Texas Weekly Migratory Bird Hunting Report - 11/19/2008
November 19, 2008
Weekly migratory bird hunting reports are posted from early September through early February.
High Plains Mallard Management Unit: The front brought new birds to the region but mild temperatures quickly returned. Outfitters have said temperatures in the 70s have not prompted geese to feed heavily, which has hurt decoying action. Many outfitters have said there are plenty of Canadas and snows to hunt; but, weather has been the ingredient to harvest them. Duck numbers look good on playas and feed lots. More mallards showed with the front. Knox City and Haskell County hunters have taken limits of wigeons, teal, gadwalls and a few mallards. Water conditions look better in the northern region of the Panhandle compared to the southern. Sandhill cranes numbers are strong and a few good hunts have been posted. Again, mild conditions and high skies have limited hunters. Prospects are good.
North Zone Duck: More ducks showed with the front. Gadwalls, teal and woodies continue to be most consistent in bags, but more mallards showed this week. Lots of woodies have been seen early in the river bottoms. Locales say they are seeing many more wood ducks than a year ago, probably due to better water conditions. Area lakes and reservoirs are holding more divers than normal. Divers like scaup and redheads are late getting to the coastal bayfronts, but many have begun their migration since the front. Lake Wright-Patman has been fair for gadwalls, teal and a few divers. Lots of ringed-necks on Caddo Lake. Power plant lakes, where hunting is prohibited, are holding large concentrations of birds. The river bottoms have water but could use another doze of soaking rains. Fields in Brookshire, Winnie, Nome, Sealy and Katy received rain that recharged duck ponds. Second-cropped rice fields have been best for teal, gadwalls, shovelers and mottled ducks. Many hunters have reported seeing more mottled ducks on inland fields on the east side of Houston, probably due to deteriorating marsh conditions brought about by Hurricane Ike. The first split of duck season runs through Nov. 30. Prospects are fair to good.
South Zone Duck: Duck hunters have seen consistent action on prairie ponds, especially since three to seven inches of rain fell last week. The recent front deposited new birds to the region, including more green-winged teal. Lots of bluewings still hanging around, especially in the marsh near Collegeport. Wharton, Garwood, Eagle Lake, East Bernard and El Campo ponds have been steady, with the odd specklebelly being taken out of duck blinds. Action on local wildlife management areas had been slim, but action picked up with the front and new water to fill freshwater compartments. Port O’Connor and Rockport hunters saw an influx of redheads, scaup and pintails. The hard north wind associated with the front blew some of the pintails from the prairie to the marsh. A stiff southerly wind should send them back, quickly. Goose numbers continue to build. The front pushed many more snow geese to the coast which hit fresh cut second-cropped rice fields. Good hunts were posted with a little fog and south winds that blew before the front. A good ration of young to old birds has helped decoying action—the same can be said for specklebellies. No reports of Canada geese, yet. The first split of duck season runs through Nov. 30. Prospects are good.
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New State Park to Open Near Brownsville Texas on Dec. 6
November 18, 2008
BROWNSVILLE, Texas — Resaca de la Palma State Park
— Texas’ newest state park and the eighth link in the World Birding Center chain stretching the breadth of the Rio Grande Valley — will host a grand opening celebration on Saturday, Dec. 6 in this border city.
Resaca de la Palma’s grand opening, which lasts from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., will include a ribbon-cutting ceremony, raptor show, guided walks and bike tours, a Buffalo Soldiers encampment, art contest and host of family activities such as kite flying, a Kidz Corner and archery. The park’s $4 admission fee for persons 13 and older will be waived for the day. Children 12 and under are always admitted free.
The 1,200-acre park near the southernmost tip of Texas is the largest of the nine sites that comprise the World Birding Center that stretches some 120 miles along the wildlife-rich Rio Grande corridor from Roma to South Padre Island.
South Padre Island Birding & Nature Center, the final wing of the WBC, is under construction and slated to open in spring of 2009. The other World Birding Center sites are: Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park (WBC headquarters), Edinburg Scenic Wetlands, Estero Llano Grande State Park (Weslaco), Harlingen’s Arroyo Colorado, Old Hidalgo Pump House, Quinta Mazatlan (McAllen) and Roma Bluffs.
