The FowlWeather Podcast

Most folks know the Clint Eastwood movie, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. Well this is The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly in population trends among species of waterfowl through time. Why do some species populations do well (The Good), why do some species cycle so strongly (The Bad), and why did some species populations tank and then never recover (The Ugly). First and foremost, we live on an amazing continent with a diversity of waterfowl species to pursue, harvest, and eat. From Canada to the US, and into Central America and beyond, our waterfowl are a conservation success story. We should be thankful for that. Period. But what makes some waterfowl species populations grow, others decline but rebound, and others tank. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. DrMike again digs deep into these data to talk waterfowl population trends through time.

We welcome Grant Rhodes to The FowlWeather Podcast Young Waterfowl Professional Series. Grant is in Dr. Kevin Ringelman's avian ecology lab at the University of California Davis working collaboratively with the Delta Waterfowl Foundation. His research is focused on using drone-based methods to better understand waterfowl brood abundance and duckling survival in relation to habitat characteristics and management actions in the Canadian Prairie Pothole Region. Grant has extensive experience flying drones to survey waterfowl and waterbirds and is passionate about using drone-based methods to improve our survey designs and ultimately our conservation efforts.

Breeding waterfowl surveys do not predict mid-winter and migration surveys. Non-breeding season surveys have very specific objectives. They should not be compared to breeding waterfowl survey numbers. DrMike details why the USFWS breeding waterfowl and mid-winter surveys are Apples and Oranges…they are not comparable. DrMike goes off again! “I don't have ducks, but they predicted ducks”…TEARS. BooHoo……NOoooo, JUST, NO!. Nobody predicted ducks in front of your blind. Just get out and hunt ducks when the weather is right, just get out and hunt when The FowlWeather Podcast predicts fresh ducks. Learn more about the purpose of migration and mid-winter waterfowl surveys today on The FowlWeather Podcast.

We welcome Cory Highway to The FowlWeather Podcast Young Waterfowl Professional Series. Cory Highway is a Ph.D. student at Tennessee Tech University, working under the guidance of Dr. Bradley Cohen. His research centers on the ecology of wintering mallards in western Tennessee, with a particular focus on enhancing landscape connectivity for wintering waterfowl. A dedicated outdoorsman, Cory is passionate about conducting applied research that supports effective wetland and waterfowl conservation efforts.

Among the absolute cornerstones of waterfowl conservation and management is banding data. While recovery rates of bands on passerines like chickadees might be 2% at best, because waterfowl are harvested species, we have an abundance of recovery data to use in population modeling for tracking migration. Why is banding data so vital to waterfowl management in North America? Find out today on The FowlWeather Podcast. 

We welcome Hannah Sabatier, Hannah is our first Canadian born guest on the Young Waterfowl Professionals Series, hailing from Manitoba, she has been working on the prairie since 2018, but new to working with breeding waterfowl for the past 3 years.Hannah just completed her MS degree at UW Steven's Point w Dr. Ben Sedinger on drone detection of waterfowl, and will be headed to work with Dr. Mitch Weegman at the U of Saskatchewan next. The recipient of the Sandi and Dave Ankney Scholarship administered through Delta Waterfowl Foundation and also the outstanding graduate student award at UW Stevens Point this Spring.

How does the USFWS and Canadian Wildlife Service track waterfowl harvest? How do they track the number of waterfowl hunters and their harvest? Today on The FowlWeather Podcast we cut through the BS to report the facts about how we keep track of duck harvest and hunter metrics. In response to a massive amount of misinformation coming across your wavelengths, The FowlWeather Podcast embarked on the 2025 DataStream Series. It can be attractive to find conspiracies that help explain what you observe as a duck hunter, or maybe you've even thought up some fun fake news yourself. The reality is that the long history of data used in waterfowl conservation and management in North America is a success story that everyone deserves to hear. Bumps and bruises we have, but dedicated we are as the duck people across duck country USA; dedicated to the long-term health of ducks and duck hunting. This series dives deep into how the surveys, banding, and harvest surveys and models work. Join us to learn more and share this great information with all the great people across duck country USA.

