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Anyone else noticing changes in migration patterns of waterfowl in their area. Seems all we're getting in our area is local birds. Normally this time of year the ringers would start showing up by the hundreds. We see the odd and I mean add small flock but nothing like it use to be 4 - 5 years ago... Could it be climate change that has the birds migrating on a different flyway.... Just curious if anyone else is experiencing the same thing....
In my area, it appeared as though all of the locals had left by opening weekend. Very odd. The birds I found were fat adults and 80% males, no juveniles. Another odd thing: I was able to shoot a green wing teal which I have never seen in this area in about 12 years of duck hunting.
do you have wind turbines in your area. I was told by the top guy in the know who is way up in a different organization at dinner one night that turbines can cause waterfowl to change their flight path.
I don't know about change but it sure is much later. With no fronts pushing them along still waiting on the woodcock to come down
My group always keeps a log of our hunts over the years (dates/weather/birds/etc). We seem to be pretty bang on for our area when comparing to the last 4 years.
I have hunted the same marsh for 50+ years. No change that I can see.
My area alot of local birds but as some said no fronts pushing them down also alot of corn fields still standing
all depends on weather and in southern ontario, on whats planted. one of my fields is usually full of geese but beans are up still so i dont see near as many. also noticing before a few days ago it was slow and once the cold came more birds are showing up. i expect within the next two weeks a pick up in activity.
Opening Day at Long Point was great but by Wednesday it was dead, mind you we had East winds. Then came the heatwave so duck hunting sucked but the Perch fishing was good ! Now with a change in the weather things should pick up as Redheads were spotted on the Inner Bay and the farmers have been clearing not only the beans but corn also... go figure ? Usually it's beans first then corn but I guess it all depends on the moisture content of the kernels as to when they harvest but at least opens up fields for feeding.
I've hunted Sturgeon, Balsam, Mitchell, Cameron, Scugog, and Rice Lakes for the past 45 years. I saw a profound change in waterfowl patterns that coincided with the arrival and establishment of zebra mussels (mid 80's to early nineties). I saw water clarity triple and the diversity of aquatic vegetation (upon which waterfowl feed) has changed quite dramatically in the Kawarthas. Lakes that formerly had 15+ Potomegeton species are down to four or five. Eelgrass (Vallisneria) beds (prime feeding for divers) on some lakes are now rare, when formerly they covered all the shallow flats.
Pre-zebra days - phenomenal early season (first three weeks) shooting in all the marshes on these lakes. Beaver ponds and river roosts were filthy with ducks. Night shoots on roosting ponds were nothing short of insane. Woody and BWT numbers were 20X what they are now. Field shooting Mallards in corn fields was very good. I remember lots of hunts where our spread of 30+/- decoys would bring in flocks of 40-60 birds and you'd shoot a limit in a few hours if you found a good field. Late fall diver hunting was very, very good. The best hunting started the first week of deer hunt and went to freeze-up. We used to use lay-out boats quite a bit. It was common to have ringneck and scaup flocks of up to 100 birds back in those days. Northern Mallards and Blacks would arrive as well and the hunting was great. Goldeneye and Hoodie numbers were easily 8X what they are now.
Since the early nineties it's just been a steady decline. It's almost a waste of time now hunting the former spots I used to go to. You can keep scouting, waiting for a pulse of birds to arrive and it just doesn't happen now. You get a tiny little cough of divers passing through and they keep going the next day. Those birds used to hold-over until literally the night the lakes froze. No more early amazing Woodie, Mallard, and BWT shooting these days. The number of permanent blinds you see now tells the same story. The birds are just no longer there. For those who now think it's still good, I wish you had been around to see how good it was 30 years ago.