We got back in the air for the waterfowl flight on Tuesday, October 14, 2025. I don’t have good news for waterfowl hunters in the area. Water level in the Illinois River Valley is much lower than usual, and a few of the larger refuges in the Central MS River Valley don’t yet have water. Duck abundance is lower than long-term averages across both rivers. Because of the low water levels, our ducks, mostly green-winged teal and northern pintail, are congregated in freshly flooded moist-soil areas (and a few corn fields). As previously mentioned, total duck abundances were below their respective LTAs for the IRV (81,205) and CMRV (57,935) this week (coincidentally, both 32% below LTAs).
My takeaways from this flight are the low water levels and, seemingly, delayed migration. Blue wings are much more abundant in our region right now as compared to previous years (+112% for the IRV and +143% for the CMRV), while abundances of our other dabbling ducks are all below long-term averages. The old adage goes “if you don’t like the weather, just hang around a while…” I sure hope that is the case.
A favorite part of these early flights for both Mike and me is getting to see lots of different hunting setups. They’re as diverse as they are creative, and it’s always fun to see how folks adapt to their surroundings. Concealment is key, comfort is a luxury, and legality is, of course, important as well. Hunting in a big floating blind was a different beast for me when I moved here from the south. Most of my hunting had previously been standing next to a tree or lying in a small grass impoundment, waiting for ducks to circle overhead. So, even after 10 years, I’m still learning things about the big blinds. I often get asked what the thing is that sticks out most when we see blinds from above. It’s always movement and faces. Always.
So good luck to the hunters in these blinds, our north zone hunters, and central zone youth hunters this weekend! I hope I can include great hunting reports from them all next week! For more information on the survey and this week’s numbers, visit Aerial Inventories.
