Northeast
This is a collection of all the Northeast Waterfowl Reports
BENEDICTINE WILDLIFE AREA - Last Updated: 9/11/2025
| Waterfowl numbers | Mallard Migration Rank: 1 (Estimate of potential mallard numbers. 1=lowest, 10=highest) No ducks observed using the area currently. |
| Water level | A map of our wetlands is now available under the Wetland Map tab to the right. The wetlands have great habitat such as, Giant Foxtail, Annual Smartweed, Barnyard grass, and sunflowers. We have pumped the northern section of Headquarters Marsh straight West of the office. Refuge (NOT open to hunting) October 1 through March 31 the area can only be accessed with a special permit obtained through a drawing. Look for "Special Hunts" on our home page under "HUNTING". |
| Hunting conditions | Native vegetation such as annual smart weeds, barnyard grass, foxtail, and sunflowers are the most common vegetation. |
| Expected hunting success | Hasn't been many ducks using the hurtable wetland. |
| Comments | The furthest West wetland has not been pumped and we are waiting for pump repairs before we will be able to use it. |
CLINTON - Last Updated: 9/12/2025
| Waterfowl | Current waterfowl numbers are very low.
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| Lake level | Lake Level is 876.44 (0.94 feet above pool) Conservation Pool is 875.50 Clinton Wildlife Area Refuge is OPEN (Closed October 1-January 15) |
| Hunting conditions | Wetland Pools Coblentz - All pools are currently near dry with a small amount collecting in the low spots of the SW, SE and middle pools. Good millet and smartweed with perimeter rows of standing corn. East Coblentz- Mostly dry. Food sources in pool are beggar's ticks and smartweed with some millet. Deep, open pool north side of marsh. Shadden- "Little Shadden" (South of Wakarusa) dry, with millets and smartweed; filled by rainfall only. "Big Shadden" South pool- standing and cut corn; North pool- small pool of water near structure, good millet with standing/harvested corn on perimeter of newly constructed marsh on the North side of the river. Open to hunting, needs rainfall for huntable water. Elk Creek- Elk Creek pool 1 is full, pools 2 and 3 are empty. The Refuge pool is roughly 3/4 filled. Elk creek marsh pools are numbered from West to East, with pool 1 next to Elk Creek boat ramp and parking lot. Food: moist-soil vegetation- millets, smartweed, and beggar's ticks. Cut corn with rows left standing in pools 1, 2, and 3. Additional rainfall and colder weather may change marsh conditions as well as local waterfowl numbers rapidly. ICE- N/A Lake- Lake level is just above normal pool. There are many shallow areas of the lake that offer mudflats for waterfowl hunting opportunities. Wildlife Area REFUGE is currently OPEN. Clinton W.A. Refuge will be CLOSED FROM OCTOBER 1ST, 2025 TO JANUARY 15TH, 2026. Please look for signage and the mowed line indicating the Western Refuge boundary. It runs North and South along the back side of pool 3. The East Refuge boundary extends half a mile east of County Rd. 1023, running parallel to the road, across the Wakarusa arm of Clinton reservoir. KDWP 2024-2025 Online Hunting Atlas Clinton contains miles of creeks, rivers and oxbows on the wildlife area; each of which has unique conditions and frequently hold waterfowl when weather and/or hunting pressure pushes them from marsh pools.
