Category: Duck Hunting

The weather is cooling down so that means duck and goose hunting in Texas will be picking up shortly. The cool fronts received lately have pushed a good number of teal through and there are even some white-fronted geese hanging around some of the fields. Deer hunting gets a lot of ink in Texas, but goose and ducking hunting is big too. From the coastal plains to the high plains, hunters are looking forward to chasing ducks this fall and winter.

Good habitat conditions on most of the nesting grounds mean good numbers of birds should winter in Texas. With expectations of a cold winter, that bodes well for hunters looking to decoy birds their way. I can’t wait to make my annual pilgrimage down to the coast for a little cast and blast. Here is what Kevin Kraai, Waterfowl Program Leader for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, had to report about the upcoming waterfowl hunting season in Texas:

“Assuming you can follow up a drought like last year with rain, an event like that can be very beneficial for wetland conditions the following year. Wetlands need disturbance of one kind or another, and drought can act as one of the best disturbances to stimulate favorable plants for waterfowl. I don’t believe we could have asked for a better scenario for breeding mottled ducks and waterfowl arriving this fall … we just need lots of rain prior to their departure from the north.

Duck hunters should brace themselves for what could be a good duck hunting season. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s survey estimates 48.6 million breeding ducks, a 7 percent increase over last year and 43 percent above the 1955–2010 long-term average. This year’s estimate is a record high and is only the sixth time in the survey’s history that the total duck population has exceeded 40 million. As always, fall weather and habitat conditions along migration routes will have a big impact on migration chronology and local goose and duck hunting success in Texas.”

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It’s September, so in Texas that means the new hunting licenses are on sale and dove hunting is on in the North and Central Zones. It also means the sandhill, goose and duck hunting season dates have not been distributed. The season dates must always wait for final approval from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service before making their way back to the states for implementation. Luckily for Texas hunters, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission finalized the 2012-13 waterfowl seasons at its August 30 public hearing as Texas hunters make ready to welcome record numbers of ducks.

According to this year’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife “Trends in Duck Breeding Populations,” estimated waterfowl production in North America’s “duck factory” are at a record high, eclipsing a record set last year. The total duck population is estimated at 48.6 million birds. This represents a 7 percent increase over last year and is 43 percent higher than the long-term average since 1955.

Last year was tough for duck and goose hunting as many places were without a necessary ingredient, water. This year it’s just add water and hunt. Much needed rainfall this year has helped rejuvenate drought stricken wetland plant communities across much of the Texas coast, setting the stage for better than usual hunting this fall. The good duck habitat means ducks will find plenty to eat, and hunters should find plenty of ducks.

An early season for teal statewide, and for Canada geese in the eastern goose zone, runs September 15-30 with a daily bag limit of four teal and three geese. Here are the rest of the migratory hunting seasons:

2012 Duck Hunting Season in Texas

2012 Goose Hunting Season in Texas

2012 Sandhill Crane Hunting Season in Texas

It seems that Texas hunters have never seen a weak duck hunting season. The truth is that some seasons are just better than others. I think the 2012 duck hunting season is going to be phenomenal! Conditions are great for migrating birds and I expect that to hold up as we go into the fall and winter. Ducks have had excellent hatches. But duck hunting is about much more than just shooting unsuspecting ducks on cold, blustery mornings. It’s about spending time with friends, family and making memories. Here’s to a good one!

High Plains Mallard Management Unit Duck Hunting Season

All species other than “dusky ducks”: Oct. 27-28, 2012 and Nov.2, 2012 – Jan. 27, 2013; “Dusky ducks”: Nov. 5, 2012 – Jan. 27, 2013; Youth-only Season: Oct. 20 — 21, 2012

North and South Zones Duck Hunting Seasons

All species other than “dusky ducks”: Nov. 3 – 25, 2012 and Dec. 8, 2012 — Jan. 27, 2013; “Dusky ducks”: Nov. 8 – 25, 2012 and Dec. 8, 2012 – Jan. 27, 2013; Youth-only Season: Oct. 27-28, 2012

Duck Bag Limit for Texas 2012

The daily bag limit for ducks is six, to include no more than five mallards of which only 2 may be hens; three wood ducks; two redheads; two pintails; one canvasback; and one “dusky” duck. Dusky ducks include: mottled ducks, Mexican-like duck, black duck and their hybrids. For all other species not listed, the bag limit is six.

