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

High Plains Mallard Management Unit/Panhandle: Decoying action for Canada geese remained solid over corn and wheat. Snow geese are good near Lake Etter, though they have been tougher to decoy. The brunt of the goose population is roosting on Lake Etter and on playas near Spearman and Dumas. Sandhill cranes are good near Pampa and Plainview. Duck numbers are strong. Mallards are good on just about every watering source; still, few duck hunters are taking advantage of prime conditions. The region still needs precipitation to fill dry playas. Hunting in Haskell County continues to be good for Canada geese and a few snows. Ducks on playas continue to be solid over decoys. Outfitters are saying this is turning out to be one of the best goose season for decoying geese they can remember. Prospects are good.

North Zone Waterfowl: Conditions remain unseasonably dry in Northeast Texas. Those waterfowlers hunting mere puddles of water are taking mallards, gadwalls and wood ducks in river bottoms and sloughs. Public lakes like Toledo Bend, Sam Rayburn, Lake Fork, Caddo Lake, Cooper Lake and Lake O’the Pines have seen the most ducks. Mallards, wood ducks, scaup, ringed-necks, gadwalls and a few wigeons have made it on straps. Canvasbacks are strong on Lake O’the Pines, Caddo Lake and Toledo Bend and are legal to harvest Dec. 22. Many outdoorsmen are reporting water levels at record lows in the region. Prairie ponds along the IH-10 corridor saw fair to good action for ducks. Soaking mid-week rains helped recharge ponds and scattered ducks a bit; however, the welcomed rain should sustain the habitat through the remainder of the season. Shovelers, gadwalls, teal and mallards have comprised the bag. Hunters get their first crack at pintails Dec. 22. Prospects are fair to good.

South Zone Waterfowl: Goose hunting picked up over the weekend with stiff winds and a low ceiling. Concentrated geese are beginning to break into smaller pods as rice supplies dwindle. Many snows are feeding on green grass, wheat and fallow fields. Specklebellies are fickle, sometimes turning their nose to well-placed spreads. Canada geese are beginning to build into huntable flocks. Large flocks of pintails are working soaked rice fields and leveed ponds. Pintails and canvasbacks are legal game Dec. 22. Mid-week rains dumped two to seven inches of rain on the prairies east and west of Houston. Duck hunting in Eagle Lake, El Campo, Garwood, Lissie, Wharton and Katy slowed a bit this week; still, outfitters are reporting duck numbers are well above what they were this time last year. Mallards continue to show up in bags along the coast and coastal prairies. Duck hunting in the High Island and East Galveston Bay marsh was good for those who have access to water. North winds along with Solstice tides sent water rushing out of the marsh, concentrating ducks on landlocked ponds. Gadwalls, teal, scaup and shovelers have been comprising the bags. Hunting in the Trinity Bay marsh continues to be solid as wigeons, gadwalls, teal and spoonies have been harvested. Lots of pintails are working the shoalgrass shorelines of Port O’Connor, Rockport and Seadrift. Hunters there are also taking redheads, scaup, buffleheads, wigeons, gadwalls and spoonbills. Prospects are good.

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