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| Expected hunting success | Poor |
| Comments | IMPORTANT! Clinton Wildlife Area is utilizing an electronic check-in system required of all hunters. To check-in / check-out, please go to https://ksoutdoors.com/checkin using your licensing login credentials. Please remember that trapping is also allowed on the Wildlife Area. Elk Creek (Wakarusa River) and Coon Creek (Lake) boat ramps are open. Rock Creek Boat ramp is closed; a gravel launch area for canoes and kayaks is available when lake is near or above normal pool (875.5). |
HILLSDALE - Last Updated: 2/10/2025
| Waterfowl Numbers | The Hillsdale Wildlife Area has experienced a relatively dry year in regards to water levels in 2024. The reservoir currently sits 2 feet below conservation pool. Due to the low water level of Hillsdale Reservoir, the wetlands were unable to be pumped this year. ALL WETLANDS ARE DRY. Waterfowl counts given on this report are based on what was observed on the day the report is updated. Waterfowl numbers vary greatly from day to day and weather conditions and hunting pressure will affect the numbers of waterfowl on the area. A waterfowl survey was conducted on 2/10/2025. The survey showed around 40 Canada geese on Hillsdale reservoir. Around 25 mallards, 75 goldeneye, 10 bufflehead, and 20 unidentified divers were also seen. |
| Water Level | Antioch Wetland - Empty Browns Wetland, Upper pool - Empty Browns Wetland, Lower pool - Empty Youth-Mentor Wetland - Empty Wade Branch Wetlands - North - Low, South - Low Hillsdale Lake - See Army Corps Daily Report ICE CONDITION - 70% ice cover on lake. 0% ice cover on wetlands |
| Comments | Reminder - check-in / check-out is required for all hunting on Hillsdale Wildlife Area. This can be done here, https://ksoutdoors.com/checkin using your licensing login credentials. The information and harvest data collected, along with comments received are very useful in establishing future management goals for the Hillsdale State Wildlife Area. https://www.ksoutdoors.com/Hunting/Migratory-Birds/Ducks for more information on seasons and limits. |
JEFFREY ENERGY CENTER - Last Updated: 1/15/2025
| Waterfowl numbers | Ducks: Mixed bag of around 150 ducks on area Geese: 5,000 snow geese and 2,000 canada geese on area. Auxillary lake is mostly frozen as of 1/15/25, which will make hunting difficult and decrease waterfowl numbers. |
| Water level | Normal |
| Hunting conditions | Poor-fair |
| Expected hunting success | Poor-fair |
| Comments | Make-up Lake is closed to waterfowl hunting during waterfowl season. Boats are not allowed on Auxillary lake during waterfowl season. Individuals wishing to hunt Unit #2 of the wildlife area must enter through the main gate and sign in at the guard house. Be sure to have a photo I.D. with you when checking in. Hunters are required to drive maintained roads only. A map will be provided to all hunters showing open roads as well as parking areas. Vehicles are allowed to park in parking areas only. |
MILFORD WILDLIFE AREA - Last Updated: 9/10/2025
| Waterfowl numbers | WATERFOWL REPORT UPDATED: 9/10/2025 Seeing only a handful of teal and wood ducks on the area. REMEMBER: Hunters are REQUIRED to check-in / check-out here, https://ksoutdoors.com/checkin using your licensing login credentials. |
| Water Levels | Current Lake Level is 1,144.88 and Conservation Pool is 1144.4 The dam is releasing 50 CFS. The inflow into the lake is 900 CFS. Sugarbowl is full. Lower Smith is currently being pumped. Youth/Mentor Area is not being pumped due to river being too low where pump is located. Beichter Wetland pump's electrical was damaged and currently under investigation. Pump will be functional in the next couple weeks. All other wetlands have no water due to infrastructure issues. |
| Hunting conditions | Vegetation growth and seed production has been above average this year with the amount of moisture we have received throughout the summer. Pockets of thick vegetation present in some wetlands that could result in difficulty finding down birds. 0% Ice Cover No activities/hunting allowed in the Steve Lloyd Wetland/Refuge. Motorized boats are only allowed in the Mall Creek wetland, electric motors are considered "motorized". All other public hunting wetlands are open to NON motorized boats and walk in hunting. |
| Expected hunting success | Fair. Moist soil plants will provide great habitat and food for this year. |
| Comments | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Do NOT drive on dikes. Vehicles disrupt and discourage waterfowl from using the wetland areas. We have had several dikes being damaged due to unauthorized vehicles driving on them. Scouting is best done on foot to evaluate bird numbers and habitat conditions. Please report any vehicles on dikes and anyone seen disturbing our pumps. Without the pumps in optimal condition we are unable to pump the wetlands to their greatest potential. Do NOT block gates, and pay attention to No Parking signs in the wetland parking lots. Hunter's need to be aware of their targets before shooting. The area is a no trash policy, so if you take it in, please bring it back out with you. This includes spent shotgun shells Fires are not permitted anywhere on the wildlife area. Violators will be ticketed Remember - Hunters can check-in / check-out here, https://license.gooutdoorskansas.com/. All hunters (youth included) must first register online. The information collected and comments received are very useful in establishing future management goals for the area. https://www.ksoutdoors.com/Hunting/Migratory-Birds/Ducks for more information on seasons and limits. |
PERRY WILDLIFE AREA - Last Updated: 9/11/2025
| Waterfowl Updates | A waterfowl survey was conducted on 9/11/25 and a few Teal and Wood Ducks were observed. Not many birds in the area yet.