We welcome Dr. Ryan Askren, Ryan works to promote science-based, waterfowl management on the landscape through Five Oaks' research and education program near Stuttgart, AR. He is principal investigator on several mallard movement ecology projects and research related to bottomland hardwood regeneration with the goal of improving our understanding of waterfowl-habitat relationships to inform better management.

In response to a massive amount of misinformation coming across your wavelengths,The FowlWeather Podcast embarked on the 2025 DataStream Series. It can be attractive to find conspiracies that help explain what you observe as a duck hunter, or maybe you've even thought up some fun fake news yourself. The reality is that the long history of data used in waterfowl conservation and management in North America is a success story that everyone deserves to hear. Bumps and bruises we have, but dedicated we are as the duck people across duck country USA; dedicated to the long-term health of ducks and duck hunting. This series dives deep into how the surveys, banding, and harvest surveys and models work. Join us to learn more and share this great information with all the great people across duck country USA. Today, on The FowlWeather Podcast we cut through the BS to report the facts about how we count ducks and why this information is vital to all the great people across duck country USA.

All of us in the profession of Waterfowl and Wetlands science, conservation, and management came from somewhere, these are the stories of young, passionate conservationists that have made their passion for the ducks into a career. Catrina Terry is the waterfowl research scientist for Ducks Unlimited's Great Plains Region. Catrina started with DU in May 2021 to head up the undergraduate research program and bring more opportunities to undergraduate students in the Great Plains Region.  With the help of graduate students and collaborators, Catrina is working on multiple research projects across the region that include: assessing wetland restoration, regenerative ag, drivers of nest success and brood abundance.   Catrina received her master's degree from Louisiana State University and Bachelor of Science degree from University of California, Davis. 

With turkey seasons open across the south and turkeys starting to strut their stuff all the way to Canada there is no better time to talk turkeys. What do the experts have in common? How do they tag out wherever they go? Also, we tackle a tough one, why are turkeys tanking including a hypothesis that my own lab at ESF has started to tackle? Is it habitat, is it predators, is it disease, is it weather, is it all of the above simply tied together by genetic bottlenecks? Find out the secrets to the hunt and why turkeys are tanking, all today on this special turkey season bonus episode on The FowlWeatherPodcast!

All you ever wanted to know about king greenhead in this 4 part series about the History of the North American Mallard. In our final episode in this series, we talk to Dr. Phil Lavretsky and PhD student Dominic Hockenbury about ongoing mallard genetics research in North America. Are wild mallards doomed by game-farm genetics? What is the future of the wild North American mallard?

All you ever wanted to know about king greenhead in this 4 part series about the History of the North American Mallard. In Part 3, we hit the highlights about changes to the mallard population through time and our historical and current approach to harvest management. Why did we have restrictive seasons before but not today? We also talk turkeys, the breakup of the Polar Vortex, and nasty narratives that must die, all this week on The FowlWeather Podcast.

All you ever wanted to know about king greenhead in this 4 part series about the History of the North American Mallard. In Part 2, we hit the highlights about what makes the greenhead population tick. What runs the mallard population? How does winter, spring, and summer make the mallard machine run? Dead hens don't lay eggs, right? But fat hens do, and once those ducklings hatch, what do they need to find their way down the flyways. Find out here today on The FowlWeather Podcast.

All you ever wanted to know about king greenhead in this 4 part series about the History of the North American Mallard. Species split into black ducks, mottled ducks, Mexican ducks, and the greenheaded mallard. With 14 mallard like ducks across the globe the greenheaded mallard is the most widespread. We start out with a quick update on the Polar Vortex for our weather nerds, clean up some mallard mis-information still floating around, and then jump into the early evolution of the mallard in North America.

How did The FowlWeather Podcast long-term predictions about fall and winter weather affecting duck migration play out? Find out today on this jam packed episode of The FowlWeather Podcast. Do you nerd out about weather and duck migration? This is the episode for you!

