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

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

AUSTIN, Texas --(Ammoland.com)- High Plains Mallard Management Unit: Goose hunters have enjoyed steady shoots for Canadas.

Outfitters have said goose numbers are solid, but hunter participation has been down. Best hunts have come over wheat and corn near Etter, Dumas and Spearman.

A few snow geese have been mixed with the darks. Peanut and bean fields around Abilene and Lubbock have held nice concentrations of dark geese.

Duck hunting has been fair to poor around Amarillo. Drought conditions have left little to no wet playas across the High Plains. Pheasant shoots have been fair. Numbers are down compared to a year ago. Sandhill cranes remain solid over plowed ground. Prospects are good.

North Zone Duck: The second-split opener was fair for most Northeast and Central Texas hunters. Any pond holding water held ducks, but those watering holes are few and far between. Reservoirs and lakes continue to hold the brunt of the duck population, but boat access has been limited due to record low levels on many waterways making boat ramps inoperable. Many hunters reported fair shoots on mallards and wood ducks in sloughs and rivers that are holding water. Caddo Lake and Lake O’Pines were fair for divers, gadwalls and a few mallards. The Sulphur River was fair for mallards, gadwalls and redheads. Hunting around the zone boundaries of IH-10 was good for shovelers, green-winged teal, pintails and gadwalls. Still, many more divers are holding on inland ponds than in years past, probably due to the lack of freshwater near coastal bay flats. Prospects are fair to good.

South Zone Duck: The second-split opener was solid along the coastal prairies and bay flats. Prairie hunters saw large groups of decoying pintails, shovelers, green-winged teal and gadwalls. The coast continues to suffer the effects of the drought, and only those with access to water wells have been able to re-pump freshwater impoundments. Bay hunters enjoyed limits near Port O’Connor, Rockport, Port Aransas and Port Mansfield. Jefferson County marsh hunters have shot steady limits of ducks despite a hypersaline marsh. Goose hunters have seen solid decoying action from a large juvenile snow goose flock. Dry conditions have many goose concentrations heading to water by mid-morning due to their inability to water in feeding fields. More flocks of Canada geese have moved to the coastal prairies with the recent cold fronts. Largest concentrations have been found around Wharton, El Campo, Eagle Lake and Markham. Sandhill crane hunters get their first crack at the large gray birds Dec. 24 and numbers are good, especially around roosting water. Reminder: hunters must possess the free sandhill crane permit to hunt. Prospects are good.

Season/Bag Limits:The High Plains Mallard Management Unit runs Oct. 29-30, Nov. 4-Jan.29, 2012. The North and South zones run Nov. 5-27 and Dec. 10-Jan. 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.

About:
The Mission of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, (TPWD), is to manage and conserve the natural and cultural resources of Texas and to provide hunting, fishing and outdoor recreation opportunities for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. Visit: www.tpwd.state.tx.us

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Arkansas Game & Fish Commission

LITTLE ROCK, AR --(Ammoland.com)- More heavy rain fell across the state this week, swelling rivers and streams and filling agricultural fields and other low-lying areas with water.

The rain has been followed by the coldest air of the season. The favorable hunting conditions arrived just in time for Thursday’s opening day of the second segment of Arkansas’s duck season.

Hunters will find an increase in waterfowl habitat this week, with many bottomlands and agricultural fields being flooded. Also, most of the state’s wildlife management areas that are managed for waterfowl will have ample water.

Hunters also should experience the coldest temperatures of the season, with overnight lows in the mid to upper 20s and daytime highs in the 40s and lower 50s.

Biologists with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission flew the state’s first aerial waterfowl survey Nov. 11-18 and counted an estimated 627,841 ducks, including roughly 132,000 mallards, throughout the Delta. But conditions have changed rapidly since the first survey, and AGFC waterfowl program coordinator Luke Naylor said he expects to see much different results from the season’s second survey, which will be conducted Dec. 12-16, weather permitting.

“Things have changed drastically since the first survey,” Naylor said. “I would expect to see the ducks respond to these favorable habitat conditions, and it’s probable that some migration events are taking place as a result of the colder weather.”

Results from the first survey may be viewed at http://tinyurl.com/AGFCaerialsurveys.

Hunters who use wildlife management areas in eastern Arkansas are likely to find rapidly changing conditions following this week’s heavy rainfall. In fact, AGFC staff have been forced to manipulate water and close access roads at several WMAs.

The measures are necessary to prevent damage or failure of infrastructure such as levees and water-control structures. AGFC staff are manipulating water levels at Dave Donaldson Black River WMA, Earl Buss Bayou DeView WMA, St. Francis Sunken Lands WMA, Big Lake WMA and Shirey Bay Rainey Brake WMA in northeastern Arkansas.

As much as five inches of rain fell on various parts of the state Sunday and Monday, causing a rapid rise in streams and rivers that feed the management areas. The surge of water potentially could cause blowouts in levees and water-control structures, causing additional water loss. Infrastructure on many of the affected WMAs was recently repaired following past flooding.

At Bayou Meto WMA in eastern Arkansas, AGFC staff have opened all Lower Vallier and Cannon Brake water-control structures. Levels are still rising in the lower impoundment and the Salt Ditch and Fish Lake Ditch have not crested.

The heavy rains have forced the AGFC to close several roads on other popular duck hunting areas. On Sheffield Nelson Dagmar WMA, the main road has been closed at the one-lane bridge just north of Interstate 40. The main road could be closed at the headquarters this week with fast-rising water coming down the Cache River, Robe Bayou and Bayou DeView. The road leading to Teal Pond also will be closed.

On Rex Hancock Black Swamp WMA, the Railroad Dump Road to Gregory Access has been closed because of high water from the Cache River. The Henry Gray Hurricane Lake WMA main access road at Mitchell Corner is closed and will remain closed throughout the remaining waterfowl season. This is part of the AGFC’s water management plan for the WMA. Access to Steve N. Wilson Raft Creek WMA will be limited to Jones Island Road from Georgetown. All other accesses from county roads are under water.

While this waterfowl report seeks to provide information that is as timely as possible, hunters should keep in mind there’s often a lag of two or three days between the time field reports are received and this report is published. Thus, actual water levels and percentage of flooded habitat may differ from what’s reported here. The AGFC encourages hunters to check stream gauges (links are provided at the end of this report) and physically scout potential hunting areas to determine actual field conditions.

To assist waterfowl hunters with the latest information, the AGFC provides links to sources on waterfowl location and abundance in Arkansas and other states. The links are available at http://www.agfc.com/hunting/Pages/HuntingWaterfowlReport.aspx#1.

This waterfowl report provides capsule information from agency staff in all corners of Arkansas and is updated each Wednesday throughout waterfowl season. To receive the report each week on your computer, send an e-mail to arkansasoutdoors@agfc.com and type “Waterfowl Report” in the subject line.

• Information on river levels can be found at: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/lmrfc/ or http://water.usgs.gov/realtime.html.
• Sunrise/sunset tables are available at: http://www.usno.navy.mil/USNO/astronomical-applications/data-services/rs-one-day-us and in the Arkansas Waterfowl Regulations Guide.

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