1/16/2008
 

Weekly Migratory Bird Hunting Report

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

High Plains Mallard Management Unit/Panhandle: Colder temperatures this week have aided decoying action. Dumas fields remain the hot for Canada geese. Wheat fields have been best, and most hunters are taking their limit of dark geese. Spearman is good for decoying birds over wheat and corn. Etter has plenty of snow geese but decoying action has been fair at best. Mallards, pintails, wigeons and gadwalls remain prominent on playas and feed lot ponds. Most of the ducks are concentrated since few playas have water, and the hunting has been great. Knox City duck hunters till suffer from a lack of water. Those waterways still holding moisture are holding ducks. Larger Canada geese have been harvested the last two weeks with all the cold weather to the north. The High Plains Mallard Management Unit duck season runs through Jan. 27. West Zone goose hunting continues through Feb. 5. The Light Goose Conservation Order runs Feb.6–Mar. 30. Prospects are fair to good.

North Zone Waterfowl: Lack of water in sloughs, bayous and backwater ponds continue to be a problem to hunters. Those holding water in remote areas are holding ducks. Mallards, gadwalls and wood ducks are good near Centerville. Hunters are reporting few mallards, green- winged teal and gadwalls on the Sulfur River and Lake Wright-Patman. Toledo Bend, Sam Rayburn, Ray Roberts and Lake Fork are holding divers and gadwalls. Lots of canvasbacks in Big Lake on Caddo Lake. Divers, including canvasbacks, scaup and ringed-necks were reported on Lake O’the Pines,  Lake Fork and Toledo Bend. Wood ducks remain steady on wooded waterways. The prairie north of IH-10 has been fair for green-winged teal, pintails, shovelers and gadwalls. Prairie ponds are drying from lack of rain for most of the season; and, many wildlife managers and outfitters will not pump up ponds this late in the season. Duck season in the North Zone closes Jan. 27. Prospects are fair to good.

South Zone Waterfowl: Duck hunting along the middle coast continues to be the boon of the state, as hunters have been taking an abundance of pintails, wigeons, teal, gadwalls and redheads. High Island hunters have fared well in the marsh, but as a whole, the upper coast has been fair at best. A few good hunts were had in the Anahuac marsh near East Galveston Bay. The Lower Laguna Madre has been solid for pintails and divers. The coastal prairie has been fair at best for ducks. Rested ponds have produced limits of green-winged teal, shovelers and a few mallards near Eagle Lake, Wharton, Garwood, East Bernard and El Campo. Many ponds on the prairie are flats of mud due to lack of rainfall, and chances are outfitters and landowners will not ante up the money to turn on water pumps this late in the season. Goose hunting was better this weekend despite high skies. Outfitters say as long as they have wind they have a chance at the older flock of snow. The season on specklebellies closed Jan. 13 and hunters reported an good year for white-fronts. Goose hunting will be tougher without the more gullible specks; but, Canada geese should fill the void. Many hunters have reported an influx of Canadas and expect more with the forthcoming cold front. Snow geese are beginning to break into smaller groups due to dwindling food supplies; however, large concentrations have been feeding in winter wheat and rye grass. Sandhill crane hunting has been fair. Most hunters are setting up in an established flight path and pass-shooting the large gray birds. The Light Goose Conservation Order begins Jan. 28; unplugged shotguns, limitless harvest and electronic callers are all legal means of hunting. Duck season in the South Zone closes Jan. 27. Prospects are fair to good.