The conspiracies, mis information, lack of judgement in comment, and tearing down of the waterfowl community must end. DrMike is fed up and digs through the latest and greatest of the idiocracy coming across your wave lengths about the state of waterfowl across North America…that and we dig into some of the latest mallard, redhead, and canvasback population models – is it guns or habitat that run duck numbers? If you ask others, it's all a big unknown with wild speculation, but again, DrMike cuts through the BS and just reports the facts. Time to step up my friends across duck country and put to rest the speculation and the mis information campaign. Could the state of waterfowl hunting and waterfowl hunting culture be better, certainly, but to tear down all the hard work of generations without doing your homework, well that is just disrespectful, but even more so it is dangerous rhetoric with no gain for ducks, doing more harm than good…THAT…and the final duck migration forecast of the 2024-2025 duck season.

Where the heck are the ducks? Well, there are less of them for sure. DrMike breaks down the polar plunge forecast, how food really matters, is your lease just junk, male to female ratios in the harvest and your duck migration forecast, all this week on The FowlWeather Podcast.

More of the Florida boys, tales of falling in the marsh, what happens in Florida on a cold front? Part 2 of the Floridians at the farm in Jack Reef. Join us for Part 2 of this fun filled Kitchen Conversation, we learned so much about Florida from the Florida Boys. Among many things, mottled ducks and hybridization with game-farm mallards are on the menu in this episode of the Kitchen Conversation.

A naïve observer would think that everyone lies in the duck world. The biologists lie about numbers and locations of winter ducks, the hunters lie about not seeing ducks, the hunters lie about killing ducks, the non-profits lie about flooded corn to the north, the biologists lie about the number of ducks on the continent. Lies, Lies, Lies. DrMike cuts through the BS in another information packed episode, that more about what telemetry tells and does not tell us, and your duck migration forecast for the coming week.

Some Floridians do the reverse migration and come to the farm at Jacks Reef to talk ducks, gators, frozen iguanas, Mosquito Lagoon, and about a place called “the Zoo”. Join us for another fun filled episode of the Kitchen Conversations, we learned so much about Florida duck hunting.

It has been days since the October sun and the real cold is coming. Reflection on the duck season and thoughts on the cold to come….we also rebut comments about Episode 67 – Why Every State Needs a Draw Hunt For Ducks. All you did was justify the comment…that, what do ducks do when it gets really cold?….and the week duck migration forecast…. all on this and more in this episode of The FowlWeather Podcast.

DrMike and DrNick Masto debate telemetry while driving around the Montezuma Wetlands Complex. DrMike works to not give away all his hunting spots, but the main point of the discussion between DrMike and DrNick is to showcase how scientists debate and discuss controversial topics. At the end of the day, we are all friends and focused on making the information we use to manage waterfowl better. We might not always agree, but do debate in a civil manner….most of the time…join DrMike and DrNick for another episode of the Kitchen Conversations (in the truck!).

Bring on the hate mail, but survey says….you need a draw hunt. DrMike details how surveys tell us what all hunters want, but what states are too afraid of the politics to pull the trigger on. Overcrowding, boat races, and swamp fights ta' boot, gotta' love a good ole duck hunt in the new age though, right?

Merry Christmas from The FowlWeather Podcast Team! The weather maps are red, showing warmer than average through Christmas, but does that mean cold barrels? The FowlWeather Podcast Team dissects the weather in detail, forecasts into January, we talk hunting ducks in the heat, thoughts on cleaning and eating ducks, and your duck migration forecast, all this week on The FowlWeather Podcast.

As our good friend and mentor Dr. Dave Ankney used to say “The Good Ole Days Are Now”. In this episode, From deer to wood ducks to turkeys and beyond, we have more to be thankful for than not. DrMike reflects with optimism and a passion for the ducks, the wetlands they depend on, and all the great duck people across duck country. All that, and another exciting duck migration forecast for the coming week.

We talk to biologists in South Carolina, Mississippi, Arkansas, Texas, and Missouri about the state of duck migration so far this year. Great insights from the experts, where to find FowlWeather Podcast hoodies, hats, and stickers, the week 1 Listener Appreciation FowlWeather Podcast Sweepstakes winner is announced, and your migration forecast, all this week!

