Sunday could have been spring in tweetie bird land, instead of duck hunting on the Snake River.

You wonder how we could go from brutal windchill in the teens and waves of ducks and geese flying two weeks ago to practically zero ducks last weekend with a mild temperature of 37 degrees at around 8 a.m. and the high 40s by 11 a.m.

And what about the ducks? I heard more robins singing than mallards calling.

Hunters are telling me all those northern birds that showed up in late December and early January flew the coop. Vanished.

Rough estimates are that the numbers of ducks didn't even reach 100,000 at Lake Lowell this winter. Remember the days back in the 70s when there would be 750,000 ducks at the lake near Nampa in the winter?

Some hunters think the path of the Columbia River mallards has changed and the ducks are being stopped along the Columbia River near Hemiston, Ore. by warmer water, milder conditions and more food on ag lands. Or, some think they are heading over to the Kalamath Valley in Oregon for the same reasons.

Well, the mystery of duck hunting goes on. At least my shotgun didn't freeze up and misfire over the weekend.

And another thing. The duck season ends on a Friday (Jan. 23). It doesn't go through a weekend. Don't show up on that Saturday at the boat ramp.

I think I'd like those last five days of the season on the front end of the duck season so we could get some earlier duck hunting and more hunting on local birds.