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Currituck Sound and the Outer Banks

Currituck and Dare: Currituck Sound from Knotts Island down, and the Roanoke and Croatan sounds behind the Banks. Nearly fresh water moved by the wind, with divers, swans, snow geese and pintail.

4.0

Stable / Staging

Stable Birds / Staging

High confidence↑ +0.3 last 24hGreen-winged Teal 3.8

Wood Ducks score, conditions as of Thu, Oct 8, 6:00 PM

Currituck Sound and the Outer Banks

3.9

Steady temps

Legal light 5:36 AMSunrise 6:06 AMSunset 5:37 PM🌘 Waning crescent · 4%

5AM6NNW · 64°
6AM3NW · 64°
7AM4N · 65°
8AM7N · 70°
9AM8NNE · 72°
10AM9NNE · 72°
11AM7NNE · 74°
7.0Decoy score · WorkableLow overcast keeps birds low and honest

Best window: Legal light (5:36 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.

Ponds, swamps and impoundments: OpenMarsh, creeks and canals: OpenThe open sounds and big lakes: Open0 freezing degree-days over the last two weeks (estimated from air temps until the satellite ice feed lands)

Water on the landscape: Dry fall: birds concentrated on remaining water (60% of North Carolina in drought, US Drought Monitor).

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  • Corn harvest roughly 88% complete, heavy field feed available

Fair

Corn harvest roughly 88% complete, heavy field feed available. Strongest window: Sat into Sun.

Wood Ducks
4.0Thu83.9Fri9

Days 8 through 14 sit beyond the reliable forecast window and lean on season history. Read them as a trend, not a promise.

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.

Cold front / temp trend32% weight
1.9

Flat temperature trend

Wind direction + speed16% weight
4.0

Light or variable winds

Freeze north of region3% weight
1.5

0% of upstream hours below 28°F

Snow advance upstream1% weight
1.5

Little to no snow upstream

Local open water / holding24% weight
8.1

60% of the state in drought: less water, and birds stacked on what is left

Season timing21% weight
2.9

Outside the main migration window

Crop harvest / field feed3% weight
5.7

Corn ~88%, beans ~15% (typical-progress estimate)

Hunter reports0% weight
5.0

No reports in the last 72h, so this factor is not counted

Pro

The 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.

Pro

Last 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.

72°Fnow
S 6 mphwind
↓ 5°next 24h, falling
DayHi / LoWindSnow
ThuOct 882° / 55°SSW 9 mph
FriOct 975° / 63°NE 9 mph
SatOct 1072° / 63°ENE 18 mph
SunOct 1176° / 70°SSE 24 mph
MonOct 1275° / 66°W 15 mph
TueOct 1371° / 64°WNW 10 mph
WedOct 1483° / 62°N 13 mph
Pro

What 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.