# Snow Goose Migration



## nodakoutdoors.com (Feb 27, 2002)

Started making my rounds...

A real good push into the N. part of the state the past 3 days, but apparently they aren't decoying all too well from the view lodges I spoke with.

I'm keeping this topic a sticky this week, as there'll be a lot of changes daily. If anyone has any info....post it up!!! It's going to be over real soon if the cold weather/snow holds up.


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## nodakoutdoors.com (Feb 27, 2002)

Migrators were coming in pretty good this afternoon up in the northern refuges. There's been some reports of trickles in the central and southern refuges as well. By far the most darks I've seen around Fargo today flying around, almost aimlessly and feeding constantly. Still too early to tell where the biggest concentrations are for this weekend...

It's snowing right now and the visibility is cut down so it's kind of the lull before the storm.

Keen an eye on the sky!


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## nodakoutdoors.com (Feb 27, 2002)

Just in from the USFWS:

WEATHER BRINGING WATERFOWL; COULD MOVE THEM THROUGH, SAYS USFWS

Cold weather is moving more ducks and geese into North Dakota, but the
weekly report from managers and biologists of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service warns that the birds could move through quickly if wetlands freeze
over and food supplies are covered by snow.

Waterfowl populations are increasing at Des Lacs National Wildlife Refuge
near Kenmare. Assistant project leader Dan Severson says snow geese have
been moving in since late last week, and totaled 65,000 on Tuesday. The
refuge also held 3,000 Canada geese, 15,000 mallards and 450 tundra swans.
Severson believes those numbers will be increasing, but could also drop
quickly depending on the weather.

Hunter success remains limited in northwestern North Dakota. Biologist
Monte Ellingson of the Crosby Wetland Management District reports the
Crosby area still had about 5,000 snow geese early this week, but very few
new birds had arrived. He says hunters willing to do a lot of scouting
occasionally find scattered flocks of mallards.

A few snow geese are arriving in Mountrail County, but Lostwood Wetland
Management District manager Todd Frerichs says the area doesn't have enough
water to hold them. He reports seeing a few more field-feeding mallards
plus a good concentration of tundra swans. Frerichs suggests hunters try
the Shell Lake area for snow geese and lesser Canada geese.

Snow geese have been moving onto Upper Souris National Wildlife Refuge near
Minot. Deputy refuge manager Tom Pabian estimated 50,000 snow geese
scattered throughout the refuge at mid-week. He reported no major movement
of ducks or Canada geese.

J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuge had attracted more than 100,000
snow geese by mid-week. Project leader Bob Howard says most of the snow
geese are on the southern part of the refuge, but are scattered throughout.
He reports seeing flocks of feeding snow geese in the Willow City and Rugby
areas, and suggests that any large wetlands which normally attract snow
geese may have them now. Howard notes that the refuge's populations of
dabbling ducks, Canada geese, sandhill cranes and tundra swans have
dropped, but more scaup and other diving ducks have arrived.

The Devils Lake area is in the middle of the waterfowl migration.
Biologist Mark Fisher of the Devils Lake Wetland Management District says
tens of thousands of snow geese had moved into the Webster and Cando areas
by mid-week, and large numbers of ducks are being seen around Lakota, with
additional flocks scattered across several counties. He adds that lots of
migrating Canada geese have reached the area. Fisher notes that scouting
is still necessary, and he warns boat hunters to keep a close eye on the
weather, and wear a personal floatation device.

In central North Dakota, large flocks of lesser Canada geese are on the
move. Mike McEnroe of Audubon National Wildlife Refuge says the refuge
held about 25,000 Canada geese and 10,000 ducks at mid-week. Refuge staff
reported hearing large flocks of migrating snow geese moving through. The
area's duck population is now almost exclusively mallards and diving ducks.
McEnroe adds that the Goodrich area held more sandhill cranes than
waterfowl early this week.