Not a state park in the traditional sense, Resaca de la Palma caters to bird watchers, butterfly enthusiasts and other nature lovers who seek an up-close view of wildlife in a natural setting that includes a restored resaca (an ancient coil of a river bed once filled by Rio Grande floodwaters), marshes, dense thorn-scrub, and mature palm and ebony forests. The park includes five types of habitat: Tamaulipan thornscrub, ebony-anacua forest, sugar hackberry woodlands, revegetated grasslands and the resaca wetlands.
“Resaca de la Palma’s most significant habitat is the six-mile resaca that winds through the park,” said Pablo de Yturbe, park superintendent. “Our park staff worked for many months to clear the old channel to get it ready to refill. We started pumping water into the resaca in July of 2008.”
This day-use park has four observation decks, a picnic area, visitor center, interpretation hall and numerous trails, some of which are handicapped accessible. There are more than 8 miles of dirt hiking trails, including a half-mile trail that is compliant with the Americans With Disabilities Act, and a paved 3.5-mile loop traveled by a tram that makes two stops.
Resaca de la Palma attracts more than 250 species of birds due to its diverse habitats, its location along two American migratory flyways and its proximity to Mexico and Central America, some of whose bird species range only as far north in the United States as Texas’ Rio Grande Valley. Visitors can expect to see a number of colorful species such as the summer tanager, American redstart, green jay and Altamira oriole, as well as the black-bellied whistling duck, groove-billed ani, olive sparrow, and a host of migrating waterfowl.
The opening of the new state park results in part from increased funding provided by the Texas Legislature in 2007 that pays the salaries of 14 full-time and part-time employees, including tram drivers, maintenance assistants, park interpreters and a natural resource specialist. For 2008, the state’s newest wing of the WBC received an $82,000 budget increase. In addition, the legislature approved $28,000 in concession funds to stock the State Park Store with merchandise.
Park visitors must park at the visitor center and walk, bicycle or take the park’s tram into the park. The tram ride is included in the required entrance fee and visitors can rent binoculars, bicycles and tricycles for an additional daily fee.
Resaca de la Palma, 1000 New Carmen Blvd., will have bird walks on Saturday mornings, nature walks on Wednesday mornings and occasional bike tours. For more information, call (956) 350-2920.
To reach the park from Brownville, visitors can take FM 1732 to New Carmen Boulevard. The entrance is on the east side of the boulevard.
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Texas Weekly Migratory Bird Hunting Report - 11/12/2008
November 12, 2008
Weekly migratory bird hunting reports are posted from early September through early February.
High Plains Mallard Management Unit: Outfitters say playa lakes look good and are holding lots of ducks and geese. Most of the birds are scattered throughout the region with the abundance of water. Colder weather should congregate the flocks. Pintails, teal, gadwalls, wigeons and a few mallards have been taken. The brunt of the population has not arrived, yet. Hunting has been fair at best recently with the milder than normal temperatures. Calm days coupled with blue skies have not helped decoying action. Sandhill crane hunting was fair during opening weekend. Those with a little wind saw better results. Goose numbers are building daily with the bright moon and a forecasted cold front that is expected to move through the region. Prospects are good.
North Zone: Duck hunting was fair at best on Northeast Texas lakes and reservoirs. Ponds near Dallas and north of the city saw mixed bags of gadwalls, teal and mallards. Mild temperatures have been the culprit in so few birds seen. Lake Wright-Patman was good for half-limits at best. Toledo Bend, Caddo Lake and Lake O’the Pines held divers and gadwalls. Water levels on lakes and reservoirs remain adequate for hunting. The southern portion of the north zone was fair at best as well. Fields near Brookshire, China, Devers, Nome, Sealy and Winnie held scattered flocks of specklebellies to go with a smattering of ducks. Conditions remain dry on rice and prairie ponds north of IH-10. Expect new birds to show with the full moon, despite no significant cold front forecasted. Prospects are fair.
