Cape Fear Coast
Onslow, Pender, New Hanover and Brunswick: Holly Shelter, the Cape Fear river swamps and the White Oak marsh. The one stretch of the coast with a real lunar tide.
Stable / Staging
Stable Birds / Staging
Wood Ducks score, conditions as of Thu, Oct 8, 6:00 PM
Tomorrow's Hunt · Friday, Oct 9
Cape Fear Coast
Warming 4° vs yesterday
Legal light 5:42 AMSunrise 6:12 AMSunset 5:46 PM🌘 Waning crescent · 4%
Best window: Legal light (5:42 AM) to 10:00 AM
No push wind forecast; first light is the best bet
Corn harvest roughly 88% complete, heavy field feed available
- Dry fall: birds concentrated on remaining water
Season dates · Inland Duck Zone (west of I-95) October 15-17, November 7-28, and December 18, 2026 to January 30, 2027. Coastal Duck Zone (east of I-95) October 23-24, November 7-28, and December 17, 2026 to January 30, 2027. Youth and veteran days December 5, 2026 and February 6, 2027.
Times shown for the region center. Season dates and limits change yearly and by zone: verify with NC Wildlife.
Water Status
Water on the landscape: Dry fall: birds concentrated on remaining water (60% of North Carolina in drought, US Drought Monitor).
Why this score is moving
- Corn harvest roughly 88% complete, heavy field feed available
48-Hour Outlook
Fair
Corn harvest roughly 88% complete, heavy field feed available. Strongest window: Thu into Fri.
14-Day Score Outlook
Wood DucksDays 8 through 14 sit beyond the reliable forecast window and lean on season history. Read them as a trend, not a promise.
Inside the model
The score is a weighted blend of the drivers below, each rated 0 to 10 from current conditions. No black box: this is the whole model.
Warming ~2°F, no push trigger
Light or variable winds
0% of upstream hours below 28°F
Little to no snow upstream
60% of the state in drought: less water, and birds stacked on what is left
Inside the prime migration window
Corn ~88%, beans ~15% (typical-progress estimate)
No reports in the last 72h, so this factor is not counted
North of you
ProThe freeze line across the stations upstream of this region, station by station, so you see shallow water locking up before the birds arrive on it.
Radar check
ProLast night's NEXRAD read on whether birds actually moved: how much lifted off after sunset, which way it tracked, and how fast it flew under its own power once the wind at that altitude is subtracted out.
Local conditions
| Day | Hi / Lo | Wind | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| ThuOct 8 | 78° / 57° | W 5 mph | |
| FriOct 9 | 82° / 60° | NNE 8 mph | |
| SatOct 10 | 76° / 67° | ENE 15 mph | |
| SunOct 11 | 86° / 73° | S 12 mph | |
| MonOct 12 | 79° / 63° | W 11 mph | |
| TueOct 13 | 78° / 63° | W 5 mph | |
| WedOct 14 | 84° / 62° | WNW 8 mph |
Hunter intel
ProWhat other hunters reported in this region over the last 72 hours: species, how hard they were feeding, and whether the birds looked like new arrivals. Filing your own report is free and counts toward this region's score either way.