The large numbers of shovelers and gadwalls at Long Lake National Wildlife
Refuge near Moffit were joined early this week by a few migrant diving
ducks. Biologist Cheryl Jacobs says the refuge is also holding a couple
thousand Canada geese, and some small groups of snow geese have been seen
on or near the refuge, but sandhill crane numbers had dropped off
substantially by mid-week. Jacobs reports several thousand sandhill cranes
in central Kidder County, and scattered flocks of snow geese in northern
Kidder and Burleigh counties. She says, even with more birds in the area,
scouting is still necessary.

Waterfowl hunters in southeast-central North Dakota have been having a
difficult time lately, but Bob Vanden Berge of the Kulm Wetland Management
District says the situation could improve if the weather cooperates. He
reports no appreciable migration by mid-week, except for a few Canada geese
and a few scaup, and he warns that migrating waterfowl could avoid the area
because of the dry conditions.

Very few migrating mallards had reached Wells and western Stutsman counties
early this week. Chris Flann of the Chase Lake Prairie Project says more
diving ducks have moved in, quite a few sandhill cranes remain, and some
resident Canada geese can still be found. He reports the northern part of
the area has better water conditions.

Arrowwood National Wildlife Refuge has picked up quite a few mallards.
Biologist Paulette Scherr estimated 20,000 mallards early this week, plus a
few gadwalls, pintails, shovelers and green-winged teal, but not many
diving ducks. The refuge also held about 5,000 Canada geese, with about 90
percent of them being lessers, and fewer than 500 snow geese.

A few flocks of snow geese were reported near Alice and Sanborn early this
week, but no major movement yet. Justin Wanzek of the Valley City Wetland
Management District says duck migration has been slow.

It's shaping up to be the best weekend of the waterfowl season in
southeastern North Dakota. Tewaukon National Wildlife Refuge biologist
Kristine Askerooth says lots of migrating ducks are moving into the area,
along with good numbers of Canada geese, some snow geese and some tundra
swans.

Snow geese began arriving late last week at Sand Lake National Wildlife
Refuge near Aberdeen, S.D. Biologist Bill Schultze says the refuge now has
about 8,500 snow geese. The duck population has jumped to 135,000, and
Canada geese number 3,000. Schultze adds that pintails have increased in
the past few days, lots of canvasbacks remain and lesser scaup have moved
in. Increasing numbers of mallards are being seen feeding in fields near
the refuge, and about 360 tundra swans are using northern Sand Lake and
southern Mud Lake.

Hunters are reminded that November 4 is the final day to hunt canvasback
and pintail ducks, and boats and other equipment must be removed daily from
public lands managed by the Fish and Wildlife Service.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages 1,100 Waterfowl Production Areas
in North Dakota. These public areas are open to hunting, and are marked
with the familiar green and white WPA sign. Funds to acquire them come
from Federal Duck Stamp sales to the nation's waterfowl hunters.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency
responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and
plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American
people. For more information, log on to http://mountain-prairie.fws.gov

?USFWS?


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## C BROWNDUCK (Oct 11, 2003)

some of the serious migrators must be on the move, alot of deer hunters heard snow geese flying through late yesterday afternoon here in missouri


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## boozer (Sep 26, 2002)

Went out yesterday and I have never seen so many geese in my life. They were feeding all day. 3 of us ended up getting 1 snow, 1 blue, 2 lesser and one that had to be a greater (huge)! Also shot 5 roosters and 2 teal. First full colored green-wing I have ever shot. Beautiful bird!!! I know it doesn't sound like a very successful day, but we haven't shot a goose all year.  It was the first blue that my buddy has ever shot, and the second snow that I have ever shot in 7 years hunting North Dakota.

Good luck to all, and shoot straight!!!!! :sniper:


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## gandergrinder (Mar 10, 2002)

Boozer,
You had fun right? I call that successful hunting anytime. Good job. :beer:


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## nodakoutdoors.com (Feb 27, 2002)

Talked to some guys in Bismarck and a lot of birds flew over all last night. Doesn't sound like the motherload, but pretty consistent.


