Syracuse.com - It's been a sub-par duck hunting season so far

[HuntingNY-News]

The unseasonably warm weather in recent weeks has slowed or halted bird migrations in the state, affecting the duck hunting scene.

It hasn’t exactly been a ducky fall for duck hunters across the state.

Duck hunters were extremely optimistic going into this fall’s hunting season due to predictions by federal wildlife and Ducks Unlimited officials . Experts from both said this fall’s duck migrations of most types of birds was supposed to be great -- among the biggest and best in decades.

However, the unseasonably warm weather in recent weeks has slowed or halted bird migrations in the state, affecting the duck hunting scene.

Jim Costello, a duck hunting guide show specializes in the St. Lawrence River/Lake Ontario region, mostly in Jefferson County, pointed out the North Country hunting season for ducks has ended.

“Usually our clients have shot about 1,600 to 2,000 birds by now. This year, they haven’t even killed 1,000,” he said.

Ron Falkowski, president of Central New York Wildfowlers, agreed that’s it’s been a lackluster season so far. “It’s been too warm. The ducks haven’t been moving.”

Falkowski noted, however, that last week a large population of bluebills, which he estimated to be some 2,000 strong, was camped out off the northern shore of Oneida Lake. He also spotted a large population of migrant mallards on nearby Peter Scott Swamp in Penneville in Oswego County.

“They haven’t been leaving,” he said. “There’s no reason for them to move. The water and the feed are still there, and they’re not feeling a lot of pressure. Most guys are out deer hunting.”

Sarah Fleming, a regional biologist with Ducks Unlimited, said there were very large numbers of ducks in the breeding grounds up north. She concurred that the warm weather has drawn out the annual fall migration, noting that some birds are moving through, but not in big concentrated numbers.

“We haven’t seen the big flush yet like we’ve seen in the past during this time of year,” she said. “What really pushes the birds is snow and ice, which moves them out of the wetlands. They move because food is no longer available.”

Fleming said hunters should take heart, particularly in the Western Zone, which includes the Finger Lakes area. That part of the state has a final duck hunting season beginning Dec 26 and lasting until Jan. 9 .

“You still might see a big push and our hope is you’ll see better hunting conditions then,” she said.

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog