# Report?



## mbarrett1379

With a little over a month to go in the duck season and hopefully the heat of the migration, let’s get a thread rolling of reports? I myself have not been out since the first season, however will be out all weekend! Goodluck to everyone out there and stay safe!


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## freyedknot

Headed to Missouri Jan 1. For a 3 day guided hunt.


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## BaddFish

Driving around NE Ohio and Western PA for work since Monday- I've seen quite a few greenheads on random ponds/pools of water- that don't normally hold ducks... They are definitely migrating- if weather is ducky on Sat. I'll be out somewhere.


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## fishingful

I always follow birding groups to help key me in on the migration. Here is a recent report.

The weather looked like it might be good for bird movement, so i birded Lake Erie Bluffs this morning from 7:00-10:20 this morning. I watched the lake for a couple hours and then walked the trails. The lake watch was decent with about 4,000 gulls flying by. Among them was a 2nd cycle GLAUCOUS GULL. Waterfowl were again fairly slow. Other than 700+ red-breasted mergansers, there were only 4 bufflehead and 4 scaup spp.. The best bird was an immature POMARINE JAEGER. The bird flew by low over the water heading west.

There were a lot of songbirds in the area with about 417 robins counted. There were big flocks all through the park. Of note with the songbirds were a gray catbird and immature mockingbird in the same crab apple tree and a fox sparrow in another. I did walk to the south end of the property and saw very little activity in the dump area.


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## mbarrett1379

Hmmmm that’s a great idea to follow birding reports! Seems slow right now


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## fishingful

mbarrett1379 said:


> Hmmmm that’s a great idea to follow birding reports! Seems slow right now


Picked that up at work. I have a parks and recreation job. All kinds of people would come in talking about the birds they saw during the migration. I asked "what about ducks?" and they would tell me about what they saw and where.

It gave me a general idea of the push and what was moving around. I just applied that to online and fourms.


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## freyedknot

The Plain Dealer used to publish their reports every Thursday.I would always run into them down at Edgewater State Park last year they were watching two snowy owls. I was down there today for 45 minutes watching the lake didn't see nothing but some geese and the waves were kicking pretty good


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## bdawg

I was out on Saturday in the rain with 2 buddies at an inland lake. Saw 2 buffleheads. Wind was out of the south, so didn't expect any migration.

Got some shots at local mallards. Not as many as the week before though. We got 2 of them. Was lucky to have 4 flocks of geese fly over us, 30 yards up. We got 4 of them. Usually, the flocks fly 100 yards behind us to the field near the lake. Was a good day, but we were soaked by the time we got back to the ramp.


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## BaddFish

Serious bird watcher...one that counts 417 Robins...LOL


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## mbarrett1379

I was thinking the same thing!


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## fishingful

They have a pen and paper with them to tally the count. They can also give you yearly totals by area. Good info to have if you look at the relationship between bird, duck and goose migration. It will give you a good idea based on what's moving, when and the weather based on the current year and historical data and trends. Wind and weather will push the migration in different directions. Then it comes down to good old scouting.


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## mbarrett1379

Well I got the decision to go to Sandusky or Ladue as we had a blind for the week at Ladue. Going to hit Sandusky after hearing weak reports down in that area. Anyone hunt Ladue or Nimsila with any luck this season?


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## Shad Rap

BaddFish said:


> Serious bird watcher...one that counts 417 Robins...LOL


How do you count 417 different robins?


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## dcool

One at a time!


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## EPB

Hunted at farm pond in Sandusky this morning, heard geese in the clouds, saw a squadron of 6 swans but not one duck, a first. Wind was ESE probably did not help.


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## fishingful

I was fishing out of fairport yesterday. Couple of guys on the wall only heard a few shots before I left. Guessing that they were merges. They were everywhere. Flocks a mile long. Didnt see any other kind of duck.


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## mbarrett1379

Hunted a Sandusky Marsh last weekend, saw some groups of ducks flying around. Had a couple groups start to appear to work in, but people would skybust them. Managed to get one black duck, however.


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## bdawg

fishingful said:


> I was fishing out of fairport yesterday. Couple of guys on the wall only heard a few shots before I left. Guessing that they were merges. They were everywhere. Flocks a mile long. Didnt see any other kind of duck.


We'll be out on the wall at Fairport tomorrow. Last year, we got out there once and there were thousands of mergs flying into the river for the shad. A lot flew over the breakwall, but 99% were too high. Shot at some of the lower ones, but we only got 1 bird each. Also got one mallard that swooped in low and surprised us. Hoping to see some other kinds of divers in there. Gonna bring my fishing pole too and try for steelhead.


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## fishhunter28

Whats the rules on hunting fairport breakwall?


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## bdawg

Stay off the beach on the west side of the breakwall. That is all state land. The walking path and the east side is federal property and huntable. Beach on the east side of the wall is also federal property and huntable. Most of the birds fly over the wall too high to shoot. You will waste a ton of ammo shooting at the high ones. I know from experience. Occasionally, you will get some to land in your decoys, but mostly it's fly over shots. Didn't make it out there last weekend. My buddy cancelled on me at the last minute. Then, the bum got invited to hunt at Put in Bay with a friend of his and I wasn't available to go with him. He had a great day out there! Even shot a banded redhead drake!


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## freyedknot

We should hunt cle sometime


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## bdawg

I was going to go out this morning to hunt a spot on a lake that is partially frozen right now, but my hunting buddy got called in to work and I didn't want to go on the lake by myself when it's this cold. If I knew a good field to hunt, i'd be there now. Instead, I'm sitting in bed watching the wife work from home until noon. 

Last weekend, we went to the same lake, got there too late, and watched the other group of hunters shoot 30 times. We couldn't find a good spot that wasn't iced up so we shot none, just did a lot of bird watching.


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## ignantmike

sky buster's screw everyone....breakwall hunting is tough....bird's way to high...never did good the few times I tried....


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## bdawg

Hunted again Saturday. Saw half the mallards we had been seeing. Couldn't get any to commit. Took 2 shots at crossing birds at the edge of our range. Got 1 goose to come in and killed him good and dead! Another flock of 4 geese flared at the last minute. Saw plenty of geese again, but they didn't fly over our spot. 

Thinking I had too many duck decoys out. Had 2 dozen in 2 separate pods. Should have just done 3 or 4 pairs. Had a mojo going early but it didn't bring any in.


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## HappySnag

bdawg said:


> Hunted again Saturday. Saw half the mallards we had been seeing. Couldn't get any to commit. Took 2 shots at crossing birds at the edge of our range. Got 1 goose to come in and killed him good and dead! Another flock of 4 geese flared at the last minute. Saw plenty of geese again, but they didn't fly over our spot.
> 
> Thinking I had too many duck decoys out. Had 2 dozen in 2 separate pods. Should have just done 3 or 4 pairs. Had a mojo going early but it didn't bring any in.


some day is easy and some day is hard.
when i hunt one spot and was closing time,every time 50 goose landet on top of me while i was picking decoys,they landed few feet from me and whe i moove to secon decoy they took off,i was thinkig they mes with me.


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