Albemarle Sound Duck Migration Forecast

Where Albemarle Sound is

Albemarle Sound is drawn from 6 counties in North Carolina: Camden, Chowan, Gates, Hertford, Pasquotank and Perquimans. Those are the counties its shape on the DuckCast map is built from, so a hunter in any of them reads this region’s score.

Public ground with waterfowl hunting

• North River Game Land (Camden and Currituck counties): Permit-only impoundments; NCWRC lists wood duck, green-winged teal, ring-necked duck and black duck.

Seasons, permits, draws and open days change from year to year, so check the state wildlife agency’s rules, linked below, before you go.

When Albemarle Sound peaks

DuckCast’s season model puts the green-winged teal peak here around late December. The timing follows the statewide curve; what differs here is how many birds the model expects, below. That is a modelled typical curve, not a prediction for any single year. The actual push depends on cold fronts and freeze-up upstream, which is what the daily score tracks. Always confirm season dates with the state wildlife agency, linked below.

Which birds the model expects in Albemarle Sound

In DuckCast’s season model, the species that can score highest in Albemarle Sound are wood ducks, green-winged teal and Canada geese. Against the state as a whole, it expects more pintails, snow geese, black ducks and Canada geese in Albemarle Sound and fewer scoters, gadwall and wigeon.

Those weights come from harvest records, survey counts and the kind of water, not from a count taken here each season. They cap how high each species’ score can climb; the weather still has to bring the birds.

What DuckCast watches upstream of Albemarle Sound

6 upstream stations feed this region's freeze line, nearest first: Back Bay, VA, about 40 miles northeast, Hog Island, VA, about 60 miles north, Chincoteague, VA, about 130 miles northeast, Fredericksburg, VA, about 145 miles north, Blackwater, MD, about 145 miles north and Susquehanna Flats, MD, about 220 miles north. When those stations ice over, the score here starts climbing before anything changes in the local sky.

Radar over Albemarle Sound

Each morning DuckCast reads the night’s NEXRAD data from KAKQ, the National Weather Service radar at Wakefield, about 50 miles northwest of the region’s weather point. That puts the radar just outside the region, near enough to see birds lifting off and passing close by. Radar sees every bird in the air, not only ducks, so it confirms or questions the score rather than moving it.

Locations stay generalized

Hunter reports for Albemarle Sound are always shown at the region level. DuckCast never collects or displays exact coordinates, so filing a report here never burns a spot.