Here is an interesting blog post that I found by Doug Leier of the North Dakota game and Fish, sounds like the warm winter means that a lot of waterfowl won't have to travel to far to go back to their summer homes when the spring migration starts in March or April...
Doug Leier, North Dakota Outdoors and beyond --- The North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s annual midwinter waterfowl survey in early January showed 279,000 birds, a record high for the number of ducks and geese wintering in the state.
Mike Szymanski, migratory game bird biologist, said an estimated 90,000 Canada geese were observed on the Missouri River, and another 70,500 were scattered on Lake Sakakawea, which was completely open east of the Van Hook Arm. After summarizing the numbers, a record 190,000 geese were tallied statewide.
“This year’s survey was highly abnormal, and numbers of waterfowl within the state were probably underestimated because of the open water and lack of snow statewide,” Szymanski said. “The lack of snow cover was especially important in keeping these birds around.”
A mild, dry fall with record-setting warm temperatures kept the birds here longer than usual, Szymanski said, with snow geese remaining in the southern half of the state until early December
