Mid James Valley Duck Migration Forecast

Huron, Redfield and the Wolsey bottoms. River and stock-dam country with heavy corn feeds either side of it.

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

Where Mid James Valley is

Mid James Valley is drawn from 7 counties in South Dakota: Beadle, Hand, Hyde, Jerauld, Miner, Sanborn and Spink. 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 Mid James Valley 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 Mid James Valley

3 upstream stations feed this region's freeze line, nearest first: Jamestown, ND, about 170 miles north, Bismarck, ND, about 200 miles northwest and Devils Lake, ND, about 250 miles north. When those stations ice over, the score here starts climbing before anything changes in the local sky.

Radar over Mid James Valley

Each morning DuckCast reads the night’s NEXRAD data from KABR, the National Weather Service radar at Aberdeen, about 65 miles north of the region’s weather point. That puts the radar just outside the region, near enough to see birds lifting off and passing close by. 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 Mid James Valley 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 South Dakota

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

Glacial Lakes, about 60 miles northeast
Prairie Coteau, about 75 miles northeast
Sand Lake and the Upper James, about 75 miles north
Big Sioux Corridor, about 90 miles southeast
Oahe and the Missouri, about 95 miles west
Lewis and Clark, about 120 miles south
Grand River Country, about 205 miles west
Cheyenne River and the Hills, about 235 miles west

Live migration map

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