Minnesota Waterfowl Migration and Hunting Report 10 October 2013 The following report is a compilation of state and federal wildlife manager reports and waterfowl surveys from across Minnesota. This is the 4 th report for 2013. Reports will be compiled weekly throughout the hunting season and should be available by Thursday afternoon each week. The Conservation Officer Report, available on the DNR web site, also contains information about waterfowl hunter success across the state. General: 10 October 2013, 3:00 p.m. Duck hunting success has remained fair across the state despite the unseasonably warm fall weather pattern. Numbers of early season migrant ducks such as bluewinged teal and wood ducks are declining and more of the typical mid-season migrant species such as redhead, gadwall, green-winged teal, and coots have increased. Ring-necked duck numbers in north central Minnesota increased from last week and are likely near normal levels for this time of the fall. A few scaup are present in northern Minnesota. Hunting pressure was somewhat higher in the Central Zone last weekend when the season reopened but generally remains fairly low. Canada goose numbers have improved in many areas. Small numbers of tundra swans arrived in northern Minnesota last weekend. NW WC Roseau Karlstad Thief Lake Agassiz Crookston Tamarac Fergus Falls Talcot Lake SW NC Park Rapids Brainerd Windom Baudette Little Big Glenwood Falls Stone Sauk LQP Rapids Willmar Appleton Swan Slayton Lake Grand Rapids Aitkin Rice Lake C SE NE Sherburne Carlos Avery Upper Miss. Rochester Owatonna Cloquet Cambridge MN Valley Winona Wetland habitat conditions improved statewide with some of the recent rain events and are generally in good shape. Wild rice stands are just starting to deteriorate on wild rice lakes. Corn and soybean harvest is progressing rapidly. None of the reports or waterfowl counts from Federal refuges are available due to the Federal government shutdown. The outlook for the weekend is fair to good with the reopening of the South Zone. Temperatures are expected to remain above average through Friday with strong southerly winds and some rain expected. On the weekend, temperatures are expected to be near average across the state, with highs in the lows 50s in the north and low 60s in the south. The long-term forecast calls for slightly below average temperatures statewide through next week. No major cold fronts are expected. Reminder: Waterfowl season will reopen on Saturday Oct. 12 in the South Zone.
Duck season dates: Goose season dates : North Zone: Sept. 21-Nov. 19 Sept. 21-Dec. 16 Central Zone: Sept. 21-Sept. 29 and Oct. 5-Nov. 24 Sept. 21-Sept. 29 and Oct. 5-Dec. 21 South Zone: Sept. 21-Sept. 29 and Oct. 12-Dec. 1 Sept. 21-Sept. 29 and Oct. 12-Dec. 28 Bag limits are 6 ducks/day, with no more than: 4 mallards (2 hens), 3 scaup, 3 wood duck, 2 pintail, 2 redhead, 2 canvasback, 1 black duck. Merganser: 5 per day, no more than 2 may be hooded mergansers. Canada goose bag limits are 3/day. Possession limits: 3 times the daily bag limit for all migratory birds. Shooting hours begin ½ hour before sunrise until sunset the remainder of the season. Motorized decoys are prohibited statewide on state wildlife management areas the remainder of the season. The sandhill crane season is open until Oct. 20 in the Northwest zone only. Bag limits are 2/day and a sandhill crane permit is required. Open water hunting: On Lake Pepin, Lake of the Woods, Lake Mille Lacs, and Lake Superior, open water hunting will be allowed as long as boats remain anchored. On the Mississippi River south of Hastings, hunting is allowed not more than 100 feet from any shoreline, including islands. Hunters should consult the 2013 Waterfowl Hunting regulations (available from license vendors or online at: http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/regulations/hunting/index.html) for additional details and regulations. Safety Never Takes A Holiday: treat every gun as if it were loaded, be 100% certain of your target before pulling the trigger, wear your life vest, pay attention to other hunters and your hunting partners, and watch the weather.
