Last week's hurricane-force Pacific Flyway windstorm came on the heels of ample rain from Mexico to Northern California. Oregon's ducks and geese were blown off the coast and many have found substantial habitat throughout Willamette Valley, forcing waterfowlers to scout and react to regional migrations.
Numbers increased dramatically around Fern Ridge, near Eugene, north to Salem by late last week and hunting has been good throughout the valley. Hunters have been bagging as many as three birds a piece in the Fern Ridge Wildlife Area controlled-hunt blinds. Northern pintails showed up near Ankeny and Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuges, and teal are in abundance farther south at William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge.
As mild weather continues, the ducks will begin spreading out again and many will likely return to coastal bays over the next couple of weeks.
Thousands of mallards and divers (mostly scaup) in the lower Columbia River Basin moved upriver, with a good number of birds blown so far off course that no one is quite sure where they ended up. Northern Puget Sound may be a possibility, given better reports out of Padilla Bay and Skagit Flats. Those birds will likely stay put until another freeze pushes them south.
Hunting has improved from Wauna and the lower island/refuge waters up to Deer Island on the lower Columbia River.
Waterfowlers on the public Sauvie Island Wildlife Area near Portland have not been so fortunate. Warm, balmy temperatures followed the storm and have ducks rafted in the middle of Sturgeon Lake's sanctuary zone, says area manager Mark Nebeker.
"They're here," Nebeker reports, “but there's no reason for them to go anywhere."
Torrid hunting in the upper Columbia Basin out of Umatilla has slackened somewhat at McCormack Slough. Hunters heading into the interior should be aware that the federal hunting area at McCormack will be closed on December 24 and 25.
Decent duck numbers have been reported along the Columbia River shorelines from The Dalles to McNary Dam, especially from Tower Road upriver past Irrigon. Roosting birds have been coming and going, utilizing nearby cornfields.
Oregon's Columbia River shoreline is open in many areas that were closed, including Arlington and Phillipi Canyon. Weather conditions can make access tricky, but the opportunities exist for those willing to try. Wintering scaup typically linger between The Dalles and Celilo.
In southeastern Oregon, mild weather has also stalled southward migration in the high desert. Last week's counts at Summer Lake Wildlife Area, which is typically frozen by this time of year, included 23,400 ducks and 1,400 geese.
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