Nebraska Coverage
Republican Valley Duck Migration Forecast
Harlan County Reservoir and the Republican bottoms west to Red Willow. Big impoundments in dry country, so the birds concentrate hard.
See today’s live scoreAll of NE
Season dates: Nebraska duck season 2026-27, dates and migration timing
Where Republican Valley is
Republican Valley is drawn from 8 counties in Nebraska: Franklin, Frontier, Furnas, Gosper, Harlan, Hayes, Hitchcock and Red Willow. Those are the counties its shape on the DuckCast map is built from, so a hunter in any of them reads this region’s score.
When Republican Valley peaks
DuckCast’s season model puts the mallard peak here around mid November. This follows the statewide mallard curve. 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 state wildlife agency, linked below.
What DuckCast watches upstream of Republican Valley
3 upstream stations feed this region's freeze line, nearest first: Winner, SD, about 220 miles north, Mitchell, SD, about 250 miles north and Hot Springs, SD, about 310 miles northwest. When those stations ice over, the score here starts climbing before anything changes in the local sky.
Radar over Republican Valley
Each morning DuckCast reads the night’s NEXRAD data from KUEX, the National Weather Service radar at Hastings, about 45 miles east of the region’s weather point. That puts the radar just outside the region, near enough to see birds lifting off and passing close by. Radar sees every bird in the air, not only ducks, so it confirms or questions the score rather than moving it.
Locations stay generalized
Hunter reports for Republican Valley are always shown at the region level. DuckCast never collects or displays exact coordinates, so filing a report here never burns a spot.
Also covered in Nebraska
Nearest first. Distances run between the regions’ weather points.
- Central Platte, about 45 miles northeast
- Rainwater Basin, about 80 miles east
- North Platte and McConaughy, about 120 miles northwest
- Lower Platte and Salt Valley, about 150 miles east
- Niobrara Country, about 165 miles north
- Sandhills Lakes, about 170 miles northwest
- Missouri River, about 190 miles northeast
- Panhandle, about 245 miles northwest
Across the state line
- North Central Reservoirs, Kansas, about 65 miles southeast
- Northwest High Plains, Kansas, about 95 miles southwest
Season dates and regulations change. Always verify with Nebraska Game and Parks. DuckCast forecasts conditions, not legal seasons.