South Zone: Duck hunting has been fair at best throughout the region, though prairie ponds holding adequate water has seen steady hunting. Best hunts have been in Wharton County, where blue-winged teal, gadwalls, pintails, wigeons and shovelers have filled straps. Fields near Garwood have been steady as well, with most ducks hunters taking the odd specklebelly, too. The Justin Hurst WMA near Freeport, Mad Island WMA near Bay City and Guadalupe Delta WMA near Port Lavaca has seen poor to fair hunting. Most of the freshwater compartments and moist soil units are dry. Duck hunting near Port O’Connor has been fair to good for those willing to put in the time to scout. The brunt of the diver population has not arrived, and the same goes for pintails, gadwalls and wigeons. Rockport has seen fair hunting at best. Large rafts of ducks have not arrived, yet. Goose hunting has been fair to good, with most hunters taking their limit of specklebellies. Snow geese have cooperated when the wind blows. A good hatch of young birds has aided in decoying action. Expect new geese to arrive with the forthcoming full moon. The region received needed rainfall early this week, as much as five inches in some parts, which should recharge parched ponds. Prospects are fair to good.
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Coastal Fisheries Bay Team Tournament Slated for Aransas Pass
November 11, 2008
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has scheduled a Coastal Fisheries Bay Team tournament targeting flounder for 6 a.m. until noon Nov. 15 at Conn Brown Harbor in Aransas Pass.
The program, launched in 2005, is designed to recruit experienced anglers to assist TPWD with collecting brood stock for hatchery programs. The anglers receive t-shirts and fishing lures — and the chance to win hand-held GPS units, rods and reels and BOGA-Grip handheld scales — all while promoting conservation.
An earlier event slated for Texas City was cancelled due to Huricane Ike.
“This all ties in to genetic diversity-the more fish we have for hatchery broodstock, the better it will be for the millions of fish we stock in Texas public waters to improve fishing each year,” said Robert Adami, TPWD coastal fisheries biologist in Corpus Christi.
A long-term decline in southern flounder numbers in Texas bays has led to a series of public scoping meetings to consider regulation changes for the 2009-2010 season. At the same time, efforts are underway at both TPWD and the University of Texas Marine Science Institute in Port Aransas to consistently and successfully spawn flounder in captivity.
“Avoiding inbreeding is an essential component of any hatchery breeding program. You don’t want the same fish siblings year after year after year,” Adami said. “You want at least 25 percent of your brood stock to be new fish each year, and this program is helping us do that.”
Each Coastal Fisheries Bay Team tournament is open to 30 two-person teams, 60 people total, on a first-come, first-serve basis. Registration takes place on-site the day of each tournament. There is no entry fee, but all entrants must be 21 years old or older. Participants may turn in three fish per tournament.
Everyone who brings in at least one flounder is eligible for a drawing to win a Garmin eTrex GPS, a BOGA-Grip handheld scale or a Shimano Calcutta 200B baitcasting reel mounted on a Texas Tackle Factory rod.
The prizes, equipment, and program are made possible through support from Anheuser-Busch, Inc. Since 1991, Anheuser-Busch, in partnership with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation, has contributed millions of dollars in funding to support conservation causes and fishing, hunting, and outdoor recreation programs in Texas.
Anglers interested in participating should call Robert Adami at (361) 215-7340 or e-mail him at robert [dot] adami [at] tpwd [dot] state [dot] tx [dot] us.
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Franklin Mountains State Park to Grow By Almost 1,700 Acres
November 11, 2008
AUSTIN, Texas — The largest urban wilderness park in the continental United States — Franklin Mountains State Park in El Paso — is destined to grow even bigger as a result of action taken Thursday by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission.
Commissioners directed the executive director to take steps necessary for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to acquire roughly 1,670 acres in two separate tracts from the El Paso Water Utilities Public Service Board to add to the 24,247-acre state park. The 80th Texas Legislature required TPWD to acquire the additional park land and allocated $162,000 for that purpose.
The larger piece of new real estate, a 1,470-acre tract adjacent to the Castner Range, would expand the Franklin Mountains State Park boundary at the northeastern corner of the park. The smaller 200-acre tract on the western side of the Franklins would provide the state park some protection against pending development in the southwestern corner of the park.
“At the end of the day, the property acquisition will give us a buffer between previous state park boundaries and pending development areas,” says John Moses, director of El Paso’s state park complex that includes Franklin Mountains State Park. “The buffer zone on the east side of the mountain will be where we’ll put trailheads that will connect new communities in northeast El Paso with the park.”
