Migratory Bird Hunting Report No. 5

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

North Zone Dove: The recent front has pushed new birds to the region. Drier conditions have helped dove hunters. Grain fields of milo and corn continue to produce in the Panhandle north of Amarillo. Mourning doves have been best in the afternoon on the edges of fields. Abilene hunters have had good shoots in sunflowers. Red River hunters near Paris have scored in milo, corn and soybeans between showers.  Fewer hunters are taking to the field. The season runs through Oct. 24. Prospects are fair to good.

Central Zone Dove: San Antonio, Uvalde, Del Rio and Central Texas fields saw better flights with the absence of showers. Whitewings continue to dominate San Antonio fields of corn and milo, though hunter participation has be scarce. Afternoon hunters have shot near-limits around treelines near Katy, Hockley and Brookshire. Sealy and Columbus continue to offer steady white-winged shoots. Dayton, Hankamer, Devers and Beaumont fields have given up half-limits of mourners in the afternoon. The season runs through Oct. 24. Prospects are fair to good.

South Zone Dove: Good shoots for whitewings have been had over sunflowers near Pearsall. El Campo and Bay City fields have given up half-limits to near-limits of whitewings. New birds have shown since the front. Better hunts have come from South Texas where whitewings have been good in milo, corn and wild sunflowers. The Rio Grande Valley has given up best hunts in the afternoon around sunflowers. As dirt and puddles begin to dry, expect better concentrations of birds. Three Rivers, Fashing and George West have seen a mixed bag of mourners and whitewings. Plowed fields near Winnie and Wharton have been good for half-limits of mourners and whitewings The season runs through Oct. 31. Prospects are fair to good.

Waterfowl Migration: Teal season ended Sept. 26 and the season concluded on a good note for coastal hunters. Opening weekend was solid, but the absence of a cool front to bring new birds to the area seemed to stall hunting for about 10 days. However, as the season closed, many hunters reported seeing impressive numbers of birds riding the first real cool front of autumn. The largest concentrations of birds were seen in Colorado, Wharton and Jackson counties. Marsh hunters struggled throughout the season due to high water and persistent rain. Puddle ducks, like teal, have a tendency to leave low-lying marsh areas when significant rainfall occurs. Large flights of pintails and shovelers worked teal hunters over the weekend along the prairies. Regular duck season is set to open Oct. 30.

2010-09-29