David Rearick, a Pro-Staff member for Avery Outdoors, offers his overview of the waterfowl migration season in western Pennsylvania:
Notable weather changes/differences this season: Things started off normal and headed south quickly. This has easily been the coldest winter that started in early December that I can remember. The cold temps were both good and bad for duck numbers, as it did push a lot of birds south quick, but it also helped to congregate the birds on what little open water remained.
Winter snow summary: This year we received more snow from December forward than I can remember. The main issue with the snow is it got deep very quickly and then iced over as the weather would change from rain to snow and then back again. When the rain hit the snow, it formed an ice crust making feeding conditions difficult for late-season geese, and they pushed down the river to the south much earlier than normal.
Season water conditions: Water levels were average for the year, starting out a little low and hitting flood stage on a few occasions. This created great backwater/flooded field hunting but also spread the birds out as there was water literally everywhere for a few weeks.
Overall feeding conditions: Great, we had lots of cut corn this year that was done sporadically enough to allow the birds to feed in one field and then hop to another. I don’t think the overall feeding conditions could have been much better for the season.
Duck numbers compared to previous years: Definitely more puddle ducks, but fewer divers. The divers seem to show up later than normal and then push through quickly. Puddle ducks, on the other hand, were pretty steady from the second season opener up until the end. Certain times things were very hot, but mainly things were good overall.
Goose numbers compared to previous years: Resident goose numbers, the main ingredient for the areas I hunt, were fair this year. As the resident birds pushed down from New York and up-state Pa., they were pretty steady and relatively easy to find with a good amount of scouting. For the areas I hunt with migratory geese, the numbers were down significantly and never seemed to reach peak levels, in my opinion.
Notable duck migrations: The largest migrations were right at the second split. There seemed to be a lot of ducks hitting the fields and water and we had some great days hunting them while hunting geese.
Notable goose migrations: None to speak of, as it seemed to be a pretty steady flow of birds.
Overall hunting report: This year hunting was overall good. We had a better year on puddle ducks than previous years, but diver numbers were well below normal. Goose numbers were also up slightly, but I would say pretty consistent overall with days hunted/birds bagged ratios as we hunted more days for geese than in previous years due to the lack of divers on the main lakes. It was a great year and there is still more RP geese and snows to come, so it ain’t over yet!