The daily bag limit for coots is 15. The daily bag limit for mergansers is five, which may include no more than two hooded mergansers. Duck hunting shooting hours are one half hour before sunrise to sunset.

The goose hunting seasons for Texas have just been released. Rainfall in Texas was much improved during 2012, so migrating geese should have more wetlands to use this fall and winter. Biologist and northern latitudes insists that there are still way too many geese on the nesting grounds, so hopefully we can help put a dent in the snowbird population. The goose hunting is shaping up well for the Texas panhandle as well as the coasts. Keep raining!

Western Zone Goose Hunting Season

Light geese: Nov. 3, 2012 – Feb. 3, 2013, daily bag limit is 20 and no possession limit.

Dark geese: Nov. 3, 2012 – Feb. 3, 2013, daily bag limit is five in the aggregate to include no more than one white-fronted goose

Eastern Zone Goose Hunting Season

Light geese: Nov. 3, 2012 – Jan. 27, 2013, the daily bag limit for light geese is 20 and no possession limit.

White-fronted geese: Nov. 3, 2012 – Jan. 13, 2013, daily bag limit is two;

Canada geese: Sept. 15-30, 2012 and Nov. 3, 2012 – Jan. 27, 2013, daily bag limit is three.

Light Goose Conservation Order Hunting Season

Eastern Zone – Jan. 28 — Mar. 24, 2013, no bag or possession limits.

Western Zone – Feb. 4 — Mar. 24, 2013, no bag or possession limits.

Sandhill Crane Hunting in Texas has become more popular over the years. The new license year has just kicked off, dove hunting season is underway and that means more migratory birds will be arriving in future months, sandhill cranes included. Sandhill crane hunting is a ton of fun, so get ready for a good year. I hear reproduction was much better than last year. Here are the 2012 seasons for the “ribeye in the sky.”

Zone A – Nov. 3, 2012 — Feb. 3, 2013, daily bag limit is three and possession limit is six.

Zone B – Nov. 23, 2012 — Feb. 3, 2013, daily bag limit is three and possession limit is six.

Zone C – Dec. 22, 2012 — Jan. 27, 2013, daily bag limit is two and possession limit is four.

Zone C Closed to Sandhill Crane Hunting

ZONE C CLOSED AREA DESCRIPTION: Everything to the Gulf of Mexico from a line beginning at the Kleberg-Nueces county line and the Gulf of Mexico, west along the county line to Park Road 22, to State Hwy. 358, to State Hwy. 286, north to IH 37, east to U.S. Hwy. 181, north and west to U.S. Hwy. 77 at Sinton, north and east along U.S. Hwy. 77 to U.S. Hwy. 87 at Victoria, east and south along U.S. Hwy. 87 to State Hwy. 35, north and east along State Hwy. 35 to the south end of Lavaca Bay Causeway, south and east along the shore of Lavaca Bay to the Port Lavaca Ship Channel, south and east along the Ship Channel to the Gulf of Mexico.

People have more options that ever now days. The same can be said of goose hunters. Specifically, regarding Egyptian goose hunting. “Say what,” you say? It seems like everyone and everything that was not born here in Texas is trying to get here as fast as it can. The Egyptian goose is no different, but this non-native waterfowl may not get the warm welcome that it’s looking for. This largely terrestrial species is highly territorial when it comes to breeding, but Egyptian geese seem to coexist with native duck species just fine in the areas where they are both found.

The Egyptian goose is native to inland tropical regions of sub-Saharan Africa where it can be found along rivers, marshes, lakes and similar wetlands, though it is absent from the central western coast of the continent and the densest forest regions. These waterfowl do not migrate, but can be nomadic in drier regions as they follow the best food sources throughout the year.

More about Egyptian Geese in Texas

Source: “Egyptian geese are not native to Texas or anywhere else in North America, but you’ve probably seen them at park ponds or golf course water holes.

The birds look like a cross between a duck and a goose with broad, round, chestnut-colored patches around yellow eyes that make them look as though they’re wearing the latest fashion in sunglasses. The dapper birds sport gray-tan to ruddy-brown backs, black tails and pink beaks, legs and feet.

With more than a 2-foot body length and a wingspan of nearly 58 inches, the birds are hard to overlook. A big white wing patch gives them an even more arresting appearance, particularly in flight.

Egyptian geese have been imported from their native home in Africa south of the Sahara as decorative birds. Those that have escaped private ponds or aviaries have established hardy feral populations that seem to be growing in numbers. Just look at golf courses or city parks, which held only a handful of the birds a few years ago but now may host crowds of the Egyptian geese.”