More of the Merg Squad at Bard's Barndaminium – DrMike once again sits down with Frack and Bard to talk mergs and all things ducks in Jacks Reef country. We also have a bit of Merganser Trivia for y'all. Join us this week on another episode of the Kitchen Conversations, raw, mic'd up conversations with duck hunters across duck country, USA.

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving full of family and ducks! This week The FowlWeather Podcast team details the fattening patterns of ducks during migration and winter and how it can affect your duck hunting success. We also announce the first of five FowlWeather Podcast Sweepstakes prizes and the availability of FowlWeather hoodies open for online orders. Oh, and the cold continues as we forecast the best days to hunt in the coming week for fresh ducks, hot from the north!

An exciting migration forecast this week as the snow line advances south this week, with nearly all seasons now open, we compare our WSI between 2023 to 2024 to date, we also tackle the hard and very misunderstood topic, why is my greentree reservoir dry? That can't be good for the ducks, right?

With so man different public draw systems out there, somebody must do it better than anyone else? Right, why are there so many systems? Is duck hunting so different that every state and province has to have a different system for allocating blinds? Dr. Mike dissects this heavy topic, plus a western front shakes its cold hand and drives ducks south, all this week on The FowlWeather Podcast.

The long-awaited Long-term Forecast Part 2. The results are IN! The FowlWeather Podcast Long-term Forecast Part 2 dives into what the rest of duck season looks like, when will the cold show, does Old Man winter hide in the Arctic once again this year, or make an appearance as an Alberta Clipper, what's snow got to do with it all? All that, and this week's duck migration forecast.

The FowlWeather Podcast team tackles how ducks move on the moon phase, duck hunting ethic revisited, and your migration forecast.

A duck camp kitchen conversation in North Dakota about duck hunting beginnings and the first waterfowl kitchen quiz. Waterfowl trivia for duck hunters.

The FowlWeather Podcast team is back in the home office after a successful ND trip to talk about duck senses, how well do ducks see? How do they pick you out in the marsh flying at 45mph, how do they find food in the wetland, how do they hear your call? And do ducks taste their food? All this, a polar vortex update and your migration forecast this week on The FowlWeather Migration Forecast

The FowlWeather Podcast team makes the first of 2 long-term forecasts for the season. What's coming for cold and snow cover into December and January? Find out in this information packed episode, our North Dakota hunt, plus your weekly duck migration forecast.

We meet this week with Chris Nicolai to talk duck production, duck migration, and prairie conditions. A first, Pacific Flyway flight prediction, out of Alaska and cold into Oregan has ducks predicted on the move for the coming week in the west.

The Great Lakes contain 20% of the world's freshwater but how many ducks do they hold? Has winter ice cover changed in the Great Lakes? We also talk with Ryan Dulaney of Wildlife Strategies about impacts of Florence and Helene on duck country in the MAV and what habitat is lookin' like for the coming season. That and The FowlWeather Podcast exclusive duck migration forecast for the week!

Riding out Hurricane Helene in SC low country, a recap of changes in weather severity through time in the Mississippi and Atlantic flyways, how do game-farm mallard contribute to a declining migration?, a Baby Jager liver disease update, hurricane happenings, and our duck migration forecast.

When do ducks start to migrate? Why are there movements happening now in the absence of weather? Is GPS telemetry on ducks the panacea for all of our questions? Does telemetry tell hunters how to hunt? Does telemetry predict ducks in front of your blind?...all that and notes on the ticking time bomb of duck shooting rhetoric.

How does The FowlWeather Podcast team produce weekly migration forecasts? How do ducks react differently to weather severity and why? What goes into the long-term seasonal forecasts. We unveil the new diving duck migration forecasts, a tropical system update, more on mallards, and the anxiously awaited duck migration…all of this and much more on this weeks episode of The FowlWeather Podcast.

