Archive for the 'Hunting' Category

Hunting: Early Teal Season

Thursday, August 30th, 2012

Blue-winged Teal

Blue-winged Teal



This is Passport to Texas

Fall hunting begins with dove season on September first, and continues with a 16 day early teal season, beginning September 15th.

10—Teal are an early migrant species of waterfowl that come through Texas — usually in September is when you see a big bunch of birds pushing through here. They’re one of the earliest migrant species that we have.

Dave Morrison is small game program director for Texas Parks and Wildlife. Of the three teal species found in Texas, the blue winged teal is most plentiful.

Before the creation of early teal season, Blue winged teal were not as available to hunters. Morrison says that’s because the “big duck” season started too late and ended too early for teal’s migratory habits.

Biologists monitor movement, survival rates and harvest rates of migratory species like blue winged teal through banding programs.

21—Years ago we started doing research on this, and saw that the band returns are very low for blue wings, and because they’re not available during the regular duck season — a lot of times they’re already through here and gone — and they’re one of the most populous ducks, as well as one of the ones that has the lowest band reporting rates, it makes sense biologically that you can take advantage for these birds. So that’s the reason why we have September teal season.

Tomorrow: how Mother Nature can play foul with early teal season.

The Wildlife and sport fish restoration program supports our series and celebrates 75 years of funding diverse conservation projects throughout Texas… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Hunting: White Winged Dove’s New Range

Wednesday, August 29th, 2012

White Winged Dove

White Winged Dove



This is Passport to Texas

Corey Mason is Wildlife Regional Director for Region 3, and says once limited to South Texas, white winged doves are on the move.

60—You know, we find mourning dove and white-wing dove—both—all the way from Far West Texas in the trans Pecos Region into the Pineywoods of East Texas. And we’ve recently actually this year found new colonies of nesting white wing dove deep in East Texas. Why is that unusual? Historically, white wing dove were found along the lower Rio Grande Valley in South Texas, really associated with South Texas brush, some of the citrus groves in the 80s. But since that time, there’s been a huge range wide expansion of these birds all across the state. White wing dove can basically be found in any county in the state now. What do we attribute this movement of the white wings to? You know, a lot of it can be triggered back to a hard freeze in the eighties, kind of moved some of those birds. Kind of lost some of those types of nesting habitat; those birds adjusted and moved from that. So we kind of have two populations of white wings now. We have the historic south Texas—south of San Antonio—populations of white wing doves. And then we have north of that line, a population of white wing dove that are all across the state now, that are really kind of moving these transient movements from one urban population to the next. And from there spreading out and out and out. It’s really occurred over the last ten or fifteen years. And like I said, these birds can nearly be found pretty much anywhere in the state now.

The dove season opener is in the north and central zones is Saturday, September 1.

The Wildlife and sport fish restoration program supports our series and celebrates 75 years of funding diverse conservation projects throughout Texas…

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Hunting: Preparing for Hunting Season

Thursday, August 23rd, 2012

Preparing Young Hunters

Preparing Young Hunters



This is Passport to Texas

On Saturday, September first, fall hunting kicks off with dove season. The question is: will you be ready?

04—Those hunters need to be thinking about some primary things that deal with safety.

Terry Erwin oversees Hunter Education programs at Texas Parks and Wildlife.

12 – They need to make sure they have their hunter education class completed; they need to make sure those firearms are in good, operable condition; and one of the most important things is to get out there in the field and practice.

And Erwin says dove and quail hunters would do well to get in some practice with sporting clays, because nothing is more frustrating to a hunter than to spend a day in the field with only missed shots to show for it.

10 –Sporting clays typically simulates the shooting scenarios that you’ll find in the dove field, or out in the quail fields. So, take advantage of this time and get out there an practice.

Erwin also offers some sobering advice to hunters.

08 –And don’t forget. It’s really hot out there this time of the year. Keep hydrated. Keep the liquids flowing. But remember, don’t drink that alcohol.

The Wildlife and sport fish restoration program supports our series and celebrates 75 years of funding diverse conservation projects throughout Texas…

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Hunting: Dove Hunting in Texas

Friday, August 17th, 2012

Mourning Dove

Mourning Dove



This is Passport to Texas

Every September first, in the north and central zones, dove hunters are out in force.

06—In Texas, we harvest approximately five million mourning doves, and in excess of one million white winged dove every year.

Corey Mason, Wildlife Regional Director for Region Three, says dove season in the south zone starts later.

56—Because of some of the possible negative impacts to late nesting mourning dove, the season is delayed approximately three to four weeks, so we start in kind of that later part of September down there. And how long does it last? It’s a 70 day season statewide, with a 15 bird bag. And that’s 15 birds each time out, or 15 birds total for the season. It’s a 15 bird daily bag. The aggregate can be composed of 15 birds up to and including whatever combination of mourning and white wing dove, and only up to two of those can be white-tip dove. Which are really only found in the south Texas brush country and in the portion of a few counties in deep south Texas. So, hunters really need to know what they’re looking at before they shoot. They do, you know, and there’s also this new influence of Eurasian collar dove—or some folks call them ring-neck dove. They are not considered part of the daily bag limit. They can be shot year-round. The caveat to that being is if they are shot during dove season we strongly suggest hunters leave a wing, or some kind of identification mark on those birds, so if they’re checked by state or federal wardens they can differentiate between a collar dove and a white wing and mourning dove.

The Wildlife and sport fish restoration program supports our series and celebrates 75 years of funding diverse conservation projects throughout Texas…

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Hunting: Supporting Conservation

Thursday, August 16th, 2012

Bighorn Sheep Release at Big Bend Ranch

Bighorn Sheep Release at Big Bend Ranch



This is Passport to Texas

Kenneth Garcia has a name for the kind of hunting he usually does.

08— I called it poor man hunting, because I hunted on state property in New Mexico for mule deer, and some small leases and stuff here in Texas.

The cost of high fence hunting leases offering premium animals are out of reach for most hunters.

07— I look all the time at what they cost nowadays here in Texas, and I go – how can I justify that expenditure –and the answer is I can’t.

Kenneth got a chance to hunt like the “one percent” when in 2010 Texas Parks and Wildlife drew his name to win the grand Slam from Big Time Texas Hunts: four guided hunts for mule deer, white tail, pronghorn and desert bighorn sheep. He’d been spending $10 dollars annually on entries for a dozen years.

06— Oh, okay. So I did it for 12 years; so I put $120 dollars toward that hunt before I won it…whoop-de-doo.

He considers it an investment in habitat conservation, which is how entry fees are used.

17— If you’re a hunter, or a person who enjoys the outdoors, even if you don’t win, it’s being put to good use. And all of us can spare ten bucks—we drop it on useless stuff every day. So putting it on something like this is a whole lot better in the long run.

There are seven premium Big Time Texas Hunts hunt packages, including the grand slam. Online entry is $9 dollars, $10 dollars at license retailers. Deadline to enter is October 15. Find more information the TPW website.

The Wildlife and sport fish restoration program supports our series. For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.