Warm Start, Slow Flights: Wyoming’s Duck & Goose Seasons Open With Few Birds — For Now

Wyoming’s waterfowl seasons kick off this weekend, but don’t expect skies packed with ducks and geese just yet. It’s still too warm up north to push big flocks into the state — something that could change fast once storms roll through Montana and Canada.

“Early on will probably be disappointing,” meteorologist Don Day told Cowboy State Daily.

The better news: a shift to cooler, stormier weather is likely by mid-October, with birds really moving in November.

Here’s the quirk of hunting waterfowl in Wyoming: the action depends less on Wyoming’s forecast and more on what happens in Montana and Canada. When northern cold fronts rake the high plains “pothole” country — prime breeding turf for mallards, Canada geese and more—birds slide south into places like the North Platte in Goshen County.

“Goshen County is about as good as it gets,” said Torrington waterfowler Wheaton Kremke, who’s hoping this season beats the last two. “We hope for a medium winter here and a hard winter up north.”

Day said a regional pattern switch is coming. Right now, “Pacific air” and crosswinds make migrating tough — “winds hitting them at a 90-degree angle.” As colder “Canadian air” takes over, ducks and geese will have a tailwind and a reason to head south.

Even if the opener’s slow, there’s time. Most Wyoming duck and goose seasons run into January, some into February.

For Kremke, waterfowling is a different vibe than big-game.

“It’s very much a social hunt,” he said — breakfast with buddies, then blinds where conversation and jokes are part of the ritual while you wait for flights to swing in.

Avian influenza remains in the background, including a recent outbreak that led to turkey culls in South Dakota, possibly tied to blue-winged teal. Still, hunters report few visibly sick ducks or geese, and the CDC says the risk to people is low. Basic precautions still apply: wear gloves when processing birds, disinfect tools and surfaces, and don’t handle birds that are obviously ill or freshly found dead.

Seasons are open, the weather will flip soon, and when it does, the migration should follow. Keep the decoys handy and the coffee hot.

The original story by Mark Heinz for Cowboy State Daily.