Cloudy Day Waterfowl - Calling on Overcast Days

Cloudy Day Waterfowl – Calling on Overcast Days

Most of us have fond memories of cloudy day waterfowl hunting. Overcast days seem to bring the birds down out of the sky. A flock of mallards set against a backdrop of white/gray clouds is waterfowling perfection. The clouds create contrast in the reflections on the water, adding depth to the motion our jerk strings are putting out. Those overcast days are waterfowling gold across most of the country.

So, do these clouds actually affect the sound waves being produced by our calls? Those big puff balls in the sky sure seem to make jet planes sound louder, are they also making our calls sound louder to the ducks and geese?

Scientific Breakdown

A cloud is suspended water vapor in the air. This causes two physical differences between the cloud and surrounding air: the water vapor is more dense than dry air (similar to fog), and the temperature within a cloud is typically lower than the air temperature (also similar to fog). Refer to the articles on fog and temperature for more details on those two conditions independently, but working together as a cloud, these conditions cause sound waves to reflect back towards the ground.

Now, before we go too far, let’s be clear. Clouds are way too far up in the air to have any measurable affect on duck or goose calls. You could have a megaphone attached to the end of your goose call, and be blowing hail calls for all you’re worth, but the clouds are still too far away to truly affect the sound coming from your call in any appreciable way.

Adjusting Your Calling Style

Should you adjust your calling style for cloudy day waterfowl? Simple answer…..no. The behavior of waterfowl on overcast days aside, the sound waves coming from your call will not be affected in a measurable way by clouds. They’re simply too high up in the atmosphere to matter for our purposes. So, judge your calling style more by the other factors, and don’t worry about those cotton balls floating up in the sky. Pick up your favorite duck call or goose call and cut loose.