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## Austin Bachmeier (Feb 27, 2002)

Just had about 5-600 fly over my house... Got the blood goin..


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## zettler (Sep 7, 2002)

Been staying with a good friend here in Granville.

There are lots of geese here and we saw thousands migrating overhead this morning and for most of the day.

All birds have been very decoy shy here as well. Shot three lessors and a Mallard this AM. As usual, still having car/van problems (every time I come to ND) and wanted to hunt Devils tomorrow but might have to miss it until the weekend.

Every one has been so very friendly and receptive - more on that after I return back to IL, as its been a long week!

Never seen so many decoy shy geese as I have this year here BUT I did see some of the migrators break off and drop into the roost we hunt near...so there is still hope for hunters next week!

Good luck to all, be safe, and above all have fun creating new memories and friends!


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## huntnfish (Oct 27, 2003)

There were snows flying over all night long here in Bismarck.


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## prairie hunter (Mar 13, 2002)

A lot of new geese were around on Wednesday. Many flocks of Snows were sitting in fields right along the road. If you stopped to look, more walked away than flew. Since Canada does not allow road hunting we assume these birds are new arrivals.

I would guess the snow goose populations increased 5 to 10 fold from October 24th to October 30th. We did not have much problem shooting geese.


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## huntnfish (Oct 27, 2003)

There were about 500 to 1000 snows going down in a field alongside 94 in between the Dawson and Steele exits.


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## Decoyer (Mar 2, 2002)

Sand Lake is reporting 300,000 snows with more in the area and 150,000 ducks on the refuge. However they are expecting very cold temps and 3-5 inches of snow. I would guess the traditional areas near the ND-SD border are also holding snow geese, but we will just have to wait and see what this storm does.


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## nodakoutdoors.com (Feb 27, 2002)

Jighead pulled a limit pass shooting in the southern half of the state yesterday.

Time is ticking...gotta do it now.


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## recker (Oct 12, 2003)

My south dakota license is done for the year as the snows will be soon at sand lake given the temps at night. Anyway we have a great spot right off the refuge right where the geese sit and man you think it would be great but boy sure shows how smart they are.If you dont have the right conditions you can forget it even with 350 decorys. I am starting to think ducks are being pressured so much from what I saw this year as well they just would not decoy. It was strange this year never even saw spoonbills this wary.


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## GooseBuster3 (Mar 1, 2002)

I think the opposite, we had shot 56 snows and 30 greenheads this past weekend over 400 northwinds and 60 fullbody snows. They would suck right in. But what GanderGRinder and I noticed were the snows would work the northwinds more often then the fullbodies, so I guess that might tell a guy something??


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## gandergrinder (Mar 10, 2002)

We shot birds this weekend for three reasons I believe.
1) Lots of juvies. This is the highest number of juvies I have seen in a long time
2) Bad weather we hunted in overcast and falling snow on one of the days
3) Fresh birds. Most of the birds we shot had been there two days or they blew in that day. They were not familiar to the area and they wanted to eat corn because it was cold. Our timing was right pure and simple.


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## nodakoutdoors.com (Feb 27, 2002)

Here's a late report, sorry....busy over in San Fran.

WINTRY WEATHER CHASES WATERFOWL SOUTH, SAYS USFWS

Even though snow and cold temperatures have chased most ducks and geese out
of North Dakota, a few good hunting opportunities can still be found.
However, the final weekly report of the season from U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service managers and biologists notes that those opportunities will be very
limited, and may not last long.

Southeastern North Dakota is one of the few bright spots. Tewaukon
National Wildlife Refuge project leader Doug Staller says hunters need to
set up between harvested corn fields and open water. He reports good
numbers of mallards and diving ducks, as well as some Canada geese and
white-fronted geese. Staller is steering hunters toward large bodies of
water such as Kraft Slough near Oakes.

