Nebraska Coverage
Sandhills Lakes Duck Migration Forecast
Cherry County and the Crescent Lake country. Hundreds of shallow lakes between the dunes, and the only region here that looks like prairie pothole ground.
See today’s live scoreAll of NE
Season dates: Nebraska duck season 2026-27, dates and migration timing
Where Sandhills Lakes is
Sandhills Lakes is drawn from 12 counties in Nebraska: Arthur, Blaine, Boone, Cherry, Garfield, Grant, Hooker, Logan, Loup, McPherson, Thomas and Wheeler. 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 Sandhills Lakes 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 Sandhills Lakes
3 upstream stations feed this region's freeze line, nearest first: Winner, SD, about 105 miles northeast, Hot Springs, SD, about 145 miles northwest and Belle Fourche, SD, about 215 miles northwest. When those stations ice over, the score here starts climbing before anything changes in the local sky.
Radar over Sandhills Lakes
Each morning DuckCast reads the night’s NEXRAD data from KLNX, the National Weather Service radar at North Platte, about 35 miles southeast of the region’s weather point. That is close enough for the radar to sample the air over the region itself. 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 Sandhills Lakes 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.
- North Platte and McConaughy, about 75 miles south
- Panhandle, about 115 miles west
- Niobrara Country, about 115 miles east
- Central Platte, about 155 miles southeast
- Republican Valley, about 170 miles southeast
- Rainwater Basin, about 210 miles southeast
- Missouri River, about 245 miles east
- Lower Platte and Salt Valley, about 255 miles east
Season dates and regulations change. Always verify with Nebraska Game and Parks. DuckCast forecasts conditions, not legal seasons.