Snows reports for 2017

[Bailey]

Less then an inch expected in Minneapolis now.

Sent from my SM-J700T using Tapatalk

[maplelakeduckslayer]

Ya...They nailed it

[greatwhitehunter3!]

I got 7 flakes in Redwood County.

[h2ofwlr]

I'm just glad I don't live in Rochester, a friend of mine does, she had 16" and still snowing at 8PM earlier this evening. 7AM this morning Mapleton had 12.7"

The question is this: did the Snows pull out of northern SD? As they did NOT get any snow there. Map is of 12Midnight Thursday night.

[Fish Felon]

Low and behold here we are in the 18th season of the Spring Conservation Order for Light Geese and we are still trying to judge the migration because it has fluctuated so widely.....

....despite every year there being huntable and growing concentrations in Southeast Nerdbraska, Northwest Misslouri, and Northeast Kansass from the tail end of January until roughly the second week of February being the peak.

Then during the latter half of February South Dakota has huntable and growing concentrations of geese.

Then a couple weeks later, around the time the calendar flips to March, there will be huntable and growing numbers of geese in North Dakota.

The a couple weeks later there will be huntable and growing numbers of geese in Saskatchewan.

And so on and so forth until they reach their nesting grounds a on the tundra.....

.....attempt to mate and lay some eggs, try to raise a brood if they have some that hatch, and then guess what?

They start migrating South again with their young and compatriots. They start to stage in huntable and growing numbers coming off the tundra once September rolls around....and then......and then........


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Today is March first and the forecast two days out into this weekend calls for highs hitting 50 with fair to strong South winds being what will get the mercury to play tag with fifty degress fahrenheitzer.. There will be huntable numbers of geese from South to North across Eastern South Dakota with the bulk of the migration being in the Northern half going into the Southern third of Southeast North Dakota.

This isn't a mystery or some slam dunk Johnny-on-the-spot reporting at the last minute......if you think it is I'll bet you a case of beer that my prediction holds true for next year. Keep in mind that Saturday is the 4th of March. I'll bet whomever wants to take me on a case of beer that the bulk of the migration is in going to be in the Northern half of South Dakota hitting the Southern third of North Dakota. If I'm wrong I owe you, if I'm right you owe me. Anyone who is serious can delineate highway borders and how to objectively determine where the bulk is other than opinions online (something like refuge counts) and I will be game.


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What we've learned is that snow geese going North are only a little less predictable to the calendar than Ringbills going across MN. Rice Lake NWR in central MN has peak numbers within the same week every year. Some years that could mean 10K some years that could mean a million.....most years it is in the 75K-150K range.

What I find most surprising is how consistent snow geese have been on a Northward migration facing varying freeze/thaw lines and snow accumulation versus a diver duck that eats vegetable matter migrating Southward....with nothing to hold it back from going South and only having weather systems that would facilitate it in going South.

[h2ofwlr]

Snow cover is the key.
If there is snow cover, they are south of it. Regardless if Feb or March or April, or if the line is NE or SD or ND or Canada.

I doubt that they'll be in ND this weekend.

[gimpfinger]

West of Mitchell SD yesterday. Friends video.

http://cloud.tapatalk.com/s/58b8fee9c3c68/20170301_100107.mp4

Nebraska today




sent while wearing women's underwear

[h2ofwlr]

I can't view the video - as it requires a Blue Ray plug in. Who the heck records a video that then requires BR to watch it?

[maplelakeduckslayer]

Good bunches...Man ihope I can go this year. Have a meeting in Fargo April 18th that may be a juvy run

[randywatson]

Report from my buddy on saturday who was driving from Sioux falls to Omaha.

"I've Never seen so many snow geese. Quarter sections full of snows. Lots of hunters. "