Oklahoma Duck Migration Report 2026

Duck observations in Oklahoma usually climb from the week of Oct 26 and reach their fall high around the week of Nov 9, and the share stays that high into January; they stay above the halfway mark between their July level and that high through the week of Mar 30. 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.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge runs the Weekly Waterfowl Survey, last counted on February 3, 2026 (8,452 ducks, 781 mallards). Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation runs the Waterfowl and Wetland Status Reports, last counted on January 15, 2026. Each count links to the agency's own report.

In Oklahoma, blue-winged teal climb first, from around the week of Aug 17, and mallard come last, from around the week of Nov 23. 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.

Oklahoma is in the Central Flyway. The Great Plains corridor from the Dakotas and Montana down through Texas. The freeze watch for Oklahoma 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, Oklahoma included.

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