed greenheads already.

[Big Grey Wolf]

Maxwell you have summed up the Northern Migration. Grew up in Peace Country chasing ducks and geese. When the flocks are bunched upto thousands of mallards they are getting ready to migrate south. Major snow fall will kick them in the butt and they will be gone to warmer climate.

[Bushmaster]

There's a few birds that have migrated...



Actually, I saw very few local mallards here this yea at their normal haunts. And about a month ago, I saw MANY mallards that arrived, still in summer plummage.

[Faststeel]

Originally Posted by Bushmaster

There's a few birds that have migrated...



Actually, I saw very few local mallards here this yea at their normal haunts. And about a month ago, I saw MANY mallards that arrived, still in summer plummage.

now here is the perfect place for 3.5 inch ammo, 3 guys 3 shots, could limit out.......LOL

[Drewski Canuck]

Tikka 250,

The best and biggest Mallards and Pintails are the ones that push into the NWT and north.

These are the birds that stay as long as there is open water and feed.

Yes you are seeing the results of good hatches of local birds as alot of sloughs that have been dry for the last 15 years are now filling back up and giving great nesting habitat.

Yes the Arctic geese (Snows and Specks) are down in numbers as they always are.

But the Northern Mallards, they are starting to pour down. Below 0 up north will close off some of the water, and a good snow storm up in the Peace will drive birds south.

These are the days we wait all year for.

Drewski

[tikka250]

Originally Posted by Drewski Canuck

Tikka 250,

The best and biggest Mallards and Pintails are the ones that push into the NWT and north.

These are the birds that stay as long as there is open water and feed.

Yes you are seeing the results of good hatches of local birds as alot of sloughs that have been dry for the last 15 years are now filling back up and giving great nesting habitat.

Yes the Arctic geese (Snows and Specks) are down in numbers as they always are.

But the Northern Mallards, they are starting to pour down. Below 0 up north will close off some of the water, and a good snow storm up in the Peace will drive birds south.

These are the days we wait all year for.

Drewski

So how does a guy differentiate between a north malard and a local? We had a hunt 2 weeks ago that had probably 8k malards and pintails in an area that's sandy and dry pasture country this would lead me to believe that birds migrated down from north.
Do people just think that if they have summer plumage they are local?

[Drewski Canuck]

8K of birds late September is a very strong number. And yes, they are probably alot of local birds, meaning Alberta birds.

There is alot of Alberta to the north of Edmonton. Geographic center of the Province is near Fort Assiniboine, to give you an idea.

What many consider as Northern Mallards are the ones that push in towards the end of October, after the local birds have moved through. They are just bigger, and fatter, and often are banded in the NWT if you are lucky enough to get a banded bird.

Drewski

[tikka250]

Originally Posted by Drewski Canuck

8K of birds late September is a very strong number. And yes, they are probably alot of local birds, meaning Alberta birds.

There is alot of Alberta to the north of Edmonton. Geographic center of the Province is near Fort Assiniboine, to give you an idea.

What many consider as Northern Mallards are the ones that push in towards the end of October, after the local birds have moved through. They are just bigger, and fatter, and often are banded in the NWT if you are lucky enough to get a banded bird.

Drewski

Yeah it was crazy. We had a 5 man limit in less than half an hour.
I still don't fully buy it as later in the year even a local bird will have had an extra 2 months to fatten up and get bigger but to each their own.
Any specific reason people care? A duck is still a duck no matter how far north it came from.

[KegRiver]

On the way to town this morning we saw several small flocks of Ducks.
Nothing over 50 birds in a flock would be my guess, which is about normal for around here.

I don't know which species as we didn't get close to any, but they are still here.

Many years the ducks here don't leave until well into November.

The geese are another matter, I haven't seen a goose north of Dixonville in at least two weeks.
But there was a small flock of cranes in a field just north of Manning this morning. And I have yet to see Tundra Swans. They usually show up later in the month.

I wonder if the birds in different flyways move at different times.

Up here it seems we are on the eastern edge of the Pacific flyway while central and southern Alberta is on the western edge of the Central flyway as far as I know.

[kidd]

This past weekend I drove to North of Grand Prairie from Edmonton and back. From legal light in the morning to evening the following day I said out loud several times "where are all the birds?"
The migrating birds weren't where I was.
kidd

[drake]

Get on hwy 16 in Edmonton. Drive 1.5 hours East. Look in sky. That’s where the ducks are!!

[bessiedog]

Mmmmmmmmmmmm!

Big fat northern mallard...... plucked......



Hurry up birdies.... come south!

[KegRiver]

It looks like the migration may have finally reached here.

We went for a tour of the neighborhood this noon. A few miles east of the house we found several hundred Trumpeter Swans in a field.

The Swans that nested locally moved south a couple of weeks ago. Plus we never see this many local Swans, so there is no doubt in my mind that these are not local birds.

I have not seen any Tundra Swans this fall. They may have flown right over us but this suggests they haven't reached us yet.

If the Swans are just now arriving here the northern Geese should not be far behind. They will find plenty of food waiting for them.
A short walk into a stubble field just outside town this morning showed a considerable amount of full wheat heads left behind by the combines.

No wonder I'm still seeing Bears in the fields.

[Drewski Canuck]

Its forecast to snow around Edmonton. Lets hope it hits up in the NWT.

Drewski

[JRF]

I've been out around the calgary region looking for the ducks quite a bit recently; today I saw a massive cloud of geese moving in a southerly direction. Pretty much every little group of ducks seems to be still flying north in the morning, very few seem to be headed south even as the day progresses, and very few large flocks.

[Drewski Canuck]

Ran into a limit of fully finished and heavy mallards. No bands, but beautiful in every way otherwise, and big orange feet.

Not alot flying in the heavy wind yesterday, but enough, and promises of more to come!

Drewski

[marlin1]

seeing Canadas , Sandhills , and ducks in 132

[nimrod]

Well 1000 or so ducks on the hunt last night, so we are a go for this morning , very cold morning, we heard the 996 leave the water at around 7 am in the dark, after leaving the water it was frozen, at first light, only 4 came in to our spread, all 4 are dead now no going south for the 4, at least we shot the 4, now looking at the forecast, warmer weather coming soon into next week, hope not all left.

[Soab]

I remember back in sask, huge flocks. keeping water open going to stubble and back with no time to worry of danger. The old 16 ga. Single shot never seen so much action....... might have to show the boy these birds ( 11 yrs. old ) kinda missing these hunts

[Big Grey Wolf]

Soab, when I was young, was hunting with single 16 gauge and held tight in willows. When I stood up around 1000 mallards lifted, sky was black in 4 directions. One shot had around dozen chubby mallards to carry 2 miles home.

[KegRiver]

Originally Posted by Big Grey Wolf

Soab, when I was young, was hunting with single 16 gauge and held tight in willows. When I stood up around 1000 mallards lifted, sky was black in 4 directions. One shot had around dozen chubby mallards to carry 2 miles home.

It used to be like that here, not anymore. Now a flock of 100 is considered huge.

[FearNoFish]

We had a fantastic day in Mundare on Sunday. Numerous fields had 1000 plus birds. Setup the decoys about 1030 and we had our limit by noon. They were very concentrated on fields that had some remaining open water near by.

[35 whelen]

Lots of birds out by Oyen and big knife Campground

Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk

[Vacation]

Had a great couple days near Crossfield. Bagged 9 one day, 16 today. All but 3 were Mallards.