FowlWeather Podcast

We welcome Cory Highway to The FowlWeather Podcast Young Waterfowl Professional Series. Cory Highway is a Ph. D. student at Tennessee Tech University, working under the guidance of Dr. Bradley Cohen. His research centers on the ecology of wintering mallards in western Tennessee, with a particular focus on enhancing landscape connectivity for wintering waterfowl. A dedicated outdoorsman, Cory is pa...

Among the absolute cornerstones of waterfowl conservation and management is banding data. While recovery rates of bands on passerines like chickadees might be 2% at best, because waterfowl are harvested species, we have an abundance of recovery data to use in population modeling for tracking migration. Why is banding data so vital to waterfowl management in North America? Find out today on The Fow...

We welcome Hannah Sabatier, Hannah is our first Canadian born guest on the Young Waterfowl Professionals Series, hailing from Manitoba, she has been working on the prairie since 2018, but new to working with breeding waterfowl for the past 3 years. Hannah just completed her MS degree at UW Steven’s Point w Dr. Ben Sedinger on drone detection of waterfowl, and will be headed to work with Dr. Mitch...

How does the USFWS and Canadian Wildlife Service track waterfowl harvest? How do they track the number of waterfowl hunters and their harvest? Today on The FowlWeather Podcast we cut through the BS to report the facts about how we keep track of duck harvest and hunter metrics. In response to a massive amount of misinformation coming across your wavelengths, The FowlWeather Podcast embarked on the ...

We welcome Dr. Ryan Askren, Ryan works to promote science-based, waterfowl management on the landscape through Five Oaks’ research and education program near Stuttgart, AR. He is principal investigator on several mallard movement ecology projects and research related to bottomland hardwood regeneration with the goal of improving our understanding of waterfowl-habitat relationships to inform better...

In response to a massive amount of misinformation coming across your wavelengths,The FowlWeather Podcast embarked on the 2025 DataStream Series. It can be attractive to find conspiracies that help explain what you observe as a duck hunter, or maybe you’ve even thought up some fun fake news yourself. The reality is that the long history of data used in waterfowl conservation and management in North...

All of us in the profession of Waterfowl and Wetlands science, conservation, and management came from somewhere, these are the stories of young, passionate conservationists that have made their passion for the ducks into a career.  Catrina Terry is the waterfowl research scientist for Ducks Unlimited’s Great Plains Region. Catrina started with DU in May 2021 to head up the undergraduate research p...

With turkey seasons open across the south and turkeys starting to strut their stuff all the way to Canada there is no better time to talk turkeys. What do the experts have in common? How do they tag out wherever they go? Also, we tackle a tough one, why are turkeys tanking including a hypothesis that my own lab at ESF has started to tackle? Is it habitat, is it predators, is it disease, is it weat...

All you ever wanted to know about king greenhead in this 4 part series about the History of the North American Mallard. In our final episode in this series, we talk to Dr. Phil Lavretsky and PhD student Dominic Hockenbury about ongoing mallard genetics research in North America. Are wild mallards doomed by game-farm genetics? What is the future of the wild North American mallard?

All you ever wanted to know about king greenhead in this 4 part series about the History of the North American Mallard. In Part 3, we hit the highlights about changes to the mallard population through time and our historical and current approach to harvest management. Why did we have restrictive seasons before but not today? We also talk turkeys, the breakup of the Polar Vortex, and nasty narrativ...

All you ever wanted to know about king greenhead in this 4 part series about the History of the North American Mallard. In Part 2, we hit the highlights about what makes the greenhead population tick. What runs the mallard population? How does winter, spring, and summer make the mallard machine run? Dead hens don’t lay eggs, right? But fat hens do, and once those ducklings hatch, what do they need...

All you ever wanted to know about king greenhead in this 4 part series about the History of the North American Mallard. Species split into black ducks, mottled ducks, Mexican ducks, and the greenheaded mallard. With 14 mallard like ducks across the globe the greenheaded mallard is the most widespread. We start out with a quick update on the Polar Vortex for our weather nerds, clean up some mallard...

