Good news: The prolific rain of the Midwest and East has been, to use the expression, “a great day for ducks.” The forecast for waterfowl season is strong, so don’t wait until the last minute to begin planning fall hunts. Summer is off-season in the duck world, a great time to research and buy new gear, talk about leases, and get pumped for action. Even if ducks are your deal, don’t forget the nuisance goose seasons that open in early September when bag limits are generous, the weather is accommodating, and goose populations are exploding. Here’s the latest, in an OutdoorHub post:

Shadow_Grass_Blades_6Habitat conditions seem to have improved over last year, or at least stayed relatively similar. Late spring rains were highly beneficial to the nation’s wetlands and the USFWS is now estimating pond numbers in the U.S. to be 41 percent higher than 2012. The proposed framework would allow duck and geese possession to reach three times the daily bag limit. It was previously two times the daily bag limit.

Information on individual states from America’s four flyways can be seen below, courtesy the USFWS: Atlantic Flyway (Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia)…

Get the full forecast of the four flyways.