Before viewing this page, please read the Terms & Conditions of this website.
Patent Pending
If you have a photo or video of live ducks or geese, fill out a brief questionnaire, attach a photo/video, and leave the rest to us! We use patent-pending, in-house programming to process your submission and turn it into useable and verifiable migration data!
Follow along with our Migration Map!
After you read our migration reports and watch the migration updates, be sure to check out our Migration Map.
With our Migration Map, you can stay in the know on duck counts, waterfowl surveys, and migration reports from across the country.
Our Migration Map is updated regularly throughout the season, is interactive with various species and observable date ranges, and is completely free-to-use, so be sure to check it out!
'25 - '26 Waterfowl Migration Reports
January 23rd, 2026
Migration Report:
Winter Storm Fern will bring frigid temps, heavy snow, and hopefully a productive end to the season. Be safe!
January 9th, 2026
Migration Report:
Geese present in fair numbers in central US, with Knox County, IL and northern OK reporting high or well-above-average numbers.
It’s been a minute since our last (dark) goose migration report, and in that time our data coverage has shrunk slightly, most likely due to the main portions of the waterfowl seasons closing up north. This is important to note because while we believe there is likely still large amounts of geese up north, we don’t have the data to support those notions, so we only report on what we know.
The New Year has brought a push of geese south, with modest concentrations in parts of Iowa, Illinois, Kansas and Oklahoma.
Northern Oklahoma and west-central Illinois are reporting the relatively highest concentrations of dark geese at the moment, with Sooner and Keystone Lakes in Oklahoma and Knox County, Illinois all boasting high or well-above-average numbers.
We hit on it earlier in the post and say it a lot, but we’ll say it again here due to shrinking data coverage—no “color” to the map doesn’t mean no geese, it means no data!
January 2nd, 2026
Migration Report:
While mallard counts modest, total duck counts in Arkansas high, top 3 count in over a decade.
Happy New Year from us at Migration Station!
We stated last week that there was a lot of evidence of birds moving south in noteworthy concentrations. The data in this week’s report backs that claim up.
While late December counts in Arkansas showed moderate mallard numbers, the overall duck population is one of the highest in over a decade. For example, there are nearly a million ducks reported between Big Creek and the L’Anguille and Cache river systems.
Not much has changed in the Central Flyway. Central Kansas and central Oklahoma continue to boast modest numbers of waterfowl.
Out west, reports out of Oregon and northern California have continued to wane, but success further south, particularly in the San Luis Wildlife Refuge area, has been consistent.
December 24th, 2025
Migration Report:
Success in California is high, and northern latitude ducks have moved south.
Merry Christmas Eve, and Happy Holidays from us at Migration Station!
With the season winding on and some winter weather starting to accumulate, many of the birds in the northern latitudes have moved along.
In the Mississippi Flyway, ducks by and large seemingly left the northern states in favor of continuing their flights sought towards the wintering grounds. States like Iowa and (northern) Illinois have lost nearly 75% of their duck populations since the Thanksgiving Holiday, while concentrations in states like Tennessee and Kentucky continue to build.
In the Central Flyway, central Kansas and central Oklahoma continue to boast modest numbers of waterfowl.
While our data coverage in the Atlantic Flyway continues to be sparse, reports out of Florida are great for those interested in pursuing teal, with high hunter success in some of the Stormwater Treatment Areas and other public lands.
Out west, the reports out of Oregon are moderate at best, and the reservoirs of Nevada are hosting less birds than this time last month, but the story has changed (for the better) in California, with areas around San Luis NWR and in the Sac Valley reporting moderate to incredibly high hunter success.
December 14th, 2025
Migration Report:
Conditions are right for a push of ducks southwards, out of Central Illinois.
If you’ve been following our page this season, you’ve probably noticed a trend of continually mentioning the Illinois River basin. On at least three occasions since late October we’ve mentioned this area specifically when referencing hot spots, high concentrations, or migratory movements. Now, we believe the stage is set for a migratory even OUT of this area, and into states to the south such as (southern) Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana.
Our reasoning is simple. Temperatures in this region went sub-zero this weekend, and the lows are set to stay predominately below freezing for the remainder of the year.
While this won’t be cold enough, or cold enough for long enough, to freeze over the main river system or the larger reservoirs, it certainly should be to lock-up the smaller water bodies or shallow marshes, which we believe will inevitably move birds south.
