Lower Pee Dee and Waccamaw Duck Migration Forecast

Where Lower Pee Dee and Waccamaw is

Lower Pee Dee and Waccamaw is drawn from 5 counties in South Carolina: Dillon, Florence, Horry, Marion and Williamsburg. 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

• Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge (Horry and Marion counties): Tidal freshwater wetlands and old rice fields; waterfowl hunting is limited to Unit 1 tracts along the Great Pee Dee River.
• Little Pee Dee River Complex (Marion and Horry counties): SCDNR Category II area, open on the days and times SCDNR sets.
• Woodbury (Marion County): SCDNR Category II area; the Hass Pond area is closed to waterfowl hunting.
• Marsh WMA (Marion County): SCDNR Category II area, open on the days and times SCDNR sets.
• Wee Tee (Williamsburg County): SCDNR Category II area, open on the days and times SCDNR sets.

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 Lower Pee Dee and Waccamaw peaks

DuckCast’s season model puts the wood duck peak here around mid 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 Lower Pee Dee and Waccamaw

In DuckCast’s season model, the species that can score highest in Lower Pee Dee and Waccamaw are wood ducks, green-winged teal and mallards. Against the state as a whole, it expects fewer scoters, snow geese, wigeon, pintails, gadwall, blue-winged teal, green-winged teal and black ducks in Lower Pee Dee and Waccamaw.

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 Lower Pee Dee and Waccamaw

4 upstream stations feed this region's freeze line, nearest first: Jordan Lake, NC, about 125 miles north, Kerr Lake, NC, about 185 miles north, Roanoke River, NC, about 190 miles northeast and Pungo Lake, NC, about 205 miles northeast. When those stations ice over, the score here starts climbing before anything changes in the local sky.

Radar over Lower Pee Dee and Waccamaw

Each morning DuckCast reads the night’s NEXRAD data from KLTX, the National Weather Service radar at Wilmington, about 55 miles east 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 Lower Pee Dee and Waccamaw are always shown at the region level. DuckCast never collects or displays exact coordinates, so filing a report here never burns a spot.