The Texas duck hunting season is going full speed ahead despite low rainfall and little surface water. The duck hunting season for the High Plains Mallard Management Unit runs October 29-30 and from November 4-January 29, 2012. The North and South zones run November 5-27 and December 10-January 29, 2012. The daily bag limit shall be 6 ducks, to include no more than the following: 5 mallards (only 2 of which may be hens), 3 wood ducks, 2 scaup (lesser scaup and greater scaup in the aggregate), 2 redheads, 2 pintails, 1 canvasback, 1 dusky duck (mottled duck, Mexican-like duck, black duck and their hybrids are closed the first five days of the season in each zone). All other species: 6.

South Zone Duck Hunting: Duck hunting remains stellar along the coastal prairies of Eagle Lake, Wharton, El Campo, Garwood, East Bernard, Hungerford, Lissie and Louise. Teal, gadwall, wigeon, shovelers and pintail have made up the brunt of the bag. Inland ponds around adjacent to the coast have seen loads of ducks leaving the bay daily for freshwater. Bay hunters enjoyed an influx of new birds last week as redheads and scaup found shoalgrass in East Matagorda, West Matagorda, Espiritu Santo, San Antonio and Aransas bays.

Good numbers of wigeons, pintails and redheads have produced limit shoots in Rockport. Port Mansfield and Port Isabel hunters have seen solid shoots. The East Galveston Bay marsh has been good, though salinity levels are high. More snow geese showed last week with the cold front and full moon, though few hunters are setting spreads Specklebellies have readily decoyed over rag spreads. Prospects are good right now.

North Zone Duck Hunting: Gadwall, wigeon and teal have been taken in the shallow coves of area lakes and reservoirs. Canvasbacks have been reported on Lake Fork, Toledo Bend, Sam Rayburn and Lake O’Pines. Caddo Lake has seen gadwalls, divers and ringed-necks on the big waters. Sloughs, backwaters and bayous are dry and dusty, so most ducks have taken refuge on the lakes or have continued south to the coast. Duck hunting has been good on the coastal prairies along the southern boundaries of the North Zone. Brookshire, Winnie, China, Devers, Sealy and Columbus have all enjoyed steady shoots for teal, gadwall, wigeon, pintail and shoveler. Prospects are fair at best in North Texas and good along the coastal boundaries.

High Plains Mallard Management Duck Hunting Unit: Duck hunting has fair at best for mallards, wigeons, gadwalls and teal. Feed lots have provided the best hunts. Diver ducks have been hitting deeper playas and reservoirs. Some lakes have been pumped with water to help wildlife sustain drought conditions. Canada geese are best over wheat and corn. More Canadas showed on Lake Etter this week. Sandhill crane numbers are good. Specklebellies have been reliable as well. Prospects look fair at this point in the duck season.

The Texas Duck Hunting Season is underway and the opening weekend was hot, hot, hot! Duck hunters enjoyed excellent shoots opening weekend with limits being the norm, not the exception. Many hunting guides and hunters reported good numbers of birds all along the middle and upper Texas Coast. The coastal prairies of Garwood, Wharton, Eagle Lake, Hungerford, East Bernard, El Campo and Collegeport saw flight after flight of green-winged teal, blue-winged teal, wigeons, gadwalls and pintails.

The marsh east of Houston enjoyed what many outfitters described as the best duck season opener in years. Some hunting reports as many as nine different species in the bag, including greenwings, bluewings, scaup, gadwalls, wigeons, pintails, mallards, redheads, ringed-necks, wood ducks and even a flight of surf scoters. The drought has caused many birds that usually hang-up in other parts of the state to keep heading south, down to the coast.

Limits of divers were taken in Port O’Connor and Rockport. Hunters reported more gadwalls, pintails and wigeons in the back lakes with swelling tides. Snow geese continue to build along the coast, but few hunters are setting white spreads. Specklebelly numbers are solid, with estimations at 30 to 40 percent juvenile birds in the flock.

Good duck hunting action is all about location and having birds. The duck hunting reports indicate that the birds are definitely here, so the rest is up to the hunters. Prospects for South Zone duck hunters looks good going into mid-November. Remember, look to set up on points and always leave a “hole” in the center of your decoys for birds to land. Best of luck!