The following is a summary of pre-season waterfowl habitat and hunting conditions from various reporting stations across the state. Area Habitat conditions Waterfowl migrations and weather conditions Hunter Activity and Success Northwest Thief Lake WMA Lake levels continue to be 2-3 below target level, but access is good at all boat launches. Thief River Falls North central Grand Rapids Park Rapids Farmes Pool on Elm Lake WMA is in temporary drawdown while we do cattail control. Soybean harvest has been going on for about two weeks now and many of the fields are harvested or in process. A few have started harvesting corn. Recent rains filled backwater areas again. Lake, stream, and wetland water levels are normal for this time of year, all remain navigable. Most emergent vegetation is in good shape. Some rice stands have started to deteriorate. Goose count conducted morning of 10/9 with an estimate of 3,106 birds using the lake. A lot of ring-necks continue to be present on the lake and showing up in the bag. Weather forecast- Potential for showers on Saturday with winds out of the WSW at 20 mph. Sunday will be partly cloudy with winds at 10 mph from the WSW. Highs predicted in the low 50s and lows in the mid-30s. Weather forecast rain showers on Friday with high in mid-upper 60s. Saturday slight chance of rain, high around 50. Sunday sunny, high in low 50s. Lows at night 30s and 40s. Most areas received some significant rainfall last weekend, but smaller shallower wetlands still have little water. Steady rainfall this past weekend, fair skies through the week. Ring-necked ducks are in the area Last weekend s cold front brought with it much cooler temperatures, however, above average temperatures have returned for much of this week. Cooler temperatures are again forecast for the weekend. An influx of diving ducks including ringnecks, redheads, and canvasbacks was noted on some area lakes. Mallard numbers have increased slightly while wood duck numbers have declined in the area. Canada goose numbers remain strong in the area. Hunters have been successful over the last week with bag checks ranging from 1.46 to 2.55 ducks per hunter. Ring-necks have been the most common bird in the bag followed by redheads, pintails and green-winged teal. CHZ use continues to be light, some hunters seeing success. No cranes checked in the CHZ or on the lake. Fair to good success, some limits were taken. Reports of Birds becoming very decoy shy already. Little hunting activity on week days. With the warm weather we have been experiencing few hunters have been out.
Area Habitat conditions Waterfowl migrations and weather conditions Hunter Activity and Success Brainerd Food conditions good and water More Canada Geese moving into the area. Coots levels are holding their own. moving in. Wood ducks appear to be moving out. Northeast Cloquet Central Mille Lacs WMA Cambridge Water levels still about normal. Rice is starting to break down and open up some. Water levels have increased slightly with recent rains. The few existing rice stands have mostly dropped seed and are beginning to thin out. Water levels have increased slightly in some areas as a result of recent rain events. Wild rice continues to provide food and cover for waterfowl. Highs 52-76 F Low 39-51 F 1.24 moisture this last week There was an influx of ducks last Sunday as the winds switched to the north. Mallard and ring-neck numbers appeared to increase. Blue-winged teal and wood ducks were still fairly common last weekend. Mild weather and south winds are forecasted for most of this week. Large numbers of wood ducks and teal have migrated out of the area but there has been a slight influx of ring-necked ducks into the area. Mallards and Canada geese are present in decent numbers. There has been no major influx of migrating waterfowl at this point. Although migrating ducks have been sparse, ringneck ducks have been observed in the area. Local wood duck, teal, and mallard numbers continue to decline. There has been a notable increase in Canada geese and coot numbers in the Cambridge area. Less hunting activity this past week. Hunters checked are still seeing and harvesting good numbers of wood ducks, mallards and hooded mergansers. Hunting has been fairly good with a mix of early and mid-season migrants in the area. Hunters are finding mixed bags of mostly blue and green-winged teal, wood ducks, mallards, and ring-necks. Some other less common species have also been reported. No reports of duck hunter success or activity have been received. Hunters report an increase in hunting pressure compared to last week. Mallards, wood ducks, teal, and ring-necks are the species being harvested by most hunters. Hunting success remains low to moderate for most hunters in the area.
Area Habitat conditions Waterfowl migrations and weather conditions Hunter Activity and Success Little Falls Similar to previous weeks, although water levels have increased after the recent rains this past weekend. Got 1-2 of rain throughout much of the work area beginning last Friday through much of the weekend. Strong frontal system during this time resulted in first large movement of migrants and locals around the work area, particularly geese and cranes. Still fair numbers of ducks around, as well as some wood duck concentrations. Hunters venturing out this past weekend had generally good success with bags of 2-3 ducks per hunter, including wood ducks, green-winged teal, mallard, and occasionally some divers and pintail in the bag. Southwest Swan Lake (Nicollet) Windom Lac qui Parle WMA Due to recent rains some wetlands have received minimal runoff adding water to good vegetative habitat. Corn and bean harvest now under way in earnest. Marsh Lake and Upper LQP Lake water levels normal for these lakes. Backwater channels and smaller impoundments holding water. Bean and corn harvest started in full-swing again after weekend rain. Weather conditions have been cool and dry with wind. Some basins have water that did not earlier in the season. Weather has generally been mild. Still no significant frost. Duck numbers remain fair with blue-winged teal in the area and green-winged teal showing up. Fair number of geese noted moving into/thru the area early in the week of Oct 7 th. No significant migrations to report a trickle of geese and maybe a few ducks arrived with NW winds on Sunday or just prior. Temperatures seasonal over the past weekend. Moderate NW winds on Sunday with precipitation. Above average temperatures since with south winds. Good numbers of teal and mallards have moved into the area during the split. Although weather will remain mild with some rain in the forecast, migrating ducks seem to have moved into the area. Season has been closed. Outlook for the beginning of the second split is good. Slight uptick in hunter pressure with reopening of central zone. Success fair in my estimation harvest is predominately still local birds blue-winged teal and wood ducks. Mallard abundance very low. Hunting opportunities for Canada geese limited.
