Well, it's not really a surprise that a lot of people are travelling north to hunt.
FL is growing very quickly. VERY quickly population wise. The land and waters we have to hunt are shrinking. The state sprays some of the biggest lakes just before and during the season to kill off submerged vegetation so lots of places that used to be good lakes to hunt become wastelands. Quail is almost....not quite...but almost nonexistent here. Some of our more traditional areas that have held ducks have been damaged repeatedly by hurricanes. Add in that the migration overall seems to come later to FL and early season is often a wash for many of us.
[strike][/strike]
So, I can understand why people who hunt birds in FL would be upset and looking for other avenues to hunt. I have a friend here in Tallahassee that usually hunts for two weeks in Arkansas or Mississippi. It is just as "cheap" to save the money for a trip and actually get to see and hunt ducks as it is to spend all season driving around looking for places to hunt that might have birds if you get lucky.
I'm not complaining, but it all is a reality for us at the end of the migration and is a large part of why I have been more than happy to spend my money and vacation days travelling to chase upland birds in the fall than to try to hunt ducks here in FL. Of course, my area of FL isn't what I am used to birdwise to begin with and I admit I got spoiled with hunting teal (I dearly love teal). I would be just as happy to spend my money chasing ducks across the country as well, but with my current dog it makes more sense to chase upland birds because I love to watch the dog as much as I love to shoot birds. PLUS I get to sleep in with upland hunting and I do so love sleeping in. I have also found that with upland hunting you get to see a lot of really neat and interesting things you likely wouldn't if you were chasing ducks (the opposite is true of course as well). I will have a lab in the nearish future so chasing ducks across the country and here in FL will become a higher priority again.
All that to say, it really is no surprise that people in the south that can travel, will travel. Increase of population, shrinking of huntable areas (for many reasons), birds not showing up or showing up later and later.....it can be very frustrating.