[nodakoutdoors.com]

Well it's almost April 1st and I'm still waiting on the ducks....seriously.

The first 3 years of the spring season ducks were almost annoying. They would CONSTANTLY work the spread and well....just be everywhere. This year I've yet to see the big mallard feeds of years past. Maybe I'm wrong but I'm out quite a bit and aren't seeing many migrating?

I'm a big optimist, but things are looking horrible up in duck country. It's so dry that we were able to drive my Chevy and a 14-foot trailer right into our cornfields this weekend. In fact, it was so dry there wasn't even any tracks left behind.

Am I alone here? Is anyone seeing good numbers of ducks?

 

[KEN W]

None yet...everything was frozen over for the past 5-6 days.Still to early for everything except mallards and pintails.

 

[prairie hunter]

Chris,

I think you answered your own question on this and another site.

Paraphrasing Chris "So dry we could drive anywhere."

Ducks migrate and stage where there is water. No sheet water -- they must wait to the south for a thaw or move on (east-west). This year in ND they must use the rivers and ponds as the ice melts.

Mallards are thicker than ticks on a moose in the TC. First Woodies sitting on the ice / water edge this morning.

Spring is here.

 

[mallard]

Chris,Lots of mallards and pintails to the NE of where you were hunting.Every flooded spot in the corn has mallards on it.

 

[brent weyer]

I live in grand rapids mn and I have seen more ducks migrating through my area than i have in years past I wonder if we don't have more coming up the mississippi. I have also noticed they have quite the thresh hold for cold weather. I saw mallards almost a couple of months ago on the mississippi and we had a cold spell where it felt below zero all week. I also have seen more canadiens around this area. Has anyone saw any canvas backs what a beautiful bird that is.

 

[browningboy]

i ehrd they are west and east of the RRV

 

[GooseBuster3]

BB i dont think yo uknow what you are talking about. Have you even been out this spring to make any observation?

 

[browningboy]

yeh
i go out after school
rite now i am in comp class

 

[GooseBuster3]

Where do you go to school at?

 

[browningboy]

i used to go to morhead but now i go to bemeji but i am transferring to jamestown

 

[Matt Jones]

I've noticed the same thing Chris...a lot fewer ducks than I saw last year at this time. When I was in SD a couple weeks back they were thick! Every spot of water was covered. Tons of divers especially C-backs. We saw everything, including a few teal. On friday we saw tons around Carrington.

 

[Ron Gilmore]

ust got done talking with the director of Ducks Unlimited from Watertown, SD. He said the sloughs are full of ducks in that area, but the farther west he came towards Aberdean and up to Jamestown then to Fargo very few sitings. His observation not water for them to feed on invertebrates so no ducks migrating through. I would bet that a lot do not come north or if they do it will be as a fly over to Canada.

Hope the guides and tourisum dept start spending money for cloud seeding, since we have more ducks than ever to sell?

Growing up on a farm I never fantomed wanting a drought.

 

[KEN W]

Heck Ron...they will probably start pumping water into their LEASED potholes like they do down south.

 

[Ron Gilmore]

Good then we can get them for illegal use of ground water. Since they want to use the commerce law to allow nonresident guides in the state, we can use it to prohibit them from making money without a permit, which in the Ag sector they do not qualifiy.

Sheldon I hope you and your ilk are watching your back because we will with camera's vidieo etc.

 

[Austin Bachmeier]

I've seen a lot of mallards and TONS ( ok hundreds) of Pintails around both napolean, and when I was up at hurdsfield there were quite a few ducks around, they stayed in groups of 500 - 1000 birds, on open sloughs.

 

[mallard]

Seen the biggest groups of feeding mallards and pintails of the spring yesterday.There is a big feed off of I-94 where the deer crossing signs are.