ATTENTION WATERFOWL HUNTERS - LEGAL SHOOTING LIGHT IS FROM 3O MINUTES BEFORE SUNRISE TO SUNSET. *DON'T FORGET TO CHECK-IN / CHECK-OUT HERE, https://ksoutdoors.com/checkin using your licensing login credentials. Mallard Migration Rank = 0 (0 = no mallards 10 = peak migration)
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| Lake level | 2.27 Feet Above Conservation Pool |
| Habitat conditions | Mild flooding in the spring, followed by a dry spell for the bulk of the middle of the summer allowed for a great amount of pool work and supplemental food such as Japanese Millet and Sorghum strips being planted in multiple wetlands. Rains in the later half of the summer encouraged good native moist soil vegetation and helped with the vegetation planted as well.
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| Comments | Habitat Condition Rating (HCR): 1-10; 1-Poor habitat, 5-quality habitat, 10-Exceptional habitat Reminder: Gas powered boats are only allowed on the River, Lake, Sunset Ridge, Kyle East and West and Rucker wetland pools. Electric powered boats are allowed in all marsh pools. Kyle: No pumping has began yet at Kyle. West unit has a fair amount of water but launching of larger boats would likely not be possible yet. East Unit remains mostly empty. Utilized a drone to spray most of the invasive River Bulrush in the East unit of Kyle, but no mechanical manipulation was done due to wet conditions throughout the summer. HCR-5 West River: A significant amount of the upper and lower unit of West River as disked and planted to Japanese Millet with some sorghum strips throughout. In the lower unit, we utilized a drone to spray most of the invasive River Bulrush on the West side of the drainage ditch which did promote some growth of native moist soil vegetation underneath as the rush died down. Some pumping has been done and is continuing in the upper unit of West River for Teal season. HCR-8 Upper Ferguson: This wetland grew mostly native smartweed and has little water currently. The water control structure is currently removed and a new one is expected to be here to install in the next couple months or so. The refuge is closed Oct 1st thru Jan 15th to ALL Activity HCR-6. Lassiter: Water was held all year in both the East and West Unit of Lassiter which led to a large amount of perennial vegetation growth making the wetland fairly thick in the early season. Little open water is available until some of the vegetation starts to die down this fall/winter. Full pool. HCR-5 Northwest: This unit was mostly planted to corn and is awaiting harvest. No pumping will occur until after October 1 due to water right restrictions. The area not planted to corn was mostly disked and planted to Japanese Millet with sorghum strips in it as well. HCR-7 Headquarters: Corn was planted in this marsh and we will not collect water until after corn is harvested. HCR-7 Mitigation: Unit was drawn down this year to improve the access trail and mow down some of the thick perennial vegetation and trees that started to develop. No water collected yet. HCR-7 Hayward: Unit was drawn down and large portions of it disked and planted to Japanese Millet with some native moist soil vegetation response as well. No water collected yet. HCR-8 Reichart: Water was held in the NW Unit of Reichart and is near full now with marginal wetland vegetation because of holding water all summer. The rest of Reichart has no water with Corn on the NE end and native moist soil vegetation throughout the rest of the marsh. HCR-8. Zebra Mussels have been confirmed in the lake. Be sure to dry boats and equipment before moving to other waters. Please remember to fill out the permit with accurate information. THIS INFORMATION IS VERY IMPORTANT TO THE CURRENT AND FUTURE MANAGEMENT OF THE AREA. FILL OUT ONLY YOUR INDIVIDUAL HARVEST EFFORTS, i.e., NOT A GROUP HARVEST TOTAL. |
TUTTLE CREEK WILDLIFE AREA - Last Updated: 9/11/2025
| Waterfowl numbers | Teal numbers are average compared to other years in the past. It has been a hard time to get a decent observation of waterfowl numbers with the amount of water that is spread out from Fancy Creek north of the Hwy 16 bridge to the north to just south of the Olsburg Marsh. Black Vermillion has a good amount of water in the north pod and the south pod also. Olsburg Marsh is dry, but the river has plenty of water. |
| Water level | The lake is currently at 1082.45 which is 7.45' above conservation pool level. Out flow is 500 cfs and inflow is 1680 cfs. Water levels are good at the time with the recent rains and the river inflow. Black Vermillion has good water levels for both north and south pods. Olsburg and Irving Marsh are the only two marshes that does not have water. |
| Hunting conditions | Fair to Good_ moist soil production and abundant flooded vegetation. With the amount of water that area has, waterfowl and hunters will be able to spread out. |
| Expected hunting success | Fair. Reminder to make sure waterfowl are being identified with a few amounts of bigger ducks around. |
| Comments | Please check in using https://ksoutdoors.com/checkin prior to hunting Tuttle Creek Wildlife Area. Please be aware of the water level for boat use and ramps along the area. Hunters are encouraged to:
The bridge on Rolander Rd. is closed and shut down along the road. |