Nov. 15, 2006

Weekly Migratory Bird Hunting Report

Weekly migratory bird hunting reports are posted from late August through early February.

High Plains Mallard Management Unit: Unseasonably warm temperatures did goose hunters no favors late last week. Geese seemed uninterested and did not regularly decoy in feeding fields. That all changed with the recent cold front. Hunters reported geese readily working decoys and working fields in their normal November mode. Lots of Canadas and snow geese around Lake Etter. Many outfitters report lots of juvenile birds in the flock. Good hunts were posted in Knox City for Canadas and specklebellies. Duck hunting has been steady for mallards, wigeons, teal and gadwalls. Feed lot tanks and playas have paid off. Sandhill crane hunting has been excellent. Many hunters are taking their limit of cranes and shooting ducks and geese to boot. The forecasted cold front mid-week should deposit more migrants on the High Plains. Prospects are good.

North Zone Waterfowl: Though some areas in North and East Texas saw five inches of rain, sloughs, creeks and parched ponds quickly soaked up the moisture. Lake and reservoirs continue to be the hot spots for duck hunters. On the north end of Lake O’the Pines, mallards, divers and teal have been taken. Conditions are so dry some public boat ramps and not functional. Most hunters are getting to their spots by way of mud motors. Lake Fork, Toledo Bend and Caddo Lake has been fair to good for divers, teal and a few mallards. Wright-Patman has been fair to good for mallards and gadwalls in secluded areas with a hint of water. Wood ducks are fair in the creeks, though their is not enough water to hold large concentrations. Closer to the coast, hunting slowed during the week, but it remained steady enough for many hunters to bag limits of gadwalls, shovelers, teal, pintails and a few mallards. A stiff north wind Saturday made for tougher decoying action and birds seemed to relocate Sunday as a result of the wind. A mid-week blow should deposit new ducks to the region. Prospects are fair to good.

South Zone Waterfowl: Duck hunting remained great through most of the first week, then slowed to good over the weekend. Strong north winds Saturday morning displaced some ducks and made for tougher decoying action in blinds predominantly set up for southerly winds. Hunts were slower on the prairie Sunday as hunters reported many ducks moved out due to hunting pressure and the stiff north wind. Divers, including scaup, redheads and a few buffleheads and canvasbacks continue to track through the coastal prairie. Hunters on the prairie reported abnormally high numbers of divers harvested during the first week of the season. Pintails, gadwalls, blue-winged teal, green-winged teal and shovelers made up most of the bag. Marsh hunters had success hunts for teal, gadwalls and shovelers in High Island, Anahuac, Winnie, Trinity Bay, Freeport, Matagorda, Port O’Connor, Seadrift and Rockport. The Upper Coast reported lots of scaup passing through decoys. Middle coast hunters had limits of redheads, pintails, shovelers and the odd wigeon in Port O’Connor and Rockport. Lots of snow geese on the prairie, but not many hunters taking advantage of the numbers. Geese have acted fickle during the first week of the season. Many concentrations are holding on rice fields with water and not moving much during the day. That will change when these food sources become scarce. Expect geese to begin patterning from roost ponds to feeding fields as Thanksgiving inches closer. Lots of specklebellies, too, and most duck hunters who are strong goose callers are getting at least one crack at a dark goose per hunt. Prospects are good.