Montana Duck Migration Report 2026

Duck observations in Montana usually climb from the week of Oct 26 and reach their fall high around the week of Nov 9; they stay above the halfway mark between their July level and that high through the week of Jan 12. That is from ten years of research grade iNaturalist observations, 2016 to 2025, counted as a share of all bird observations so the growth of the app does not skew it.

The nearest count flown this fall on the Central Flyway is the KDWP Bi-weekly Waterfowl Survey in Kansas, run by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Kirwin National Wildlife Refuge (on the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks form), counted on September 18, 2026 (18 ducks, 1 mallard, added up from the published species counts). In Montana itself, this week's iNaturalist observations are the running record.

In Montana, bufflehead climb first, from around the week of Oct 19, and common goldeneye come last, from around the week of Dec 7. That is the week each species' share of bird observations first passes the halfway mark between its July level and its fall high; the species chart shows all of them week by week.

Montana is in the Central Flyway, with its western edge in the Pacific Flyway. The Great Plains corridor from the Dakotas and Montana down through Texas. The freeze watch for Montana reads forecast lows at the Central Flyway's northern staging areas: Devils Lake, Minot, Aberdeen, Valentine.

The 2026 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service breeding survey estimated 33.4 ± 0.6 million birds, 6% below the long-term average of 35.4 ± 0.09 million. That is the fall flight's starting point for every state, Montana included.

Season dates, zones and bag limits for Montana are set by the state wildlife agency inside the federal frameworks and are listed on the Montana waterfowl season page, linked below.