Wings over the Flyway: Mississippi’s winter waterfowl

By Logan Tomlinson, For the MSU Extension Service

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Each winter, the Mississippi Flyway reaches its seasonal peak as millions of waterfowl complete their migrations from northern breeding grounds to southern wintering areas.

Stretching from central Canada through the Midwest and down to the Gulf Coast, this flyway acts as a natural corridor guiding a variety of ducks and geese into Mississippi. As cold fronts sweep across the northern states and wetlands freeze over, birds are pushed steadily southward.

Mississippi lies in one of the most important stopover and wintering regions in the entire flyway, the lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley. It is critically important for numerous species of waterfowl, particularly mallards, and it provides stopover habitat for a large percentage of mid-continent water birds, wading birds and shorebirds.

December through January marks one of the most exciting times to watch this migration unfold. Wetlands, rivers and flooded fields across Mississippi are filled with birds seeking reliable food sources and safe resting areas.

For hunters, bird-watchers, landowners and anyone who enjoys the outdoors, this is the season when the landscape feels alive. Flocks move constantly across the sky, geese call overhead and every cold front seems to bring new arrivals into the state.

A diverse group of dabbling ducks arrives in significant numbers during December. Mallards, perhaps the most recognizable species in North America, hold tight and migrate into Mississippi after major freezes up north. Gadwalls and American wigeon take advantage of deep-water areas as well as shallow emergent wetlands and moist-soil units rich in seeds and aquatic plants.

Northern pintails keep arriving through early winter, and their well-known pointed tails make them instantly recognizable in flight. Northern shovelers, easily recognized by their large spoon-shaped bills, gather in swirling groups on shallow water as they filter small aquatic invertebrates and other food from the water. Green-winged teal are typically early migrants, often reaching Mississippi in the fall, but fresh cold fronts still bring new flocks into the state throughout December.

Mississippi also hosts a wide variety of diving ducks during this period. Canvasbacks and redheads stop along the Mississippi River and major reservoirs, sometimes forming dense rafts on deeper water. Redheads are particularly abundant along the gulf coast where they forage heavily on shoal grass. Lesser scaup and ring-necked ducks are among the most abundant diving duck species in the flyway.

Scaup frequent lakes, rivers, aquaculture ponds and our coastal wetlands, while ring-necked ducks prefer lakes, oxbows, deeper moist soil or emergent wetlands and flooded timber across the state. Hooded mergansers, with their dramatic fan-shaped crests, are another familiar sight during December. Hooded mergansers feed primarily on small fish and aquatic invertebrates, especially crayfish, diving through wooded wetlands and backwaters to capture their prey.

Goose migration is also in full swing by December. Large flocks of snow geese descend on open agricultural fields throughout the Delta. Their sheer numbers and near-constant calls create one of the most dramatic wildlife spectacles of the season.

Greater white-fronted geese, commonly called “specklebellies,” are another signature species of winter in Mississippi. Noted for their loud yodeling calls and distinctive barred bellies, they are strongly associated with the state’s rice and soybean regions. Canada geese, both migratory and resident birds, are widespread and often feed in pastures, harvested fields and along rivers and lakeshores.

December is one of the richest times to experience the Mississippi Flyway, as the state hosts an impressive variety of waterfowl relying on its natural wetlands, moist soil areas and associated agricultural lands. From fast-moving teal to the roar of snow geese lifting off a field, Mississippi’s winter migration highlights the importance of protecting and managing the habitats that sustain these birds year after year.