Weekly migratory bird hunting reports are posted from early September through early February by the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department.
North Zone Dove: Plowed corn fields along the Red River in Lamar County have held scattered shoots of mourning doves. The recent front did bring new birds to the area, but watering holes are scarce. Best hunts in the High Plains have been in harvested corn and milo fields in the morning. Most playa lakes are dry so feed lot ponds have been better in the afternoon. Sunflowers and plowed ground have held most of the doves in the Abilene area, and any watering holes has been a magnet in the afternoon. The season runs through Oct. 23. Prospects are fair.
Central Zone Dove: Shooting continued steady around San Antonio with resident whitewings keeping gun barrels warm over cut corn fields. Hunters there have taken limits in fields with watering sources, but those are few and far between. Uvalde, Sabinal, Hondo and Del Rio hunters saw good shoots over the weekend, but resident birds are becoming wiser.
Hunters have taken half-limits around Beaumont, Dayton, Liberty, Nome and Winnie, mostly due to 30-knot winds and rain associated with Tropical Storm Lee. Better shoots have come from around Sealy and Columbus, but hunters there have had to deal with extreme north winds from the storm and the cool front that passed through the region on Labor Day. The good news is the front brought new birds to the region. The season runs through Oct. 23. Prospects are fair to good.
Special White-Winged Dove Area: Shooting was fast and limits were quick around Harlingen, Brownsville and Edinburg. Best shoots were had over corn, milo and wild sunflowers. Port Mansfield hunters enjoyed good shoots as well. The special season concludes Sept. 10 and 11, with afternoon-only hunting. Prospects are good.
Teal Forecast: Teal season opens Saturday, Sept. 10, and prospects look solid if you have access to water. New flights of teal arrived ahead of the front and should continue to arrive with the forthcoming full moon. To say that water is a commodity is an understatement. Many of those who can afford the high price tag to pump ponds have been hindered due to water restrictions brought about by the year-long drought. Many water agencies and authorities have limited the sale of water to agricultural practices and not recreational uses like duck hunting, thereby limiting the number of ponds available on the coastal prairies in towns like Eagle Lake, Garwood, El Campo, Wharton and East Bernard. Higher tides associated with Tropical Storm Lee pushed filled marsh ponds, and ponds on the east side of Houston received 1-2 inches of rain from Lee. The west side of Houston remained dry during the storm. Hunters along the bay have seen a noticeably large number of pintails and shovelers along the coast. Teal season runs Sept. 10-25. Prospects are excellent if you have water
