Migration Alert: Strong Goose Numbers Driving Prairie Canada Hunting Success

The skies of Canada are alive with the sights and sounds of migrating waterfowl, with goose numbers reaching peak levels in some areas. Here’s a look at what waterfowl hunters are experiencing north of the border.

Hunting opportunities in northern Alberta are usually provided by white-fronted geese, mallards, and pintails that migrate into the area, and this fall is proving to be no different.

“We have plenty of ducks up here right now with more migrating in. Our pintail numbers are just off the charts. But the big story is the number of specklebellies,” says Trevor Manteufel, owner and head guide at Top of the Flyway Outfitters near Peace River. “They showed up in bigger numbers earlier than usual, and they have stuck around for far longer than I have seen before. The hunting has been crazy good.”

Temperatures in the region have been very warm, Manteufel says, but a significant cold front recently helped deliver more seasonal temperatures, strong winds, and rain. The change in the weather also ushered even more migrating geese.

“We’ve had three distinct pushes of specklebellies, and I’d expect that we’d see one more migration event right before freeze-up,” he says. “Short-term forecast is pretty mild, but even without the weather our waterfowl numbers are really strong right now.”

Across the border in Saskatchewan, Ben Webster with Prairie Limits Outfitters is currently reporting peak numbers of light geese and specklebellies.

“In terms of Arctic-nesting birds, it looks like there was just an incredible hatch over the summer,” Webster says. “Our duck numbers seem to be lower than normal, but habitat conditions in this area have been impacted by drought.”

Dry conditions continue to persist in southwestern Saskatchewan, says DU’s Terry Kostinec, who is just wrapping up a hunt in that corner of the province. The lack of water is impacting the number of ducks using the area, but the goose hunting, however, is strong.

“White-fronted geese have shown up in good numbers for late September and early October. Production on the tundra was obviously good as observed from the ratio of juvenile to adults that we’ve harvested,” says Kostinec. “The sandhill crane migration seems to be lagging as birds are spending more time in northern Saskatchewan, where better water conditions exist.”

As ducks and geese continue to stage across the Canadian Prairies, it’s only a matter of time—or one strong cold front—before these birds begin crossing the border.