Goose Migration

Justfishin73 · #1 09-24-2019, 11:17 AM

Is it just me or is the migration starting late this year? Local birds have kept us busy, but waiting for the big migration to start. I know a lot of crops have yet to come off, especially wheat, but sure hope they get moving soon. Was up in ft mac recently—early winter on deck for sure. Thoughts?

elkhunter11 · #2 09-24-2019, 11:29 AM

Drove from Camrose to Saskatoon this morning, and although the harvesting is much more advanced from the Battlefords to Saskatoon areas, I didn't see as many geese as I expected.

Jalan · #3 09-24-2019, 11:41 AM

Last year it was late around me as well. A lot of fields are just now being combined.

Last year had massive flocks on the last few days of the season

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ganderblaster · #4 09-24-2019, 11:54 AM

It’s late. Thank god for all the water and good local hatch. About normal for our kill numbers but the historical patterns are not there. Hammering on the local birds seems to be about two weeks behind. Warmer in High Level then central Alberta.

TheBigShooter · #5 09-24-2019, 11:56 AM

I'm hearing from people in Sask that the migration is yet to heat up, ton of local birds still.

KGB · #6 09-24-2019, 11:59 AM

Oh common guys! Don’t you see what is going on here! He is just fishing for a good spots, waiting for replies like oh I am here and here so and so and we have tons of birds everywhere!

Nah, just kidding. Lol! We have seen a huge flocks east of the city with wave after wave coming... Flying a bit too high but we managed to get few. We went scouting and didn’t have any decoys so it was a crime of opportunity for us. With decoys we could’ve have bloodbath there!

Drewski Canuck · #7 09-24-2019, 12:05 PM

You have to look WAY UP North.

There was snow up in the Yukon and cold in the Arctic circle LATE AUGUST, and birds did come down.

PROBLEM IS that in the Peace Block, there is lots of water and lots of feed in the field.

Until there is a hard freeze up north the birds will hold up as long as they can.

the nice part is that the birds will get here sooner or later.

Drewski

6.5 shooter · #8 09-24-2019, 12:35 PM

Zero,Zip, nothing here in the south..

colvert · #9 09-24-2019, 01:26 PM

The WFG and the SG were there last week, near Stettler

Few Canadas though...

32-40win · #10 09-24-2019, 02:08 PM

Weather way up north is only just hitting freezing at nite, still not freezing that hard even in the NWT, and not much to push them in the Peace country, either. May be another couple of wks yet unless something up there changes. Our area cleared out last week for a few days, like normal, see what next wk brings.
Still seeing more honkers than anything else on the northern outfitters sites, some specks showing up, there are some in the Peace country, very little for snows yet, only a small few of full on snow shoots so far, even in Sask and they were only this last wk.. It is actually a bit early yet.

crazyfish · #11 09-25-2019, 07:42 AM

I'm seeing the same thing around westlock , local birds , haven't seen any big influx from the north yet , a cool weather week ahead should change that I hope .

tikka250 · #12 09-25-2019, 01:44 PM

I still don't get why everyone thinks they are killing "local birds" I don't know about you but I'm pretty sure specks and snows are not local and I have never seen a lesser Canada any where in alberta during the summer months. The migration seems a little slow yes but to say that the birds we are killing right now are "local" is just absurd.
That being said the one thing I'm noticing this year is an overall lack of ducks. Usually we can count on a few good flights on any goose hunt we go on but it's come to the point where we don't even setup a mojo anymore as the ducks just aren't there.

elkhunter11 · #13 09-25-2019, 03:10 PM

Seeing some larger fields of snows today by Vegreville.

Justfishin73 · #14 09-25-2019, 03:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tikka250

I still don't get why everyone thinks they are killing "local birds" I don't know about you but I'm pretty sure specks and snows are not local and I have never seen a lesser Canada any where in alberta during the summer months. The migration seems a little slow yes but to say that the birds we are killing right now are "local" is just absurd.
That being said the one thing I'm noticing this year is an overall lack of ducks. Usually we can count on a few good flights on any goose hunt we go on but it's come to the point where we don't even setup a mojo anymore as the ducks just aren't there.

Haven't been killing specs and snows--almost all greater Canadas. Been doing these long enough to know the difference between locals and migrators. The migration has not started yet. As for ducks---TONS around Edmonton area--all the standing water is perfect for them, shot some nice mallards and teals.

sns2 · #15 09-25-2019, 09:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Justfishin73

Haven't been killing specs and snows--almost all greater Canadas. Been doing these long enough to know the difference between locals and migrators. The migration has not started yet. As for ducks---TONS around Edmonton area--all the standing water is perfect for them, shot some nice mallards and teals.

Your buddy knocked down a beauty double on teal too. Justsayin.

Drewski Canuck · #16 09-25-2019, 10:26 PM

Was outside greasing the bearings on the Quad Trailer tonight and overhead at about 9:45 I heard waves of Specks flying over in the dark and quite high up.

They must have been knocked out of somewhere to the north to be flying at night. This is true migration behavior.

I am in South West Edmonton for a reference.

Drewski

tikka250 · #17 09-26-2019, 07:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Justfishin73

Haven't been killing specs and snows--almost all greater Canadas. Been doing these long enough to know the difference between locals and migrators. The migration has not started yet. As for ducks---TONS around Edmonton area--all the standing water is perfect for them, shot some nice mallards and teals.

