Wildfowl_-_September_2019

up and we were soon in position
for the next group.
“The hunting is better here in
December when sections of river up
north freeze,” Scott said. “The ducks

push down to open water. There are
times when we get new migrants
daily. The goose hunting is excellent
too, especially Canada geese. We
enjoy many quality waterfowl hunts
on the river.”

WHY THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI?

The inf lux of waterfowl on the

upper Mississippi is partly because

of waterfowl’s annual migration pat-

terns that lead to the 240,000-acre

Upper Mississippi River National

Wildlife and Fish Refuge located

in four states: Minnesota, Wiscon-

sin, Iowa and Illinois. Established in

1924, the refuge encompasses one of

the largest blocks of floodplains in

the lower 48 states. Unlike the Lower

Mississippi, much of the upper river

is a series of pools created by a sys-

tem of locks and dams. A combina-

tion of these flowing river pools and

the refuge attract waterfowl in sig-

nificant numbers.

“The Refuge is open to public

hunting, however there are por-

tions that are not so hunters should

look at the Refuge maps and obey

signs in the field,” said Sabrina

Chandler, refuge manager. “The

Refuge is open to hunters during

state seasons and there are no reser-

vations or drawing with the excep-

tion of our Potter’s Marsh unit in

the Savanna District. Regularly we

see about 50 percent of the conti-

nental population of canvasbacks

and about 20 percent of the Eastern

population of tundra swans migrat-

ing through the refuge each fall.”

This natural migration path is

loaded with food, like arrowhead,

The ducks came in looking

like piñatas on a string,

getting bigger with each wingbeat

in the early-morning light.

© Charlie Long

wildfowlmag.com September 2019 | WILDFOWL Magazine 97