The Migration is on…
After a couple months of seasonably warm weather in the upper Midwest, a major cold front and snow swath has passed through pushing thousands of ducks and geese south. The timing of the storm was perfect with the full moon phase just finishing up and north winds on the back side of it.
The full moon is known to move 50-60 percent of waterfowl during its four day phase. With the October full moon coming early in the month and warm weather during it, the birds decided to stay put. Now, with the November full moon coming to an end, we needed something to push them while heading south was on their mind. The major storm was perfect timing, dumping anywhere from 5 to 12 inches of snow across the Upper Midwest last Saturday.
What made this storm so special was not only the timing but also the north winds on the back side of it. North winds following a major storm front are not very common, usually the north winds come in front of the storm, followed by south winds and warming after it. So with Sunday and Monday and Tuesday after the storm being light north winds we have picked up thousands of new ducks, and thousands and thousands of new geese. Rochester is not a very ducky area, but it’s a big goose haven.
The small ponds are freezing over and the geese are using river systems and open water lakes and reservoirs. This was a huge push for ducks and a good push for geese. The next round of snow and temperature drops will push the big numbers of big geese down…which is the time of the year we look forward to. Get ready and look up…the Migration is On!
Scott Threinen and Molt Gear
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