Savannah River Lowcountry Duck Migration Forecast

Where Savannah River Lowcountry is

Savannah River Lowcountry is drawn from 5 counties in South Carolina: Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Hampton and Jasper. 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

• Savannah National Wildlife Refuge (Jasper County): Tidal freshwater marsh and former rice fields; waterfowl hunting is on the South Carolina North Tract.
• Coosawhatchie WMA (Jasper County): Part SCDNR Category I lottery hunts and part Category II.
• Turtle Island (Jasper County): SCDNR Category II area, open on the days and times SCDNR sets.
• Tillman Sand Ridge (Jasper County): SCDNR Category II area, open on the days and times SCDNR sets.
• Meyer Lake HP (Jasper 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 Savannah River Lowcountry 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 Savannah River Lowcountry

In DuckCast’s season model, the species that can score highest in Savannah River Lowcountry are wood ducks, green-winged teal and mallards. Against the state as a whole, it expects more pintails and blue-winged teal in Savannah River Lowcountry and fewer scoters and snow geese.

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 Savannah River Lowcountry

5 upstream stations feed this region's freeze line, nearest first: Lake Norman, NC, about 195 miles north, Asheville, NC, about 200 miles north, Jordan Lake, NC, about 235 miles northeast, Knoxville, TN, about 265 miles northwest and Roanoke River, NC, about 315 miles northeast. When those stations ice over, the score here starts climbing before anything changes in the local sky.

Radar over Savannah River Lowcountry

Each morning DuckCast reads the night’s NEXRAD data from KCLX, the National Weather Service radar at Charleston, about 19 miles southeast of the region’s weather point. That is close enough for the radar to sample the air over the region itself. 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 Savannah River Lowcountry are always shown at the region level. DuckCast never collects or displays exact coordinates, so filing a report here never burns a spot.