If you live south of St. Louis, I’d be staying tuned if I were you!
December 11th, 2025
Migration Report:
All signs point to ducks moving into the middle latitudes, with states like MO, KS, OK and IL all showing increased concentrations.
Geese moving south, but fair concentrations remain in the mid-north.
With the recent stint of colder weather ducks have naturally moved further south.
Reports out of the northern states like Minnesota and South Dakota are that the majority of birds have moved on, and hunter success is localized to pockets of hold-outs keeping larger water bodies open. And while the middle latitudes many not be boasting peak concentrations quite yet, states like Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas are all reporting moderate duck concentrations which have increased over the past week or so.
Central Illinois (mainly the Illinois River Basin) continues to be the gem of this waterfowl season, with continued reports of high bird concentrations. For example, areas in Fulton County, Illinois are holding nearly 2x as many ducks as this time last year.
The recent reports out of Florida are generally good, with hunters reporting good success in the Stormwater Treatment Areas of South Florida.
Out west, the report is generally the same as last—hunter success is mixed at best, but there are a few shining stars in the bunch, namely areas around Little Dry Creek and West Bear Creek.
Similar to ducks, signs indicate this recent colder weather has moved geese south (although not as far).
The reports out of the northern states like Minnesota and South Dakota are similar for geese as they are for ducks, albeit to maybe not as far an extreme—the recent cold snap has left bird concentrations low and hunter success lower.
While reports out of Iowa indicate goose concentrations that are not near what would be considered peak for this time of year, its next door neighbor Illinois is reporting much-higher-than-average concentrations across the northern portion of the state.
Further south and in the Central Flyway, reports out of central Kansas and northern Oklahoma are generally good, with modest or building concentrations.
December 3rd, 2025
Migration Report:
The first widespread snowfall, a north wind, and a sub-zero cold snap up north. We think the week ahead could bring a large push of ducks south.
November 26th, 2025
Migration Report:
Hunter success increasing up north, decreasing out west.
As Thanksgiving weekend nears and more key states open their seasons, our data coverage is quickly expanding as we move from November into December.
The sentiment in Minnesota and South Dakota is trending from good to better with fair-or-better bird counts and areas in northeast South Dakota and western Minnesota seeing building numbers of mallards.
The story in the Illinois River Basin remains unchanged week-over-week—bird concentrations are high and it appears they are awaiting some weather (or some other impetus) before moving along.
The news in Mississippi is prior to the opener is good. While bird counts aren’t astounding, they are higher than the long-term average by a healthy margin with over 300,000 birds reported in the delta area. Additionally, with dry conditions persisting all year, birds will be concentrated in the little water they can find. We anticipate good hunter success this weekend!
Out west, birds are starting to arrive and concentrate in their usual hang-outs in Nevada, with over a hundred thousand birds reported in and around the Fallon, Nevada area. Further west, hunter success in California remains fair in most areas, with notable success around Colusa and Little Dry Creek.
Still not much to report on out east, sorry guys!
November 21st, 2025
Migration Report:
Hunter success increasing up north, decreasing out west.
Whether it be due to winter rearing its head, the annual fall super moon, or the birds’ internal clocks starting to tick a little differently, we are firm believers that the first big migratory push usually happens around Veteran’s Day and this year was no exception.
Around Minnesota, reports indicate that while the early migrators are slowly moving along, mallards are starting to arrive in good numbers.
Further south, southeast Missouri picked up a fair number of birds (noteworthy, but nothing to get excited about).
Up north, reports out of South Dakota and Minnesota continue to improve, with the areas where northeast South Dakota and west-central Minnesota meet showing signs of an increasing migration and building numbers.
In Louisiana, while bird numbers still pale in comparison to the glory days, early reports indicate a mid-November population that is over twice that of last year’s, and well above the recent average. Good news for a change.
But by far and away, the most noteworthy reports are out of the Illinois River Valley region, where reports indicate over three hundred thousand birds in the stretch between Peoria and Beardstown.
Out west in California, for the second week in a row reports are suggesting waning hunter success. However, areas challenging that trend and boasting respectable counts (relatively) are Ash Creek in the north and Kern in the south.
November 14th, 2025
Migration Report:
Hunter success increasing up north, decreasing out west.
