FROM THE FLYWAYS
GDW—good duck weather; BW—bluebird weather;—S snow; R—rain; F—freeze-up; T—temperature; SP—spotty flight; FF—fair flight; GF—good flight; EF—excellent flight; PG—poor gunning; FG—fair gunning; GG—good gunning; EG—excellent gunning; OP—outlook poor; OF—outlook fair; OG—outlook good; OVG—outlook very good; SO—season opens (or opened); SC—season closes (or closed)
MALLARD: MINNESOTA: After weeks of BW state reports GDW, with EF of mallards moving in ahead of blustering cold front. Specially heavy buildup in western Minnesota from Ortonville to Wheaton. This week OVG, with temperatures 7° to 10° below normal and spiced with snow and rain.
PENNSYLVANIA: BW but FG for native birds on small lakes and farm ponds. GDW expected next week, with GF of northern ducks. SO in Bucks, Philadelphia and Delaware counties and on Delaware River bordering those counites November 3. Rest of state SO Oct. 10.
ALBERTA: Farmers welcoming gunners in wheat field potholes east of Red Deer as EF of mallards threshing wheat left by mowing machines by beating out grain with wings. Scout reports ducks so stuffed that when they hit frozen ground many burst like watermelons. EG/OVG.
NEW MEXICO: SO Nov. 2 but drought makes OP, and botulism outbreak at Elephant Butte Lake continues with heavy loss of birds (OUTDOOR WEEK, Oct. 29). State estimates bird census 30% less than 1955.
SNOW GOOSE: NORTH CAROLINA: EF expected Nov. 11 at Pea Island and OG. Refuge protected but guides available in adjacent areas.
PINTAIL: CALIFORNIA: FF of fresh birds improving bags in San Joaquin, Sacramento and Imperial valley areas. FG, with gunners averaging four birds per trip, which is one less than '55. Best bets in Imperial Valley are Finney-Ramer and Hazard Wister state units; in San Joaquin Valley around Wasco and Los Banos; in Sacramento Valley, rice fields and marshes near willows; OG.
OREGON: FF now moving into Willamette Valley, and FG along Willamette River, with birds decoying well in sloughs and backwaters. Summer Lake area in south central state well populated with pintails, and gunners report EG. Klamath Falls-Tulelake area also advises EG for hunters who take trouble to decoy potholes in Klamath marshlands; statewide OVG with GDW predicted.
BLACK DUCK: MASSACHUSETTS: Shirtsleeve spy advises BW but no lack of blacks, just the nor'easter it will take to get them moving. Cape Codders scoring by jump-shooting, and inland state ponds count excellent native population. Still OP until GDW.
CANADA GOOSE: MAINE: Still BW, but Merrymeeting Bay picking up steadily as honkers pour in, and agent insists OVG.
FLORIDA: SO Nov. 7, with 3,000 honkers all ready on St. Mark's Wildlife Refuge and OG. Controlled hunts permitted there Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays with purchase of special $3 stamp for each day.
NORTH CAROLINA: Fish and Wildlife reports 45,000 Canadas on Lake Mattamuskett, and peak will not be reached until late in month. Resident jingoist claims lake holds more honkers during winter than any other area in Atlantic flyway and even nation. FF also arriving Pea Island Refuge, and although no gunning permitted there guides available in adjacent areas such as Nags Head, Rodanthe, Hatteras and Ocracoke. No official count as yet from Currituck or Back Bay, but informal counts show more geese than usual for this time of year; OVG generally and SO Nov. 7.
BLUE GOOSE: LOUISIANA: 200,000 blues now in state and 100,000 of these in marshes around mouth of Mississippi, with EG until birds become skittish and congregate on safer mud flats. Other half scattered over southwestern area of state but most concentrated in refuges where water is available despite severe drought which has dried up most ponds in shooting country; OG.
ILLUSTRATION