Hunting in all Texas Duck Hunting Zones kicks off later in the week and it’s time for hunters to get in the know. Preliminary duck hunting reports have reiterated that water is a must! The High Plains Mallard Management Unit opens again on November 4, but opening weekend in the Panhandle saw lackluster results due to an absence of water. Very few playas, if any, are wet, so duck habitat is stressed. Most ducks were taken over feed lot ponds. Again, duck season re-opens and runs November 4-January 29, 2012.

The season in the North Duck Hunting Zone Duck opens November 5 and the best waterfowling prospects have been found on lakes and reservoirs still holding water. The lack of ponds and bottomland duck habitats have ducks concentrated on big waters. However, public access to these large water bodies is limited, as many boat ramps are inoperable due to extreme low water conditions. Hunters with shallow-running flatbottoms able to traverse muddy timber should see some birds and have good shoots.

The cold front that blew through the last week in October brought new birds to the area and deposited wigeon, gadwall and green-winged teal on lakes and reservoirs. Another cold front this week should encourage more ducks to move to Texas, though most coastal prairie ponds holding water are already covered with ducks. Prospects are fair to good for duck hunting in the South Zone.

The South Duck Hunting Zone opens on November 5 as well and prospects look excellent for hunters that have access to water. The Texas coast continues to suffer from the drought. Many hunters, however, have the ability to pump water from wells. Coastal prairie ponds are black with ducks and specklebellies where there is water, and a few snow geese showed with last week’s front. Concentrations of dark geese on the ground indicate a good hatch of young whitef-fronts, which should encourage steady decoying action.

The front forecasted for this week should shove more light geese to the coast. Reports along the bay flats indicate good numbers of pintail, wigeon, gadwall and redhead. More diving ducks are showing up daily with new fronts. Bay hunters should enjoy more steady duck hunting this year with the lack of water on the coastal prairies. Prospects are good if you can find suitable duck habitat to set out some decoys.

It’s been dry this year and it’s probably not going to get any better any time soon. But bring on the rain dances if you’d like. With the Texas duck hunting season just around the corner, any rainfall prior to the November 5 waterfowl season opener would be a welcome sight for both the hunters and the birds. After all, wildlife officials are anticipating a banner migration of ducks even though at this point they feel it’s too late to repair the damage this year from the drought.

Texas goose and duck hunters will have better luck bringing in birds with just water. Put the duck call away for this hunting season, unless your hunting tidal waters such as those found at the J.D. Murphee Wildlife Management Area (WMA). Wetland habitat conditions throughout waterfowl wintering grounds in Texas have suffered greatly under the drought, and what precious little groceries that remain aren’t expected to hold birds for long.

“It will be a very interesting year to say the least as we have a large number of waterfowl headed our way but very little habitat on the landscape to support them,” said Matt Nelson, Central Coast Wetlands Ecosystem Project Leader with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. “Guadalupe Delta WMA looks the best habitat-wise, especially the tidal marsh. I suspect the bays will see more activity this season than in years past but with little food production I don’t think we will hold many birds for any length of time. We simply don’t have the habitat or food on the Justin Hurst WMA. “

Duck hunting in areas fortunate enough to have retained water and preserved habitat should be excellent during the early part of the season, but may not be sustainable through the winter. The upper coast is fairing a little better, but not much, said Jim Sutherlin, TPWD Upper Coast Wetlands Ecosystem Project Leader.

“We are 23 inches behind our annual rainfall after ending last year around 13 inches behind,” said Sutherlin. “Our soil moisture levels are very low, but we are growing green grass this fall instead of watching grass turn brown as we did in the hot summer. Coastal marsh habitat conditions are dismal for duck hunting. Either we have dry marshes, or marshes with very high salinity waters which produce little wildlife benefit, kill plants and deteriorate organic wetland soils.”

The brightest spot on the J.D. Murphree WMA is likely Wetland Compartment 5 where Ducks Unlimited installed a new pump this past summer using a North American Wetlands Conservation Act Grant, which gives the WMA the ability to pump water from Big Hill Bayou into this management compartment. Water levels and habitat should be good in this compartment throughout the season.

“We have very few submerged aquatic plants, but we do have some impressive stands of millet in a few sites,” Sutherlin added. “The rice agriculture and coastal prairie range around us is very dry. We likely will have an abundance of ducks for short periods of time during the hunting season due to the overall duck numbers in this fall migration. I do not expect the birds to stay on the J.D. Murphree WMA for very long due to low waterfowl food availability and marginal seasonal habitat conditions along the Western Gulf Coast, but the duck hunting will be great while it last.”