Wild rice and ducks go together, like, well…. wild rice and ducks. An important duck food, wild rice also pairs well with many duck dishes. DrMike talks with young entrepreneur, McKinley Dixon of Northern Latitude Foods, producers of organic wild rice from Idaho. A family business – they harvest wild rice by home made airboat, an airplane engine repurposed that captures rice brought to the wild lakes of northern Idaho, first likely brought into the lakes by ducks, the wild rice now thrives and so does Northern Latitude Foods. That, some updates on tropical systems, increasing drought, a La Nina update, and so much more on this week's episode of The FowlWeather Podcast.

Finding faith in the fact that it will again get COLD, DrMike takes us through the current wetland conditions in the US, talks crop production and its impact on ducks, duck shooting rhetoric 101, the lazy Atlantic tropical storm season to date, and he meets with Ryan Burnett of Pattern Pros – an innovative company looking to make your waterfowl shooting more successful and satisfying.

The results are in my friends. Duck country is alive and well. The 2024 Waterfowl Breeding Population and Habitat Survey, the BPOP, shows a total breeding duck population up 5% from 2023 in the traditional survey areas, but the devil is in the details. The harvest results are also in from the 2023- 2024 duck season and DrMike breaks down all these results on this special BONUS EPISODE of The FowlWeather Podcast.

Story telling with a dabble of science is on the menu in this last episode of the summer season before dive headlong into the Fall hunting seasons. Hold onto your summer shorts folks…..“Like a screaming jet those blue-wings ate my world like nothing I'd ever seen. Before I could move a barrel they shot through the decoys, but then they banked, they turned and did a 360 first going skyway, but then coming back down and back our way. The safety clicked, “get ready” said the brain, and those same words came out of my mouth by shear reaction. On their return through, as they took a pause in flight over the decoys, we lit em' up and dropped 4 out of 8, plop times 4 they went and their brothers, sisters, mommas and pappas went rippin on to their next adventure; maybe they'd see the next gun on the area, or maybe they'd next see the Yucatan.”

What will the 2024-2025 weather bring? It is still a long way off, but there are some strong trends developing. The meteorological Fall is September to November and first looks are coming into focus. The FowlWeather Podcast provides a first look at the coming season! Wealso cover how we make duck migration forecasts, where we make forecasts, and we introduce The FowlWeather Podcast photographer of the year, Matt Miseciwz.

The FowlWeather Podcast welcomes John Devney, policy guru with Delta Waterfowl Foundation to talk action on the prairies to conserve duck habitat. Policies differ greatly between the US and Canada, and John takes us down the rabbit hole about ways to conserve wetlands in prairie Canada. We also lean hard into what Delta is doing to study duck population biology to inform duck harvest policy and management.

The FowlWeather Podcast covers conditions on the Canadian Prairies with Frank Baldwin, Wildlife Biologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada (Canadian Wildlife Service). We also hit on all things ducks and geese in his wonderful part of the world. Born and raised around the Oak Hammock Marsh area, Frank has a wonderful history and wealth of knowledge about arctic nesting geese and prairie ducks and all things Manitoba and beyond. Join us as we chat with Frank about the critical nesting grounds in Canada for ducks that distribute across the continent.

No single omnibus policy influences duck habitat more than the Farm Bill, we meet with Julia Peeples who spends much of her time on Capital Hill bringing forth the interests of ducks and duck people from across duck country to the decision-makers we all elect, we dig deep into the current Farm Bill, how it helps ducks (or doesn't) and what to expect from the Farm Bill for the next five years…how will it help the ducks?

Sam Kucia is a passionate hunter-conservationist completing his PhD at South Dakota State University, located in NE SD. We cover wetland conditions this spring throughout his region, crop prices and CRP as drivers of conservation, wetland drainage, conservation challenges on the prairies, his experience last year after that early freeze followed by extreme warm, and much, much more including an amazing 160 class buck harvest story. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fowlweather/message

Breaking news on changes in pintail bag limits, your Duck Stamps at work, who funds wetland restoration, habitat management on refuges for ducks, duck hunt management, the ducky weather or lack of ducky weather last year, and food for ducks. With 20 years of experience at Iroquois NWR, Paul brings an amazing wealth of information about sustaining ducks, other wetland wildlife, and all the great people across duck country USA! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fowlweather/message