Hunters who can find open water and food supplies in southeast-central
North Dakota could encounter some concentrations of waterfowl. But Bob
Vanden Berge of the Kulm Wetland Management District says those isolated
pockets of waterfowl could disappear quickly. He adds that the amount of
snow on the ground is already making feeding difficult for waterfowl, and
they will leave the area when the remaining open water freezes over.

Some of the larger wetlands in Barnes County still have open water, and
they could hold waterfowl briefly. Kory Richardson of the Valley City
Wetland Management District says a lot of ducks and geese moved through the
area on Sunday and Monday.

Arrowwood National Wildlife Refuge near Pingree is almost 100 percent
frozen over. Biologist Paulette Scherr says a small patch of open water
was holding about 200 Canada geese and a few mallards on Wednesday, and she
saw a small flock of snow geese going out to feed on Tuesday.

A few of the large wetlands in northwestern Stutsman County still had open
water early this week. Dave Bolin of the Chase Lake Prairie Project says
there were some snow geese and sandhill cranes in that area, but most of
the ducks had left.

A few waterfowl were still seen at mid-week at Upper Souris National
Wildlife Refuge northwest of Minot. Project leader Dean Knauer says Lake
Darling and the Souris River are almost entirely frozen over, but some
diving ducks are huddled in a couple remaining open areas.

Heavy snow and sub-zero temperatures drove most waterfowl out of
north-central North Dakota. Bob Howard of J. Clark Salyer National
Wildlife Refuge believes there may be a few mallards in the occasional open
spot on the river, but their food sources are all covered, so the ducks
won't stay long.

Most snow geese left Des Lacs National Wildlife Refuge near Kenmare before
last weekend. Assistant project leader Dan Severson says a few hardy
Canada geese and mallards were keeping a small hole in the lake open on
Tuesday, but those birds were not expected to remain much longer.

Northern Lake Sakakawea may still be holding some waterfowl, but the rest
of Mountrail County is frozen over and snow-covered. Todd Frerichs of the
Lostwood Wetland Management District reports most birds pulled out last
Thursday.

A major migration out of Canada took place last Thursday and Friday. Tim
Kessler of the Crosby Wetland Management District says most of those
waterfowl overflew northwestern North Dakota.

Audubon National Wildlife Refuge near Coleharbor still held 5,000 to 10,000
Canada geese on Wednesday. Project leader Mike McEnroe adds that the east
end of Lake Sakakawea had some snow geese on Tuesday, and the Washburn area
had fair numbers of Canada geese along the river. Other areas of McLean
and Sheridan counties lost nearly all their ducks and geese by last
weekend.

Only a few large, deep wetlands remain open in central and northern
Burleigh and Kidder counties. Gregg Knutsen of Long Lake National Wildlife
Refuge says some of those wetlands still held large concentrations of snow
geese and mallards plus some Canada geese and white-fronts on Tuesday.
Most of the waterfowl at the refuge, except for about 6,500 snow geese,
1,500 Canada geese and 4,000 mallards, pulled out on Wednesday morning.
Knutsen reports the lake is completely frozen over except for a couple
small pockets on the western third of the refuge.

Most waterfowl had departed the Devils Lake area by last weekend. Aaron
Mize of the Devils Lake Wetland Management District says even Lake Alice is
mostly frozen over, and hunting opportunities will be mainly limited to
diving ducks on Devils Lake.

The snow goose population at Sand Lake National Wildlife Refuge near
Aberdeen, S.D. peaked at 210,000 on Sunday and Monday, but dropped to about
135,000 on Wednesday. Biologist Bill Schultze says most area lakes are
frozen over, and the remaining ducks and geese are either standing on the
ice or using small areas of open water. Duck numbers plummeted from
150,000 on Sunday to about 40,000.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages 1,100 Waterfowl Production Areas
in North Dakota. These public areas are open to hunting, and are marked
with the familiar green and white WPA sign. Funds to acquire these areas
come from Federal Duck Stamp sales to the nation's waterfowl hunters.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency
responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and
plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American
people. For more information, log on to http://mountain-prairie.fws.gov


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