2024 Waterfowl.

[Hangfire]

Was in OKC yesterday and for the heck of it we took Western back to Norman as opposed to I-35S and at about Western & Indian Hills or so there is a small pond only about half again as big as the average residential cul de sac and it was absolutely covered thick with ducks....can't remember ever seeing so many ducks crammed into such a small space.

Anybody been having any luck ?

 

[retrieverman]

I had to go to Cherokee on Tuesday and took the long way to get back to my place, and I saw a pond a couple miles north that had a few ducks. I saw a couple small groups that looked like they might be trying to land on the river, but overall, there didn’t appear to be many ducks around.
I saw a few south and east on the way home but still not many.

From December 4th…
Salt Plains Weekly Waterfowl Survey: 14,310 Ducks, 47,142 Geese, 12,157 Sandhill Cranes, 33 Bald Eagles and 1 Golden Eagle.

When I was up a couple weeks ago I saw a bird that was obviously an eagle but without the bald head, and I thought it might be a juvenile bald eagle. Maybe it was a golden.

 

[Okie4570]

There's not squat around here, a few geese, and not many of those.

 

[Dorkus]

Today was my first scotch double this season. Woohoo!

Finally some birds are moving but still very light compared to last year.

 

[Okie4570]

47k geese on the count last week, 6k this week at SP. They were accused of inflating the numbers last week....it magically dropped 41k this week? Lol

 

[retrieverman]

47k geese on the count last week, 6k this week at SP. They were accused of inflating the numbers last week....it magically dropped 41k this week? Lol

Are you serious about them padding the numbers?!?

Is there a profit motive for the refuge to have high bird numbers?

 

[Okie4570]

Are you serious about them padding the numbers?!?

Is there a profit motive for the refuge to have high bird numbers?

Some guys that hunted the refuge did last week. Only profit motive I know of would be bringing more hunters to the area with a higher count.

 

[retrieverman]

Salt Plains Weekly Waterfowl Survey: 8,737 Ducks, 6,286 Geese, 16,358 Sandhill Cranes, 8 Whooping Cranes and 18 Bald Eagles.

 

[retrieverman]

Salt Plains Weekly Waterfowl Survey: 12,048 Ducks, 32,722 Geese, 6,215 Sandhill Cranes and 29 Eagles.