Oregon Duck Migration Report 2026

Duck observations in Oregon usually climb from the week of Oct 5 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 Apr 13. 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.

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (Summer Lake Wildlife Area) runs the Summer Lake Wildlife Area Weekly Waterfowl Counts, last counted on October 7, 2026 (31,865 ducks). U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge Complex flew the Klamath Basin refuge aerial waterfowl survey (Lower Klamath and Tule Lake NWR); the last season it was flown peaked at 334,732 ducks on March 7, 2025, and the agency has since ended the survey. Each count links to the agency's own report.

In Oregon, wood duck climb first, from around the week of Aug 10, and common goldeneye come last, from around the week of Nov 16. 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.

Oregon is in the Pacific Flyway. The western corridor from Alaska down the coast states and Great Basin. The freeze watch for Oregon reads forecast lows at the Pacific Flyway's northern staging areas: Freezeout Lake, Klamath Falls.

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, Oregon included.

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