How to Scout for Waterfowl in Nebraska

Waterfowl hunting is 90 percent scouting and 10 percent shooting. You can have the best decoy spread in the state and a call that sounds like a live mallard hen, but if you are not set up where the birds want to be, none of it matters. In Nebraska, where waterfowl habitat spans from the Rainwater Basin to the Platte River to dozens of reservoirs and WMAs, knowing how to scout efficiently puts you in the right field on the right morning.

Evening Roost Watches

The single most productive scouting method for ducks and geese in Nebraska is the evening roost watch. An hour before sunset, position yourself near a known roost — a reservoir, large WMA wetland, or stretch of the Platte River — and watch where birds come from as they return to the water for the night.

Geese and ducks that were feeding in agricultural fields all afternoon will flight back to the roost in the last hour of daylight. Note their approach direction and altitude. Birds coming in low from the northwest at 5:30 PM were feeding in a field to the northwest. Drive that direction the next morning and look for the field.

Morning Flight Patterns

Morning scouting works in reverse. Position yourself near the roost before dawn and watch where birds fly when they leave the water at first light. Geese typically leave in a more organized, directional flight than ducks. Follow the flight line by vehicle and locate the fields where birds land to feed.

Morning flights also reveal timing. Note when the first birds leave the roost. In cold weather, birds may not fly until well after sunrise. In mild conditions, they often leave at first light. This timing tells you when you need to be set up and ready in the field.

Finding the X

"The X" is waterfowl hunting shorthand for the exact field where birds are currently feeding. The X is the single most important piece of information you can have. If you are set up on the X, birds will come to you with minimal calling and modest decoy spreads. If you are 200 yards off the X, birds will flare and land where they want to be — not where you are.

Find the X by combining roost watches with morning field checks. After you identify a general direction from the evening roost watch, drive the area the next morning and look for birds in the fields. Freshly fed fields show signs: droppings, feathers, and trampled stubble. In snow, the feeding area is obvious — a dark patch of disturbed ground in an otherwise white field.

Once you find the X, get permission from the landowner and set up the next morning. Speed matters. Birds can shift fields overnight, especially if they cleaned out the food or were disturbed. Scouting the evening before and hunting the next morning is the ideal cadence.

Using Mapping Tools

Digital mapping apps have revolutionized waterfowl scouting. onX Hunt and similar platforms show property boundaries, landowner names, and public land designations — information that used to require hours at the county courthouse.

Use satellite imagery on onX or Google Earth to identify potential roost waters, feeding fields, and access points before you ever leave the house. Look for wetlands near harvested crop fields — that combination of roost water and nearby food is the recipe for waterfowl concentrations.

For the Rainwater Basin specifically, overlaying the Public Access Atlas with satellite imagery helps you find WMA wetlands that are currently holding water. Many Rainwater Basin wetlands are intermittent — they may be flooded one year and dry the next. Current satellite imagery shows you water conditions before you make the drive.

Scouting Nebraska's Key Areas

The Rainwater Basin in south-central Nebraska requires the most active scouting because wetland conditions change rapidly. A playa wetland that was dry last week may fill after a rain and attract thousands of birds overnight.

The Platte River is more consistent. Birds roost on the river year after year, and the surrounding agricultural fields provide predictable feeding locations. Focus scouting on the harvested corn and bean fields within three to five miles of the river in each direction.

Reservoirs like Harlan County, Swanson, McConaughy, and Calamus attract concentrations of divers and puddle ducks during migration. Scout the north ends and leeward shores where wind pushes birds and creates sheltered feeding areas.

The hunters who consistently shoot limits are the ones who spend twice as much time scouting as they do hunting. In Nebraska, where the waterfowl resources are spread across millions of acres of habitat, your binoculars and your truck are your most important tools.