West Central North Dakota Duck Migration Forecast

Rolling prairie south of Lake Sakakawea. Stock dams and small potholes; wind-driven hunts.

Season dates: North Dakota duck season 2026-27, dates and migration timing

Where West Central North Dakota is

West Central North Dakota is drawn from 4 counties in North Dakota: Billings, Dunn, McKenzie and Mercer. 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 West Central North Dakota peaks

DuckCast’s season model puts the mallard peak here around early 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 West Central North Dakota

3 upstream stations feed this region's freeze line, nearest first: Weyburn, SK, about 175 miles north, Regina, SK, about 235 miles north and Saskatoon, SK, about 380 miles northwest. When those stations ice over, the score here starts climbing before anything changes in the local sky.

Radar over West Central North Dakota

Each morning DuckCast reads the night’s NEXRAD data from KBIS, the National Weather Service radar at Bismarck, about 95 miles east of the region’s weather point. That is well outside the region, so treat the radar reading as area context rather than a measurement of this ground. 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 West Central North Dakota 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 North Dakota

Nearest first. Distances run between the regions’ weather points.

Southwest North Dakota, about 65 miles south
Northwest North Dakota, about 75 miles north
North Central North Dakota, about 105 miles northeast
Central North Dakota, about 115 miles east
South Central North Dakota, about 130 miles southeast
Northeast North Dakota, about 210 miles east
East Central North Dakota, about 220 miles east
Southeast North Dakota, about 235 miles east

Live migration map

Season dates and regulations change. Always verify with ND Game and Fish. DuckCast forecasts conditions, not legal seasons.