Migration

[johnr]

I even had some geese fly over yesterday in western ND, they must be going somewhere

 

[jdinny]

Zoos,
thanks for the post. That must be the fewest snows shot ever huh? Wow. Yeah agree 100% with ya the later we get the more likely a replay of last year happens.

 

[dean nelson]

Snows are tracking about normal and will show in force the next few days. The ducks will stall with the warm weather we are having but with the strong NW winds the next couple days combined with a near full moon the snows will roll.

 

[Brooks]

How do u know this Dean

 

[jdinny]

I took part in the goose fest for several years prior dean and I can tell you I hunt around my uncles farm each and every year in NW ND There was zero snows this year this past wknd ( i don't par take in that shit show anymore) I can honestly say last year was the only other year like that. Normally we chasing pockets in the 10k or better range already. New normal maybe certainly not normal IMO.

 

[KDM]

Cacklers, Cacklers, Cacklers!!!!!! There are bunches of these little buggars where I hunt. At least I managed to thin them down by 6 this morning. Man them things can really screw up a hunt. They messed up at least 3 flocks of greaters for me today. GRRR!!

 

[dean nelson]

How do u know this Dean

Because my first "hunt" for snows was back in 84 off of sweetwater and from about 1989 on I did nothing but live and breathe snow geese! My dad was never much of a hunter but his brother was. Combine that with he was from devils lake and even more so worked for Sioux manufacturing put my uncle on the forefront of snow goose hunting. It was because of Sioux manufacturing the north winds aka windsock decoys we're perfected with Tyvek since that's what sioux manufacturing makes.

So the reason I know they are going to come down in force is I have watched these birds migrate firsthand from the edge of the boreal forest north of the quill lakes in Saskatchewan all the way down to Oklahoma and back....still haven't hit the extreme ends of their migration yet. People think they are hanging up on us now days but the reality is their southern migration starts off at their still normal pace... But unfortunately for whatever reason they now start off the migration by doing a 400 mile lateral jog into Saskatchewan instead of coming down through southwestern Manitoba like they used to. The further west you go in Canada until you reach the mountains in Alberta the farther north the tree line is and since the migration only moves around 15 miles south a day it now takes considerably longer than it used to for the birds to get here. The snow goose migration whether it be north or south starts off very calendar based but somewhere along the line in both directions it eventually gets whether influenced especially on the northbound route. Simply put we already have somewhat huntable flocks down to the highway 200 corridor and now we have two days of stiff northwest winds and a full moon. So with all the ingredients like this combining the time of year with moon phase and migration patterns this is a recipe for a full on migration for the white devils.

Now all that bullshit said they are still snows ....so we are dealing with at best a bipolar schizophrenic of a bird so guarantees are pretty worthless because you never know exactly what they're about to do. But over the last several years this day has become my bench mark date because no matter how warm its been they just seem to arrive around the 27 of Oct and get to full force be a week later. Maybe it will hold true maybe it won't but so far the arrow points to a normal pattern so far.

 

[guywhofishes]

Interesting read dean. Thumbs Up

 

[f7_2003_97x]

Pretty slow around here...

 

[NodakBuckeye]

mixed box of quackers today, heard nor saw geese of any species today. Back to work tomorrow, will be 2 weeks before I will have a chance again.

 

[Duckslayer100]

Buddies came up over the weekend. Four guys shot 12 mallards over two days in SE ND. It wasn't form a lack of trying! At least willing ditch parrots helped keep things interesting.

For the amount of hunters we saw, and the lack of shooting both days, my bet is our poor luck wasn't the only poor luck.

Need some ice and snow up nort' to get the mallets moving.

 

[dean nelson]

Went for a little drive this morning to see if there were any snows down here yet. Wasn't easy at times spoting a white bird in a snow storm but found a few flocks most within 30 miles of 94. First flock was 2 to 3 thousand with a few hundred small Canada's and ducks coming in as I left. There was a similar sized flock about a mile up the road as well.

This flock was in the 5 to 7 thousand range and spread over three fields. Probably have to zoom in to see them. There is a big dense pocket of birds just over the section line.

 

[muddy11]

"But unfortunately for whatever reason they now start off the migration by doing a 400 mile lateral jog into Saskatchewan instead of coming down through southwestern Manitoba like they used to." I'd bet this has a lot to do with the small grains that are being farmed in southern Saskatchewan. Lots and lots of food for them to hang out until the weather pushes them south.

 

[jdinny]

its a start. I did see one flock about half the size of your first picture last wknd dean so I guess you caught me in a lie. im waiting for the time when you sit on an approach have 7 "tornados " spotted without moving your vehicle and don't know which one to chase first. should have huntable numbers after this cold front. "everyones huntable numbers" are different and that's where the argument comes in on internet chat forums if "there here or not"

 

[Enslow]

Seen a big flock of snows north of devils lake.

 

[Buckmaster81]

I have been seeing a few for 2 1/2 weeks now

 

[dean nelson]

its a start. I did see one flock about half the size of your first picture last wknd dean so I guess you caught me in a lie. im waiting for the time when you sit on an approach have 7 "tornados " spotted without moving your vehicle and don't know which one to chase first. should have huntable numbers after this cold front. "everyones huntable numbers" are different and that's where the argument comes in on internet chat forums if "there here or not"

Thus the terminology somewhat huntable number's. Everyone loves the peak of the migration but we have to start somewhere. The numbers we have now will gro exponentially from here on for the next ten days or so barring a snowstorm. And like always by opening weekend of deer they will be thick.

 

[deleted___account]

Colder than a well diggers ass out there today. Should help get em moving.

 

[jdinny]

Colder than a well diggers ass out there today. Should help get em moving.

if you think this is cold wait until jan!..............as I sit and type this from the comfort of my office looking at the flag whipping in the wind and snow flakes falling.....

 

[deleted___account]

if you think this is cold wait until jan!..............as I sit and type this from the comfort of my office looking at the flag whipping in the wind and snow flakes falling.....

I hate the cold lol. Need a winter shanty somewhere south.