How did The FowlWeather Podcast long-term predictions about fall and winter weather affecting duck migration play out? Find out today on this jam packed episode of The FowlWeather Podcast. Do you nerd out about weather and duck migration? This is the episode for you!

The conspiracies, mis information, lack of judgement in comment, and tearing down of the waterfowl community must end. DrMike is fed up and digs through the latest and greatest of the idiocracy coming across your wave lengths about the state of waterfowl across North America…that and we dig into some of the latest mallard, redhead, and canvasback population models – is it guns or habitat that run...

Where the heck are the ducks? Well, there are less of them for sure. DrMike breaks down the polar plunge forecast, how food really matters, is your lease just junk, male to female ratios in the harvest and your duck migration forecast, all this week on The FowlWeather Podcast.

More of the Florida boys, tales of falling in the marsh, what happens in Florida on a cold front? Part 2 of the Floridians at the farm in Jack Reef. Join us for Part 2 of this fun filled Kitchen Conversation, we learned so much about Florida from the Florida Boys. Among many things, mottled ducks and hybridization with game-farm mallards are on the menu in this episode of the Kitchen Conversation.

A naïve observer would think that everyone lies in the duck world. The biologists lie about numbers and locations of winter ducks, the hunters lie about not seeing ducks, the hunters lie about killing ducks, the non-profits lie about flooded corn to the north, the biologists lie about the number of ducks on the continent. Lies, Lies, Lies. DrMike cuts through the BS in another information packed e...

Some Floridians do the reverse migration and come to the farm at Jacks Reef to talk ducks, gators, frozen iguanas, Mosquito Lagoon, and about a place called “the Zoo”. Join us for another fun filled episode of the Kitchen Conversations, we learned so much about Florida duck hunting.

It has been days since the October sun and the real cold is coming. Reflection on the duck season and thoughts on the cold to come….we also rebut comments about Episode 67 – Why Every State Needs a Draw Hunt For Ducks. All you did was justify the comment…that, what do ducks do when it gets really cold?….and the week duck migration forecast…. all on this and more in this episode of The FowlWeather...

DrMike and DrNick Masto debate telemetry while driving around the Montezuma Wetlands Complex. DrMike works to not give away all his hunting spots, but the main point of the discussion between DrMike and DrNick is to showcase how scientists debate and discuss controversial topics. At the end of the day, we are all friends and focused on making the information we use to manage waterfowl better. We m...

Bring on the hate mail, but survey says….you need a draw hunt. DrMike details how surveys tell us what all hunters want, but what states are too afraid of the politics to pull the trigger on. Overcrowding, boat races, and swamp fights ta’ boot, gotta’ love a good ole duck hunt in the new age though, right?

Merry Christmas from The FowlWeather Podcast Team! The weather maps are red, showing warmer than average through Christmas, but does that mean cold barrels? The FowlWeather Podcast Team dissects the weather in detail, forecasts into January, we talk hunting ducks in the heat, thoughts on cleaning and eating ducks, and your duck migration forecast, all this week on The FowlWeather Podcast.

As our good friend and mentor Dr. Dave Ankney used to say “The Good Ole Days Are Now”. In this episode, From deer to wood ducks to turkeys and beyond, we have more to be thankful for than not. DrMike reflects with optimism and a passion for the ducks, the wetlands they depend on, and all the great duck people across duck country. All that, and another exciting duck migration forecast for the comin...

We talk to biologists in South Carolina, Mississippi, Arkansas, Texas, and Missouri about the state of duck migration so far this year. Great insights from the experts, where to find FowlWeather Podcast hoodies, hats, and stickers, the week 1 Listener Appreciation FowlWeather Podcast Sweepstakes winner is announced, and your migration forecast, all this week!

More of the Merg Squad at Bard’s Barndaminium – DrMike once again sits down with Frack and Bard to talk mergs and all things ducks in Jacks Reef country. We also have a bit of Merganser Trivia for y’all. Join us this week on another episode of the Kitchen Conversations, raw, mic’d up conversations with duck hunters across duck country, USA.