Waterfowl Density Layer

What is Waterfowl Density?

Waterfowl Density is a measure of where waterfowl are roosting—where they are settling in the early morning hours before heading out to feed or migrate. Think of it as a heatmap that helps you identify high-concentration areas of ducks and geese, so you can plan your next hunt with confidence.

FowlTracker uses a machine learning-powered roosting model that processes environmental data, habitat conditions, and radar inputs to estimate where birds are settling at dawn. Areas with higher bird concentrations will show up in more intense colors, while areas with low or no waterfowl activity will appear in lighter shades.

Example of Waterfowl Density Map

How to Interpret the Data

The Waterfowl Density Map uses a gradient color scale to indicate estimated bird concentrations. Darker, more intense colors represent areas with higher concentrations of birds, while lighter colors indicate low or no bird activity.

Waterfowl Density Scale

Extreme: Dense flocks (prime hunting conditions)
Very High: Heavy concentrations (strong flyway presence)
High: Large concentrations (active feeding & movement)
Moderate: Noticeable flocks (good sign of activity)
Light: A few scattered birds (small groups, low activity)

When the map is all the way zoomed in, the waterfowl density pixels are as small as 250 square meters (1/16th of an acre).

What Date Ranges is the Data Available For?

FowlTracker provides access to historical waterfowl density data from:

  • November 1 to March 31 of each hunting season.
  • Data is available going back to November 1 2022 so you can see migration patterns.
Example of Waterfowl Density Date Picker

When is New Data Available?

Waterfowl Density Maps are generated each morning, based on the previous day’s data. This means:

  • The Friday morning roosting model is available on Saturday morning.
  • Maps for the previous day are usually processed and available by noon Pacific Time.

Hunters can use this information to track bird movement trends, identify consistent roosting areas, and adjust their strategies accordingly.

What Locations is the Data Available For?

FowlTracker is rapidly expanding coverage. Right now, we cover a limited portion of the country, but we are actively increasing our coverage and will soon provide data for over 60% of the United States.

Example of Waterfowl Density Map

How Do We Get This Data?

Our Roosting Model combines multiple sources of environmental and radar data to generate the Waterfowl Density Layer. This model ingests:

  • NOAA’s NEXRAD Radar Data – Used to detect biological movement in the air.
  • Weather Patterns – Wind speed, temperature, precipitation, and barometric pressure.
  • Habitat Data – Wetlands, rivers, lakes, and known roosting areas.

By combining these data sources, FowlTracker generates an accurate prediction of where waterfowl are roosting each morning.