Southeast Missouri can be an outdoorsman's dream, and while the deer and turkey hunting can be really good, waterfowl hunting just may be the most popular hunting activity in the region.
Whether it be private lands with flooded rice and soybean fields or the Missouri Department of Conservation's multiple managed wetland areas, waterfowl hunters have plenty of opportunities.
Southeast Missouri sits at the northern end of an area biologists call the Mississippi alluvial valley, right in the middle of the Mississippi Flyway, which means it sees large numbers of migrating waterfowl each fall and winter.
Starting in early September, blue-winged and some green-winged teal arrive on their early migration southward, offering great hunting if weather conditions are right.
Not long after, other early migrants begin showing up on area wetlands, including gadwalls, pintails and others.
By November, mallards can be seen flocking into the region's flooded rice fields to eat before roosting in the evenings on large bodies of water. Large numbers of white-fronted geese and snow geese also begin to filter into the area, a sign of things to come.
By mid-December, duck and goose numbers typically peak, and, depending on weather patterns, large numbers of birds can remain in the region for long periods of time.
As the latter portion of the duck season arrives in January, mallards make up the majority of waterfowl seen and taken by hunters, though pintails, gadwalls, shovelers and green-winged teal can be very hardy and remain throughout the season.
While early-season hunting typically is better in open areas and shallow moist-soil lands, the late season ushers in what many describe as the Holy Grail of waterfowling - flooded timber hunting for mallards.
Public waterfowl hunting areas in the region are numerous, and MDC's flagship managed wetland property, the Otter Slough Conservation Area in Stoddard County, is the most popular. At times, the property can hold more than 70,000 ducks, and it draws large numbers of hunters as well because of its quality hunting and high success rates.
The recently-renovated Duck Creek Conservation Area in northern Stoddard County also is a popular duck hunting destination which provides a mix of open marsh and flooded timber hunting, while the adjacent Mingo National Wildlife Refuge allows hunting in two of its greentree reservoir pools. In fact, the hunting in Pool 8 is renowned nationally because it can be so good.
Both Otter Slough and Duck Creek/Mingo require hunters to draw for a hunting position daily.
For those who prefer a more pick-up-and-go style of duck hunt, the Coon Island Conservation Area in southern Butler County offers walk-in hunting in several flooded pools, and if the adjacent Black River is high enough, in some flooded timber as well.
Other public waterfowl areas nearby include the Ten Mile Pond Conservation Area in Mississippi County, the Little River Conservation Area in Dunklin and Pemiscot counties, plus some other, smaller properties.
Even after Missouri's duck season have come and gone, goose hunting remains popular, especially during the Light Goose Conservation Order, which begins in early February. It's not uncommon for hunters to take dozens of snow geese each day from the region's rice fields, where the birds feed voraciously.
Duck and goose hunting regulations and public lands information can be found online at mdc.mo.gov.