Well then in that case the migration may be happening further east. I'm along the sask border and I havent hunted greaters for 2 weeks now. Piles of lessers and specks and the snows are starting to pile in hard too. Tuesdays hunt numbered 38 and not one greater or duck to be seen.

sns2 · #18 09-26-2019, 07:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tikka250

Well then in that case the migration may be happening further east. I'm along the sask border and I havent hunted greaters for 2 weeks now. Piles of lessers and specks and the snows are starting to pile in hard too. Tuesdays hunt numbered 38 and not one greater or duck to be seen.

Since opening weekend, we have shot more honkers than anything. Specs are starting to show, especially last weekend. A few Lessers last weekend too. Very few ducks relatively speaking as others have mentioned. Just my results so far. Looks like Super Mario is the guy who can really talk.

elkhunter11 · #19 09-26-2019, 08:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tikka250

Well then in that case the migration may be happening further east. I'm along the sask border and I havent hunted greaters for 2 weeks now. Piles of lessers and specks and the snows are starting to pile in hard too. Tuesdays hunt numbered 38 and not one greater or duck to be seen.

Driving from Camrose to Saskatoon and back, I saw far fewer geese that I expected, and other than two fields of snows near Vegreville, most of the geese that I saw were greater Canadas. I did see some specs and lessers, but not that many. At least they have far more fields harvested in Saskatchewan, so the geese have many more feed sources to choose from, when they do arrive.

Justfishin73 · #20 09-26-2019, 08:46 AM

State of emergency for our grounds--county of Leduc, more rain today, and wheat around 25% moisture---nor good for farmers even if you have a grain dryer. Hoper next week brings better weather for them. Two wheat fields off---the one with birds of course is taken, other one is a ghost town, might have to be content with coyotes this weekend---they seem to be everywhere.

elkhunter11 · #21 09-26-2019, 09:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Justfishin73

State of emergency for our grounds--county of Leduc, more rain today, and wheat around 25% moisture---nor good for farmers even if you have a grain dryer. Hoper next week brings better weather for them. Two wheat fields off---the one with birds of course is taken, other one is a ghost town, might have to be content with coyotes this weekend---they seem to be everywhere.

Rain here as well, I am headed out scouting this evening, hoping some fields were swathed or combined while I was out of town. On my last trip, the only geese I found were on swaths owned by a landowner that doesn't give anyone permission. I wonder what is left of the one small plot of barley swaths, after three weeks of the geese feeding on it.

Justfishin73 · #22 09-26-2019, 09:13 AM

Have a whole section of peas can hunt, but was so wet when taking it off, they pretty much took it down to the dirt. Not a bird since.

Heres a story from last weekend though. Upgraded a bunch of decoys to Avian-X and do they ever work. Having a doze in the blind waiting for birds, when I hear this hawk SCREAM about 10 ft away---just about crapped my pants—he tried to grab a decoy shell, couldn’t get a grip due the plastic, did a circle, came back and grabbed a lesser fullbody---got about 10 ft and dropped it when realized not real . The willow blind and those Avians have me very confident in our set up.

Have never seen so many hawks as this year—the combined pea field is FULL of them—which certainly doesnt help bring the geese in.

32-40win · #23 09-27-2019, 03:37 AM

Not sure the weather this weekend will help our cause around here next week. I just hope we don't get a big dump like last year.

elkhunter11 · #24 09-28-2019, 04:01 PM

Seeing huge flights of geese over the last two days, we had well over 1000 geese over us this morning, and in the calm conditions, most of the specs and lessers were circling high, three or four times before committing.

lachsfluss · #25 09-28-2019, 08:09 PM

I saw 1000 snows and 2000 Canadas in Central AB today, I can tell you they are not local..

I have been hunting since the opener and I’m around 50 birds, a handful of specs and a couple of ducks..

I don’t get on the big shoots, mostly a field with a 50-100 birds and I’m out there

Pixel Shooter · #26 09-28-2019, 08:23 PM

Migration has been going on for couple weeks. Specs snows now in full force in central. Non stop flights for past week. More lessers then i have seen in years. Just gettin good 😊

sns2 · #27 09-29-2019, 08:22 AM

For sure its happening in full force now. Problem is getting the dang things to land. Yesterday I was stumped. Doing the same as I've always done, but they just weren't finishing for some reason like they normally have. Oh the rookie blues.

Big Grey Wolf · #28 09-29-2019, 08:27 AM

Last couple of cold days/snow the specs have been flying in droves very high, obviously migrating birds. (West of Edmonton)

32-40win · #29 09-29-2019, 04:19 PM

Wonder if they'll bounce back, stop or keep going, or if they are above these clouds. All I know, is it'll be wet and muddy come Tues aft scouting.

slough shark · #30 09-29-2019, 07:09 PM

Birds were around this weekend, made a go on a smaller shoot for the evening as the others I found were already taken. Got to the field at what normally is a good time and birds were already there and a few more groups came in while we were setting up. Not a bird in the air after 4, and nowhere near the numbers we saw in the morning, I figure a lot of them moved on. This morning tried tag teaming a couple sections of peas where birds had been landing all over without a lot of pattern, not much for luck, they didn’t come to decoys or call