North Zone Duck: Duck hunting remains fair at best in Northeast Texas and the Pineywoods. More mallards have shown, but the brunt of the greenhead population has not arrived. Biologists report most of the mast crop was washed away with the flooding. Sloughs and river bottoms are full of water and attracting good numbers of wood ducks. Gadwalls and wigeons have been taken in shallow coves of lakes and reservoirs. The diver population on lakes and reservoirs spiked during the past week with the cooler temperatures. Hunting remains best around the zone boundaries of IH-10. Freshwater impoundments have held pintails, wigeons, shovelers and wigeons. Most of the blue-winged teal have moved on, and hunters are waiting for waves of greenwings to arrive. Prospects are fair to good.

South Zone Duck: The coast continues to produce steady duck shoots on the prairies, marshes and bays. Gadwalls, wigeons, shovelers and pintails have been the norm on the prairie. Absent has been large wads of teal, since bluewings have moved on and greenwings have not arrived en masse. Bay hunters have seen an influx of redheads along the middle coast, and most hunts have been half-limits this past week with calm winds and mild temperatures. Good numbers of birds were reported in Rockport. Goose numbers are building, but snow geese have been absent across the prairies. There are some huntable concentrations, however, for the most part, many traditional goose spots are devoid of birds. That could change any day with the full moon approaching. Sandhill crane numbers are steady. Prospects are good.

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On the Net:

• Hunting Regulations: http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/annual/hunt/
• Migration Observations: http://www.mdc.mo.gov/hunt/wtrfowl/migration.php
• Submit Your Observations: http://www.ducks.org/migrationmap/