Migration Alert: California Waterfowl Hunters Hope to Finish Season Strong Throughout Central Valley

What happens when the fall migration is delayed because of warm weather up north, followed by an amazing December monsoon that dropped six inches of rain in the Sacramento Valley and then spring-like conditions in early January?

Answer: A duck and goose harvest that is estimated to be down from the previous year. In some cases, especially for hunters who shoot rice blinds or public areas, the take has been paltry and wildly inconsistent.

 “Birds were delayed and instead of arriving in huge numbers all at once, they came in smaller intermittent flocks,” says Michael D’Errico, biological supervisor at the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Complex. “Then, after the intense rain that opened new habitat, the birds dispersed quickly.

“When so much food became available on more than 400,000 acres of rice, ducks and geese tended to feed at night and roost on sanctuary areas by day,” he adds. “As for this season, so far, at least, you can chalk it up for the birds.”

D’Errico flew aerial surveys of the Sacramento Valley on Jan. 6 and 7, reporting that there were plenty of northern pintails, which were followed in number by green-winged teal, shovelers and wigeon. He also observed a late resurgence of gadwalls, which had been scarce in the region until recently.

“We endured 26 mile-per-hour winds on Jan. 7,” D’Errico says. “The airplane ride was extremely choppy, with the ground only 200 feet below us. The birds concentrated on refuge lands to seek cover. Since then, the weather has turned warm and calm, and the birds have moved off the refuges. Hunting has been tough.”

Travelers along I-80 west of Sacramento have had a chance to see huge numbers of ducks and geese wintering in the Yolo Bypass, with thousands of birds flying at eye level of the passing vehicles.

At the Suisun Marsh, duck hunting turned terribly slow this week, with just the occasional wigeon, greenwing, or shoveler in the bag for many hunters. Farther east in the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta, ducks seem to be gone. Hunters are seeing thousands of snow, Ross’s, and white-fronted geese, but the balmy weather has curtailed the take.

Hunters in the 240,000-acre Grassland Ecological Area, the largest wetland in the entire West, have been enjoying the most consistent shooting. Green-winged teal make up 90 percent of the harvest, with consistent seven-bird limits being reported at many clubs.

Sean Allen, manager of the Los Banos Wildlife Area Complex, reports that his areas are yielding 1.5-bird averages on Sunday and 3-bird averages on Wednesday and Saturday. He expects the season to finish strong.

“We are seeing nice numbers of greenwings and many more wigeon, gadwalls, and northern pintails,” Allen says. “There is also an anomaly because we are not seeing many shovelers. Typically, they are second in the bag behind greenwings.”

He notes that white-fronted, snow, and Ross’s goose numbers are strong, and the birds are feeding primarily on water grass.

An interesting observation: Canvasbacks, which normally concentrate in the North Bay and Napa River Marsh, are loaded in the South Grasslands below Highway 152 in Merced County. Deep water is covered with the acknowledged “king of ducks” between the towns of Los Banos and Dos Palos.

Green-winged teal, the state’s most harvested species, are present in good numbers at Mendota Wildlife Area and farther south to Mystic Lake. Field scout Joe Fass at the Ramona Duck Club expects “very good” shooting the rest of the season.

The general waterfowl season will remain open in the Central Valley through Jan. 29, with youth hunts on Feb. 1 and 2 and special veterans hunts on Feb. 8 and 9.

State wildlife areas and federal refuges will not be open for late-season light goose hunts.