With expanding data coverage, the front having come and gone, and the super moon (which studies show moves ducks!) now behind us, the story around the migration is starting to change.
Up north, reports out of South Dakota and Minnesota continue to improve, with the areas where northeast South Dakota and west-central Minnesota meet showing signs of an increasing migration and building numbers.
Out west, reports suggest hunter success is decreasing as the season wears on, with the only noteworthy reports coming out of the Sac Valley of California, and even then reports suggest it has been fair-at-best recently.
And last but not least, while still relevant, our data is admittedly growing a bit stale in the Illinois River Valley. While we’ve no reason to believe birds have left this area in any meaningful amounts, look for updates to our migration map for this area soon.
November 8th, 2025
Migration Report:
Will the first migratory event of the season move birds south? Absolutely. Will it be a major push? Probably not.
November 7th, 2025
Migration Report:
Reports are good up north, birds (continue) building in Illinois River Valley, hunter success out west waning.
We are entering that time of year when more folks are looking to the northern skies (ourselves included), so it should come as no surprise that—right on time—our data coverage is starting to expand.
While the narrative might not expanded with the expanded data coverage, it has certainly gotten better.
Up north, reports out of South Dakota have indicated building numbers and continued hunting success (provided some effort scouting) and in Minnesota, reports are spread out, but generally much better than a week or so ago.
For the third report in a row, our focus in the middle states rests upon the Illinois River Valley as birds continue their pattern of staging along the lower portions of the river, with the stretch between Peoria and Havana holding a relatively large portion of the birds.
Out west, hunter success started out strong in Oregon and California but has since failen off as seasons have entered their early-to-middle stages with little weather to stir activity.
On the note of weather, stay tuned to this channel… we have the first signs of nationwide winter weather ahead!
October 31st, 2025
Migration Report:
Migration picking up steam. Hunter success in South Dakota, and reports of influxes in Kansas.
Happy Halloween!
With leaves turning, temps dropping, and more seasons opening across the country, attention is shifting to the skies — and right on cue, the first real signs of a strong fall flight are showing up.
Reports out of South Dakota are generally good, with indications that those who put in the work scouting have been finding success.
Further south, the Illinois River Valley in Central Illinois continues to pick up birds, with over 100,000 being reported in the lower portion of the river valley, prior to its confluence with the Mississippi. Additionally, reports out of central Kansas are that certain management areas saw a recent influx of ducks with this cooler weather.
Early November is historically when waves of migrators really start showing up in the central United States and further south. So stay tuned to this channel, and our social media as we track the migration!
October 22nd, 2025
Migration Report:
All signs show a (slowly) starting migration.
There hasn’t been much in the way of notable reports, but signs are showing of a migration underway.
While hunting success in South Dakota is reportedly fair at best, almost all reports consistently indicate an influx of new birds.
And while week-over-week, that state of Iowa lost about 10% of their transitory waterfowl population, month-over-month the Illinois River Valley (of Illinois) saw nearly a 4x increase, with some areas like the Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge already holding nearly 40,000 birds.
While noteworthy, it’s also worth mentioning the majority of the birds making up these reports are Pintail, Teal and Gadwall, indicating more to come.
While data coverage is getting better by the week, this early in the season, data is still sparse. If you want to contribute to the cause, you can submit your migration report via a quick survey form that can be found here.
October 17th, 2025
Migration Report:
Nothing to get too excited about in the early, more to come…
In sticking with the theme for mid-October early season reports, this season’s inaugural duck migration post is a bit anti-climactic. While we’re excited to be back at it, there is not a whole lot to be excited about (yet).
Reports out of South Dakota indicated a decent start to the season, especially for areas along the James River and in the southeastern part of the state. But whatever spots were “hot” quickly appeared to cool off.
Much of the same could be said for states like Minnesota or Ohio where the data suggests there is more on the way but not a ton around.
Interestingly enough, central Kansas reported higher-than-expected numbers for it being this early in the season. And while those numbers have tailed off recently, and the specie composition (teal, gadwall, etc.) indicate this is just an influx of earlier migrators, it was noteworthy.
As a general reminder, data this early in the season is sparse, with more to come. But if you want to contribute to the cause, you can submit your migration report via a quick survey form that can be found in the link in our bio.
Stay tuned to this channel, and our social media as we track the waterfowl migration!
