Ep. 119 Tracking the Flyway with Cory Overton

Jeff Smith and Carson Odegard sit down with Cory Overton for a data-driven look at what really happened during this season’s migration. Instead of relying on blind chatter and guesswork, Cory breaks down what tagged birds actually showed—how prolonged fog affected movement, why a warm winter kept birds north longer than usual, and how some California-marked ducks are spending more time in places like the Northeast Zone, Klamath, and other areas north of the Sacramento Valley.

Episode highlights

• What the tags revealed this season — GPS-marked birds helped explain why many hunters felt like the “big push” never really came.
• Fog and warm weather effects — prolonged fog and one of the warmest winters on record appear to have slowed or altered normal migration timing.
• Local vs. migratory birds — some mallards and gadwall tagged in California are molting north of the Valley and, in some cases, barely leaving those regions at all.
• How far birds really move — the conversation gets into flight speed, regional shifts, and why some birds bump around California rather than making dramatic southbound moves.
• Where ducks are sitting now — Cory explains where large concentrations of birds are holding in early spring and why those areas remain attractive.
• Mexico, Baja, and Southern California connections — the crew also digs into which species continue farther south, and how often marked birds show up in places like Wister, Baja, or mainland Mexico.
• The future of tracking tech — from GPS units to more advanced devices that could one day measure energy burn and flight conditions, Cory explains where waterfowl science is headed next.
• Why recovered tags matter — as tracking tools get smaller and store more onboard data, getting those devices back from hunters will become even more important.

If you’ve ever wondered where the birds actually went, why they stalled out, or what modern science can tell us about the migration, this episode is packed with insight straight from the data.

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