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Waterfowl season could be excellent after wet weather

Oct. 24, 2006

By DOUG PIKE
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

Two Canadian cold fronts and a deluge later, the prairies around Houston are brimming with water and waterfowl. Prospects for the Nov. 4 openings of duck and goose seasons are good.

There are more birds here now than have occupied southeastern Texas in time to open many seasons past, and those concentrations will continue to build for at least another month.

Initial gathering spot of the whitefronts that winter here seems to be a loose, large oval around the Eagle Lake area. Once they're comfortable again in Texas airspace, the birds scatter eastward to join other migrants working westward from Louisiana.

Let's talk teal

While there still are large flocks of blue-winged teal here — they winter as far south as the Yucatan Peninsula — ponds and reservoirs are stacking also with gadwalls, wigeons and pintails.

Hunters once were allowed as many as 10 per day of those ducks.

We're smarter now and responding conservatively to reduced nesting habitat. The daily duck bag this year is five birds on a strap that may include no more than two scaup, redheads or wood ducks, and no more than one hen mallard, pintail, canvasback or what the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department calls a "dusky duck," which includes mottled ducks, black ducks and Mexican-like ducks.

Scattered among thousands of white fronts in the field were the four or five white geese I would have expected. Rather than go it alone, early light-goose migrants tend quickly to seek company among other geese.

Down the road from that bunch, between Garwood and El Campo, we came across what experienced eyes tagged as "about 3,000" snows.

In October, it's unusual around southeast Texas to find that many snow geese huddled between the same fences — good, if you're a waterfowl hunter or bird watcher, but unusual. The daily bag for snow geese — wishful thinking on 98 percent of the hunts ever made and part of ongoing effort to bring the population in check with the diminished (by the birds themselves) carrying capacity of nesting habitat
— is 20.

Update on Canada geese

Last to leave and toughest of the bunch are the various subspecies of Canadas, which range in size from barely larger than a mallard to 10-plus pounds. You'll see a few of them hanging with the whitefronts this month and next, but Canada counts won't peak until mid-December. The daily bag limit on Canada geese, identifiable by that white cheek patch on a black neck, is three.

Opening week of a typical waterfowl season is marked by straps that hold limits of gullible, juvenile specks and the odd duck. Fields' discovery of those snows indicates changing weather to the north, but the best time to hunt them is between Thanksgiving and New Year's Days.

The prairie is primed to receive and hold more waterfowl between now and then, just right for this season to start strong and gather momentum as it continues.