Appleton Redwood Falls Southeast Several rainy days but not enough to change the habitat. Crop harvest stalled with rain. Soybeans ~40% done. Some corn coming out in areas. Recent rains have improved wetland conditions slightly, although water levels are still below normal. Crop harvest is progressing rapidly, with soybeans 50+% harvest and corn 40% harvested as of Tuesday. Small but noticeable influx of divers, mallards, teal and geese (including cacklers) with the big front last weekend. Late summer like weather forecasted through the weekend. Weather conditions continue to be unseasonably warm, with strong south winds on Tuesday impeding any migration. Ducks and geese have concentrated and are not found on all wetlands. Wood ducks have begun gathering along the major river corridors, with flocks of over 200 reported. Some local mallards remain, but blue-winged teal appear to have migrated out. Some Canada geese are also still in the area. Area Habitat conditions Waterfowl migrations and weather conditions Hunter Activity and Success Willmar Water levels have been maintaining in area basin with the periodic rainfalls but no run-off. Soybeans are 50% harvested with a few corn fields going down by combines. Temps. were cool over the weekend of the 5 th and 6 th with highs in the 40s and 50s and rainy. Weather now and looking ahead in the week calls for above normal temps. with highs in the 70s and lows in the 50s, sunny and south winds. No migration noted other than more coots showing up the morning of the 7 th. Hunter numbers were up for the reopening on the 5 th, but in general the success was not very good with blue-winged teal being the most common duck in the bag. Quite rainy on the 7 th and hunter numbers were down along with success. Very slow activity at the present time and would not expect things to change much over the next several days. Pheasant season opens this weekend on the 13 th. Many phone calls on the closing of Federal WPAs because of the gov t. shutdown. Hunting pressure picked up a bit with the second opener, but much lighter than the initial opener. Success was decent with the inclement weather and some new birds. Expect pressure and success to be a bit slower this weekend as folks focus on pheasants. The hunting season has been closed and will reopen Saturday.
Area Habitat conditions Waterfowl migrations and weather conditions Hunter Activity and Success Owatonna Water conditions are normal for fall. Most lakes and marshes have Only minor movements have been noted. Additional coots and smaller Canada geese and a few mid-season The waterfowl season has been closed this week. good aquatic habitat. Many fallow migrants moved in with the cool front last weekend. fields are offering upland hunting opportunities and soybean and corn harvest is beginning in earnest. Water levels in Bear Lake in Freeborn County and Rice Lake in Steele/Dodge Counties are extremely low for management purposes. Numbers of blue-winged teal and wood ducks have been declining. The cold front brought widespread thunderstorms and heavy rains to the area with 1.5 5 inches noted. This returned some sheet water to the fields and slowed harvest. Southerly winds and unseasonably warm weather followed the rain. Waterfowl are broadly distributed in suitable habitat across the area.
Waterfowl Count Data, week of October 7, 2013 Area NORTHWEST Date Swans this week This week Canada geese Number seen a : Last count Last year This week Number seen: Last count Ducks Last year Thief Lake WMA 10/9 500 3,100 3,500 2,400 8,300 NS 10,000 NORTH CENTRAL Beltrami/Clearwater County Winni/Bowstring area or Chippewa Nat. Forest N Leech Lake/Deer River Chippewa Nat. Forest S 10/7 100 1,200 550 600 12,000 6,500 13,000 10/7 300 950 200 600 16,000 4,000 9,000 This weeks duck Species - % composition b 57% RN, 25% RED, 9% MAL, 3% GAD, 2% WIG, 1% CAN 90% RN, 6% MAL, 2% SCP, 1% WIG 91% RN, 7% MAL, 3% SCP Coot this week 12,000 10/7 50 150 50 100 49,000 25,000 35,000 99% RN, 1% MAL 3,000 Brainerd/Wadena area 10/10 0 100 75 125 650 300 250 WEST Lake Christina 10/9 10 150 NS 50 400 NS 500 68% RN, 16% MAL, 10% WD, 6% HOOD 37% CAN, 29% RED, 27% MAL, 3% RN, 2% BWT 7,000 3,000 600 22,000 Comments Lac qui Parle WMA 10/9 0 600 300 3,800 CENTRAL Carlos Avery WMA 10/8 4 220 150 250 3,000 1,300 600 34% MAL, 31% RN, 28% GWT, 3% WD, 3% BWT 400 a - Numbers seen during the current survey, last survey: the previous count from this year, last year: the number recorded during the same or nearby week last year. b - abbreviations: MAL = mallard, GAD = Gadwall, WIG = Am. wigeon, GWT = Am. green-winged teal, BWT = blue-winged teal, SHOV = Northern shoveler, PIN = Northern pintail, WD = Wood duck, RED = Redhead, CAN = Canvasback, SCP = Scaup, RN = Ring-necked duck, HOOD = Hooded merganser, NS = No survey.