Sand Lake and the Upper James
Sand Lake refuge and the James River flats above Aberdeen. Enormous snow goose staging, with mallards using the river when the sheet water goes.
Stable / Staging
Pre-Season, Birds Still North
Snow Geese score, conditions as of Tue, Sep 15, 12:00 PM
Tomorrow's Hunt · Wednesday, Sep 16
Sand Lake and the Upper James
Steady temps
Legal light 6:43 AMSunrise 7:13 AMSunset 7:45 PM🌒 Waxing crescent · 23%
Best window: Legal light (6:43 AM) to 10:00 AM
No push wind forecast; first light is the best bet
Off-season: the main migration window has not opened yet
Times shown for the region center. Season dates and limits change yearly and by zone: verify with SD Game, Fish and Parks.
Water Status
Water on the landscape: Water on the landscape is in decent shape (0% of South Dakota in drought, US Drought Monitor).
Why this score is moving
- Off-season: the main migration window has not opened yet
48-Hour Outlook
Poor
Off-season: the main migration window has not opened yet. Strongest window: Tue into Wed.
14-Day Score Outlook
Snow GeeseDays 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 ~1°F, no push trigger
NW winds to 10 mph across 7 of the next 48h
0% of upstream hours below 28°F
Little to no snow upstream
Waters open, birds can stay and feed
Outside the main migration window
Corn ~2%, beans ~2% (typical-progress estimate)
No recent hunter reports in this region
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| TueSep 15 | 69° / 50° | W 13 mph | |
| WedSep 16 | 69° / 49° | SSE 17 mph | |
| ThuSep 17 | 79° / 53° | ENE 15 mph | |
| FriSep 18 | 63° / 57° | ENE 18 mph | |
| SatSep 19 | 59° / 54° | NE 11 mph | |
| SunSep 20 | 57° / 55° | NE 11 mph | |
| MonSep 21 | 56° / 53° | NE 10 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.