From the Blind: Oregon and Utah
Walker Davidson for SPLIT REED
We are back with our second installment of “From the Blind.” Here we have reports from Oregon and the Great Salt Lake. It seems like birds are on the move as the mercury has started to drop across the northern prairie and great lakes states.
Who: TJ Booth
Location: Lagrande, Oregon
Weather: Random snow flurry’s, winds S/SE 11mph
Bird numbers: Below Average
Harvest report: Struggling to scratch out limits
Overview: Bird numbers have significantly dropped since the last big northern storm push. The weather has started to warm back up. May potentially have a little bit of a reverse migration back from the snake river. But as of right now bird numbers are below average and will hopefully rise with the next big freeze.
The season has been solid for a majority of the time. Eastern Oregon is an area that the northern weather push has a significant effect on the number of birds that are in the area. There isn’t a ton of water and food to hold great numbers of birds for a long period of time. When it’s on it is on and lights out. Better have plenty of shells for that week. But when it warms up might as well stay home and get the chores done.
My prediction for the rest of the year is we will have one more solid push in December mostly big Canada’s possibly a few late ducks. Most have pushed through as well as specks and snows. Keep an eye out on the snake river flyway for a big push of snows, specks, and puddle ducks.
Who: Ryan Barnes
Location: Great Salt Lake, Mid November.
Weather: Low 30’s, sunshine mostly
Bird Numbers: Lots of gadwall, pintail, and spoonies. The bigger water is holding a good amount of divers. Canvasbacks and Goldeneye seem to be making their way into the area. Birds are flying all day, however, the afternoon has proved to be the best time for shooting.
Harvest Report: 1 mallard, 1 pintail, 1 gadwall, 2 spoonies
Overview: The hunting slowed down towards the end of October with temperatures still rising into the ’70s, but with the colder temperatures moving in, new ducks have started to push through which has made for some better shoots. The Great Salt Lake is always loaded with ducks, and this year seems to be no different. The WMA’s around the GSL are holding lots of birds as well, you just need to be mindful of where you go if you decide to use a boat- water levels are lower than usual.
The hunting has been right on par, if not a bit better than what we saw last year. My prediction is when the colder weather really starts to hit, the birds will start to congregate on the big water of the GSL, making for some great late season hunting in the valley.
Let us know what the birds are doing in your area through a DM on Instagram or an email and you just might get featured on a “From the Blind” article! Good luck to everyone for the rest of the season.
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