Louisiana Duck Migration Forecast

Where LA birds come from

Conditions across south Arkansas, the Mississippi Delta and northeast Texas usually predict arrivals here 24 to 72 hours out.

DuckCast watches the lower valley for the freeze and snow that start birds moving, then reads NEXRAD after dark to see whether they actually flew. The upstream picture is why a score can rise here before anything changes in your own sky.

The 9 regions we score in Louisiana

Every region gets its own daily score. Reports are generalized to the region, so nobody burns your spot.

• Southwest Coastal Marsh

  Cameron and Vermilion parish marsh from Rockefeller across to Sabine. The single largest duck concentration in North America most Januaries, and it almost never locks.

• Southwest Rice Prairie

  Jefferson Davis, Acadia and Calcasieu rice and crawfish ground behind the marsh. What holds birds here is whether the ponds are flooded for crawfish, which is a farming decision more than a weather one.

• Atchafalaya Basin

  The largest river swamp on the continent, from Butte La Rose down to Morgan City. River stage moves the hunting here more than temperature does.

• Terrebonne and Lafourche Marsh

  Brackish and intermediate marsh south of Houma. Gadwall, teal and grey ducks in numbers, and it holds birds after a freeze has shut the interior down.

• Barataria and Delacroix

  The marsh either side of the river below New Orleans, out to the Delacroix and Plaquemines leases. Tide and wind set the water here, not ice.

• Catahoula and Little River

  Catahoula Lake and the Little River Basin, flown on LDWF's survey alongside the coast. Wild millet in the basin center is what the pintails come for.

• Northeast Delta

  Tensas, Madison, Franklin and Concordia. The same alluvial valley as the Grand Prairie and the Yazoo, and the only ground in Louisiana where mallards are the point.

• Ouachita and Boeuf

  Russell Sage, the Boeuf bottoms and the Ouachita River brakes. Flooded green timber when the river cooperates, and dry holes when it does not.

• Red River and Northwest

  Caddo, Bossier and the Red River lakes down through Natchitoches. The thinnest duck ground in the state, and the first of it to freeze.

Common questions about Louisiana

When does the duck migration peak in Louisiana?

DuckCast's season model puts the gadwall peak in Louisiana around mid January. That is a modelled typical curve, not a prediction for any single year: the actual push depends on cold fronts and freeze-up upstream, which is what the daily score tracks. Always confirm season dates with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

Where do Louisiana's ducks come from?

Conditions across south Arkansas, the Mississippi Delta and northeast Texas usually predict arrivals here 24 to 72 hours out. DuckCast reads conditions across the lower valley and watches for the freeze that pushes birds south, so a LA hunter sees the push building before it arrives.

Which parts of Louisiana does DuckCast cover?

All 9 regions: Southwest Coastal Marsh, Southwest Rice Prairie, Atchafalaya Basin, Terrebonne and Lafourche Marsh, Barataria and Delacroix, Catahoula and Little River, Northeast Delta, Ouachita and Boeuf, Red River and Northwest. Each gets its own daily score. Locations are always region-level; DuckCast never collects or shows exact hunting spots.

Does DuckCast use weather radar in Louisiana?

Yes. DuckCast decodes raw NEXRAD Level II volumes from the 5 National Weather Service radar sites covering Louisiana, and reads how much bird mass lifted off after sunset and which way it tracked. Separately, 8 upstream weather stations across the lower valley feed the freeze line; those are weather reports, not radar. Radar sees every bird in the air, not just ducks, so read it as evidence that a migration happened rather than a duck count.

When is the best time to duck hunt in Louisiana?

For gadwall, the modelled peak in Louisiana falls around mid January, and the strongest hunting is usually the weeks on either side of it. Inside that window the best mornings follow a cold front with a hard freeze across the lower valley and a north wind behind it, which is exactly what the daily LA score measures. Season dates are set by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, and the peak is a modelled typical year rather than a promise about this one.

Where can I find a Louisiana waterfowl report?

Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries publishes the official Louisiana regulations and, during the season, survey counts and reports, so start there for anything legal. DuckCast adds a daily migration score for each of the 9 LA regions, built from live weather, the freeze across the lower valley, crop progress and hunter reports, and each morning it reads NEXRAD radar to say whether birds actually moved over the region after dark. Hunter reports filed in the app are generalized to the region, never to a spot.