Franklin Mountains State Park is the United State’s largest urban park, being entirely located within the city limits of El Paso. The state park offers rock climbing, mountain biking, primitive overnight camping, picnicing and guided tours.
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TPWD to Consider Sweeping Deer Hunting Regulation Changes
November 11, 2008
AUSTIN, Texas -The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has transitioned away from political boundaries for the purpose of monitoring white-tailed deer populations and toward biologically-based communities or Resource Management Units (RMUs).
The department has identified 33 unique RMUs across the state having similar soils, vegetation types and land use practices they believe will more accurately capture deer population dynamics. The intent is to develop deer season bag limit frameworks based on these units, although implementation will still track county boundaries to avoid confusion among hunters.
In a briefing of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission’s Regulations Committee, TPWD unveiled an extensive suite of potential regulation changes in deer harvest throughout much of the state. The department will be gathering public input on the possible proposals during the next couple of months and present to the commission in January a comprehensive set of proposals.
Those proposals will then go back out for official comment during a series of public hearings around the state next spring. A final decision will be made by the commission at its March 25-26, 2009 public meeting.
Expansion of Antler Restriction Regulations
One key potential change involves further expansion of the department’s successful antler restriction regulations into 52 additional counties where biologists have identified a need to provide greater protection of younger buck deer. In these counties, data indicates more than 55 percent of the harvested bucks are two-and-a-half years of age or younger, which creates an imbalance in the deer herd age structure.
According to Clayton Wolf, TPWD big game program director, based on data to date in the 61 counties where the rule is currently in effect, the antler restrictions have improved age structure while maintaining ample hunting opportunity.
Potentially affected counties include: Anderson, Angelina, Archer, Atascosa, Brazos, Brown, Chambers, Clay, Cooke, Denton, Ellis, Falls, Freestone, Grayson, Grimes, Hardin, Harris, Henderson, Hill, Hood, Hunt, Jack, Jasper, Jefferson, Johnson, Kaufman, Liberty, Limestone, Madison, McLennan, Milam, Mills, Montague, Montgomery, Navarro, Newton, Orange, Palo Pinto, Parker, Polk, Robertson, San Jacinto, Smith, Stephens, Tarrant, Trinity, Tyler, Van Zandt, Walker, Wichita, Wise, and Young.
Bag Limit Changes
The department is also looking at increasing the bag limit from one buck to two bucks in Baylor, Callahan, Haskell, Jones, Knox, Shackelford, Taylor, Throckmorton, and Wilbarger counties. Wolf noted this area of the state is characterized by relatively large tract sizes and light hunter density and the deer population has grown over the years as habitat has become more favorable to white-tailed deer.
In addition, the department is considering increasing the bag limit from four deer to five deer in Pecos, Terrell, and Upton counties. White-tailed deer densities throughout the eastern Trans-Pecos are very similar to densities on the Edwards Plateau, where current rules allow the harvest of up to five antlerless deer. This change would increase hunting opportunity while addressing a resource concern.
The department is also looking at increasing the bag limit in most Cross Timbers and Prairies and eastern Rolling Plains counties from three deer (no more than one buck, no more than two antlerless) or four deer (no more than two bucks and no more than two antlerless) to five deer (no more than 2 bucks). Counties affected include: Archer, Baylor, Bell (West of IH35), Bosque, Callahan, Clay, Coryell, Hamilton, Haskell, Hill, Jack, Jones, Knox, Lampasas, McLennan, Palo Pinto, Shackelford, Somervell, Stephens, Taylor, Throckmorton, Wichita, Wilbarger, Williamson (west of IH35), and Young.
Another possible change would increase the bag limit from three deer to five deer (no more than one buck) in selected counties in the western Rolling Plains. Although white-tailed deer densities are highly variable in this part of the state, areas containing suitable habitat have become saturated with deer and whitetails are expanding into marginal to poor habitat.
Browsing pressure is severe in these areas, where little woody vegetation exists within five feet of the ground. The proposal would provide additional hunting opportunity while addressing a resource concern. Counties affected include: Armstrong, Briscoe, Carson, Childress, Collingsworth, Cottle, Crosby, Dickens, Donley, Fisher, Floyd, Foard, Garza, Gray, Hall, Hardeman, Hemphill, Hutchinson, Kent, King, Lipscomb, Motley, Ochiltree, Roberts, Scurry, Stonewall, and Wheeler.
