# Ducks feeding in the dark?



## FWLMOOD (Jul 27, 2009)

The other day I got up to go scout & was watching the roost when it was still dark. When it got light the roost was full of ducks. Sat there till late morning, the ducks never left. Came back in the afternoon, roost still full of ducks. They went to a cornfield right at sunset that night. So other than a few that left early, there is no way to legally hunt them. Last weekend we were goose hunting, and just after legal shooting time about 50 ducks got up from the stubble 100yds from us and headed straight to the roost. They had landed in the dark while we were setting up and were done eating right at legal shooting time. Anyone else run into this?


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## WingedShooter7 (Oct 28, 2005)

Pretty common problem when there is a full moon, or if it is pretty warm. Things that normally get them off the roost earlier is crappy weather with more wind, no full moon, and it getting down to where they have to eat longer. Got burned a few times this year with that same issue. Can't do anything about it unless you want to hunt the roost.


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## slough (Oct 12, 2003)

Ditto, it's fairly common


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## blhunter3 (May 5, 2007)

Wait for some bad weather and you will be neck deep in birds.


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## FWLMOOD (Jul 27, 2009)

Good to know. Thanks!


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## Rick Acker (Sep 26, 2002)

Same thing happend to us yesterday. Saturday with the wind they were feeding all day. Today, with the cold morning temps and then nice day to follow...Stayed on the roost till dark and then came off. Bummer, I know!


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## fowlclucker (Aug 26, 2011)

Same thing happened to me last weekend they ate all day saturday. We snuck into the field shot our limit got out and watched them all dump back into the field. We decided to hunt the same field that next morning.It got really cold t he lake was open the day before and the water froze all up to the birds. We could see the roost from our field and we watched about 5 thousand mallards sit all day long until about 30 minutes left of shooting light. Then we got our shooting so it must relate to the weather conditions.


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## Nick Roehl (Mar 7, 2002)

This happens quite a bit when we get our full moon in October and all the time late season. That's why I only hunt ducks in the afternoon once things start freezing up.


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## just ducky (Apr 27, 2005)

yup, very common. We had that happening the first week of November. Had one roost with several thousand mallards, and I watched it two strait nights and they never left. Hunted the picked corn next to it one morning, and they were coming back to the roost right before legal shooting time by the hundreds. Full moons = tough hunting :wink:


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## ShineRunner (Sep 11, 2002)

Several years ago a couple of us hunted on Reelfoot Lake in Tennessee between two refuges and the ducks would fill the sky just before shooting time and just after. It was amazing watching them trade from one to the other! In the mornings we would scratch a few stragglers but the evening flight would signal another good day of hunting was over.


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## korsgaden (Jun 21, 2010)

set up mile from roost area ducks came out at 4:50 circle corn south of our set up then flew back to water and didnot feed even after shooting hours now explain that to me


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## Horker23 (Mar 2, 2006)

They didnt feed. Ducks dont need to come out and feed everyday. Probally plenty of feed in there roost pond. When the weather gets cold birds will normally only feed once a day wether it is a half hour or all night. Might just of missed there feed.


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