Lengthy waterfowl seasons again on tap across Texas Click to return to Waterfowl Outfitters Unlimited
Good habitat conditions help boost populations

Aug. 30, 2007

By SHANNON TOMPKINS
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle

Just as the first flights of what is expected to be a higher-than-usual number of blue-winged teal began arriving in Texas on their annual southern migration, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department officials finalized the state's 2007-08 waterfowl hunting regulations.

This past week, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission adopted without change the late-season migratory bird hunting regulations proposed earlier by wildlife division staff.

Under the regulations, Texas waterfowlers will see the 10th consecutive year of the most liberal duck hunting rules allowed under federal waterfowl management protocols.

That means a 74-day duck season in the eastern two-thirds of Texas and 96 days of duck hunting in the High Plains Mallard Management Area in the western third of the state.

The long season and liberal bag limit for most species come in the wake of surveys earlier this year showing the estimated breeding population of the 10 most common duck species was up about 14 percent over this past year, 24 percent above the long-term (1955-2006) average and the highest since 2000.

Also, habitat conditions in most of the primary duck nesting and brood-raising range in the north-central United States and south-central Canada were good, a result of timely and sufficient rains. Duck production from that near-record breeding population could be higher than average.

Texas will see a continuation of liberal goose hunting rules during the coming season — even more liberal in the western goose zone than those of a year ago.

WATERFOWL DATES

A list of Texas' 2007-08 waterfowl hunting season dates and bag limits:

September Teal-only season

• North and South Duck Zones — Sept. 15-30.
• High Plains Mallard Management Unit — Sept. 15-23.
• Daily bag limit — Four teal (bluewing, greenwing, cinnamon) in the aggregate.

Duck, merganser, coot seasons

• North Zone — Nov. 3-25 and Dec. 8-Jan. 27.
• South Zone — Nov. 3-25 and Dec. 8-Jan. 27.
• High Plains Mallard Management Area — Oct. 20-21 and Oct. 26-Jan. 27.
• Youth-only duck season — Oct. 13-14 in High Plains Mallard Management Area; Oct. 27-28 in North and South Duck Zones.
• Duck bag limit — Five per day.Those five ducks can include no more than two scaup, two redheads or two wood ducks. Also the five-duck limit can include no more than one duck from the following group: mallard hen, "dusky" duck (mottled duck, black duck, Mexican-like duck), canvasback, or pintail.
• Merganser bag limit — Five per day, to include no more than two hooded mergansers.
• Coot bag limit — 15 per day.

Goose season

• East Zon e season dates — Light geese (snow, blue, Ross), Nov. 3-Jan.27. White-fronted geese, Nov. 3-Jan. 13. Canada geese, Nov. 3-Jan. 27.
• East Zone bag limits — Light geese, 20 per day; white-fronted geese, two per day; Canada geese, three per day.
• West Zone season dates — All geese, Nov. 3-Feb. 5.
• West Zone bag limits — Light geese, 20 per day; Canada geese, four per day; white-fronted geese, one per day.

Light goose conservation season

• East Zone — Jan. 28-March 30.
• West Zone — Feb. 6-March 30.
• Bag limit — No daily bag or possession limit on light geese during conservation season.

Sandhill Crane season

• Zone A — Nov. 3-Feb. 3.
• Zone B — Nov. 23-Feb. 3.
• Zone C — Dec. 22-Jan. 27.
• Bag limit — Three per day in Zones A and B; two per day in Zone C.