Teal hunting season slated to open Sept. 12

Submitted photo/ The 2015 duck season kicks off on Sept. 12 with the early teal start.

Nevada Daily Mail

When the 2015 teal season opens, there should be plenty of places for the birds that have water. Fred Green, a veteran teal hunter said, " With all the rain we have had this year, most all the ponds and potholes should be good places to find birds when the season opens Sept. 12."

Another good nesting season up north has produced a forecast of an increase of 19 percent of green-wing teal and a slight increase of blue-wing teal over last years high numbers of birds moving down the Mississippi Flyway.

Early duck breeding success shows blue-wing teal numbers up slightly from last year when the survey showed 8.542 million blue-wings on the breeding grounds. This year the number has increased to 8.547 breeding blue-wings. Their numbers are up 73 percent over the long-term average. Teal hunters this season should have plenty of targets.

Josh Cussimanio, manager at Schell-Osage Wildlife Area, said, "We have plenty of water now, but food plots were flooded early this summer. We had aerial planting of millet, but found an invasion of Army worms that destroyed a large part of it. On the 20th of August we didn't see any teal on the area, but usually by the time the season opens, we have some birds using the area. There should be a decent amount of water available for opening day."

Blue-wing teal are second to mallards as the most numerous duck in North America. They are among the earliest ducks to migrate south during late-summer and early-fall and the last to head north during spring. These teal stay in Missouri for a relative short time, so the best hunting occurs when cold fronts bring winds that are favorable for migration.

At the latest meeting of the Missouri Department of Conservation Commissioners, the regular waterfowl seasons were announced. The seasons are similar to last fall as another big flight of waterfowl heading south is expected. Hunters will once again have a 60-day duck season starting in the North Zone on Oct. 31 followed on Nov. 7 in the Middle Zone and Nov. 26 in the South Zone. The Weekend Youth hunts are open Oct. 24-25 in the North Zone, Oct. 31 through Nov. 1 in the Middle Zone and Nov. 21-22 in the South Zone.

The daily limit on ducks is six birds with species restrictions, which include four mallards (no more than two females), three scaup, three wood ducks, two redheads, two hooded mergansers, two pintails, two canvasbacks, one black duck and one mottled duck. The possession limit will be three times the daily limit (18) including species restrictions. Most species of duck numbers are at a record high for the fourth year in a row.

There should be very good water conditions this fall, but earlier flooding has hurt food production for waterfowl. As usual, weather conditions play a big part in hunters success.

The goose seasons are: snow, blue and Ross's statewide are from Oct. 31 to Jan. 31. White-fronted geese statewide starts Nov. 7 through Jan. 31. Canada geese and brant will have a split season statewide. The first part will be Oct. 3 to Oct. 11 and Nov. 26 through Jan. 31.

The daily limit on Canada and brants will be no more than three in aggregate and nine in possession. On snow, blue or Ross's geese, 20 daily with no possession limit. White-fronted geese will have a daily limit of two with six in possession.

There are 15 conservation area wetlands in the state that provide waterfowl hunting, including Four Rivers and Schell-Osage. Some have permanent blinds while others offer wade-in opportunity for hunters. All these areas have non-toxic shot regulations. You may find these areas that are listed by checking online at mdc.mo.gov. The MDC 2015-16 Waterfowl Hunting Digest, available prior to opening day, has information about waterfowl hunting including regulations, zone descriptions and other information about the waterfowl hunting for 2015-16. The publication will be available at permit vendors, MDC offices or online at mdc.mo.gov.