The department is also considering for the first time implementing a general open season in Dawson, Deaf Smith, and Martin counties (three deer, no more than one buck, no more than two antlerless).
Another issue where deer surveys indicate a need for change involves additional antlerless deer harvest opportunities. Therefore, the department is looking to increase antlerless deer hunting or “doe days” in the following areas:
- from 16 days to full-season either-sex in Dallam, Denton, Hartley, Moore, Oldham, Potter, Sherman and Tarrant counties;
- from 30 days to full-season either-sex in Cook, Hardeman, Hill, Johnson, Wichita, and Wilbarger counties;
- from four days to16 days in Bowie and Rusk counties;
- from four days to 30 days in Cherokee and Houston counties;
- from no doe days to four doe days in Anderson, Henderson, Hunt, Leon, Rains, Smith, and Van Zandt counties.
This proposal offers more hunting opportunity as well as making “doe days’ more consistent within each resource management unit (a suite of counties with similar population and habitat characteristics). Data indicate that the deer populations can withstand the additional harvest pressure proposed.
The department is also looking at expansion of the late antlerless and spike season into additional counties.
Counties affected include: Archer, Armstrong, Baylor, Bell (West of IH35), Bosque, Briscoe, Callahan, Carson, Childress, Clay, Collingsworth, Comanche, Cooke, Coryell, Cottle, Crosby, Denton, Dickens, Donley, Eastland, Erath, Fisher, Floyd, Foard, Garza, Gray, Hall, Hamilton, Hardeman, Haskell, Hemphill, Hill, Hood, Hutchinson, Jack, Johnson, Jones, Kent, King, Knox, Lampasas, Lipscomb, McLennan, Montague, Motley, Ochiltree, Palo Pinto, Parker, Pecos, Roberts, Scurry, Shackelford, Somervell, Stephens, Stonewall, Tarrant, Taylor, Terrell, Throckmorton, Upton, Wheeler, Wichita, Wilbarger, Williamson (West of IH35), Wise, and Young. In Pecos, Terrell, and Upton counties, the proposed season would replace the current muzzleloader-only open season.
Biologists are also looking to implement a special muzzleloader season in additional counties, lengthen the existing muzzleloader season by five days to be equivalent in length with the special antlerless and spike buck seasons in other counties, and alter the current muzzleloader bag composition to allow the harvest of any buck (not just spike bucks) and antlerless deer without permits if the county has “doe days” during the general season.
Counties affected include: Austin, Bastrop, Bowie, Brazoria, Caldwell, Camp, Cass, Cherokee, Colorado, De Witt, Fayette, Fort Bend, Goliad (North of HWY 59), Goliad (South of HWY 59), Gonzales, Gregg, Guadalupe, Harrison, Houston, Jackson (North of HWY 59), Jackson (South of HWY 59), Karnes, Lavaca, Lee, Marion, Matagorda, Morris, Nacogdoches, Panola, Rusk, Sabine, San Augustine, Shelby, Upshur, Victoria (North of HWY 59), Victoria (South of HWY 59), Waller, Washington, Wharton (North of HWY 59), Wharton (South of HWY 59), and Wilson.
In response to a commission directive to seek additional opportunities for youth participation, the department is looking at extending the early youth only season to include the entire month of October and the late youth-only season by 12 days during January in selected counties to run concurrently with late antlerless and spike seasons. The intent of the proposal is to allow adults and children to hunt together during different special seasons.
The department is also considering a petition to implement a general open season (with antlerless harvest by permit only) in Grayson County. TPWD staff has determined that there is no biological necessity for retaining the current rule, which restricts lawful methods to archery equipment and crossbows, but will be seeking input from county residents prior to making any official proposal to the commission in January. The date and locations of scoping meetings in Grayson County have not been finalized.
Other Wildlife-Related Issues
Other wildlife-related issues that could be advanced by the department include potentially implementing an open general season in Parmer County for mule deer, contingent upon the results of winter surveys and the temporary suspension of the two-day October lesser prairie chicken season until population recovery supports a season.