Migration Alert: Inconsistent Migration Reported in Portions of Mid-South

By Nathan Ratchford

Early-season cold fronts up north fired up the migration, sending ducks streaming into the Mid-South. But just as quickly, mild weather tapped the brakes. Birds became quickly educated and settled into familiar patterns. It's the classic "December lull." 

Change, however, is in the air for some states. With colder temps in the forecast and fresh rainfall in southeast Missouri, west Tennessee, and western Kentucky, the stage may be set for a bit of a shake-up. Here's the rundown. 

Southeast Missouri

Habitat conditions across southeast Missouri have remained good throughout the start of December, following much-needed precipitation in late October and November. A Thanksgiving cold snap concentrated birds in southeast and north-central Missouri, giving hunters in these areas a surge of activity, but hunting slowed during the following warm-up.

"Hunting success has varied with these weather shifts. Some days are excellent, while others fall short. Bird numbers have been steadily building, but harvest totals remain inconsistent, directly tied to temperature changes or precipitation events and the resulting bird movement or lack thereof," reports Reid Viegut, migratory game bird coordinator for the Missouri Department of Conservation. 
 
However, hunters in the southeast part of the state should keep their calls tuned and their decoys ready. Viegut notes that northern Missouri, the central Mississippi River, and the Illinois River Valley are still holding above-average numbers of waterfowl, many of which are poised to move south with freezing temps forecasted for later this week.  Hunters should keep a close eye on the weather and be ready for an influx of new birds.

West Tennessee

The start of the hunting season in West Tennessee was marked by a strong influx of birds driven by colder weather up north, as seen in both refuge surveys and successful early hunts. "We got out hunting the first week of the season and it was great," says Cory Highway, a PhD student at the Cohen Wildlife Lab at Tennessee Tech. Abundant habitat across the landscape due to early November rains provided ample locations for migrating waterfowl to settle in the area.
 
With the recent shift towards mild weather and open hunting seasons across the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley, hunters are presented with a familiar challenge—stale birds. Highway states the Cohen Lab's telemetry data shows that birds have been foraging in heavily hunted areas at night and resting on nearby sanctuaries during the day. This pattern often develops in early December when food sources are abundant on the landscape, weather is mild, and hunting pressure is predictable.
 
However, recent rainfall across the region is putting fresh water on the landscape, and with colder temperatures expected later this week into the weekend, Highway predicts increased waterfowl movement. "Once the water gets up, these birds will start to explore new habitats just as hunters will also set up in new areas. Naive birds exploring the backwaters are often more susceptible to harvest because they are unfamiliar with this new landscape," Highway explains. "As the season continues, birds will have to explore the landscape for new food sources and when they do, hunters should find more success once again."

Western Kentucky

"Out of five guys, we shot four ducks," reports Dane Cramer, a DU regional biologist, after a hunt in western Kentucky earlier this week. "Most were from one group. Pretty slow morning. It was about 50 degrees with no wind."

Conditions haven't been much better elsewhere, with bird numbers below expectations in many areas for this time of year. Recent rainfall has improved habitat conditions, but the weather has been unseasonably mild. "We've had some cool weather, but nothing cold enough to move many ducks," Cramer adds. "Yesterday, I drove along the river bottoms and saw some beautiful habitat, but not many ducks."

The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR) conducts weekly waterfowl counts, and so far, numbers are reported to be behind typical mid-December levels. Stale birds are expected this time of year, but hunters are definitely noticing fewer birds overall these past few weeks. Delays in the flooding of managed wetlands before the season left many areas playing catch-up. The recent rain has helped improve conditions and should improve hunter success, spreading birds out on the landscape. However, without a strong weather event, it's unlikely hunters will see a major shift in bird numbers.