Western Piedmont and the Mountains
Charlotte and the Triad west to the mountains: Lake Norman, High Rock and the river sloughs and beaver ponds of the foothills. Light pressure, and wood ducks that leave the high ground for the winter.
Stable / Staging
Off-Season for This Species
4.7
Conditions
0.1
Birds here
Conditions here are scoring 4.7 this morning, and that number is the same for every duck on this water. The black ducks score is held at 2.1 because the black ducks numbers in this region read 0.1 out of 10 for the date. A good morning on birds that have not arrived is still a quiet morning.
Black Ducks score, conditions as of Thu, Oct 8, 7:00 PM
Today's Hunt · Thursday, Oct 8
Western Piedmont and the Mountains
Warming 6° vs yesterday
Legal light 5:56 AMSunrise 6:26 AMSunset 6:01 PM🌘 Waning crescent · 9%
Best window: Legal light (5:56 AM) to 10:00 AM
No push wind forecast; first light is the best bet
Held to the season curve: conditions are better than the black duck numbers here this time of year
- 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
- Held to the season curve: conditions are better than the black duck numbers here this time of year
- Corn harvest roughly 88% complete, heavy field feed available
- Off-season: the main migration window has not opened yet
48-Hour Outlook
Poor
Held to the season curve: conditions are better than the black duck numbers here this time of year. Corn harvest roughly 88% complete, heavy field feed available. Strongest window: Thu into Fri.
14-Day Score Outlook
Black 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.
Temps falling ~5°F into the next 48h
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
Outside the main 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 | 84° / 54° | W 6 mph | |
| FriOct 9 | 80° / 58° | NNE 9 mph | |
| SatOct 10 | 64° / 53° | NE 15 mph | |
| SunOct 11 | 70° / 56° | NNE 8 mph | |
| MonOct 12 | 75° / 58° | NW 10 mph | |
| TueOct 13 | 83° / 56° | W 4 mph | |
| WedOct 14 | 87° / 60° | W 5 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.