Unusually wet spring weather in the pothole country has created a turn-around, resulting in a dramatic recovery of small duck species numbers.
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Outdoors, Rod Green, MDC O&E Division
Local teal hunters ought to be developing a lip curl, starting in the middle of the upper lip and rapidly wrapping up around their eye-teeth. Unusually wet spring weather in the pothole country has created a turn-around, resulting in a dramatic recovery of small duck species numbers. With the early season waterfowl migrants near record numbers, all that is needed to make the 2003 early teal season (Sept. 6-21) great is precipitation. A smile of absolute jubilation should only await continued showers in the drought-stricken northern reaches of the Show-Me State.
The smallest of ducks, teal head out of their northern nesting country, usually before the first snowflake falls. During the locally hot, humid weather of mid-August through early September, flocks of blue-winged and green-winged teal typically arrive at Missouri marshes. Most also vacate local surrounds long before the annual late October opening of the big duck hunting season.
According to Conservation Department reports, “That migration already has begun…surveys along the Missouri River in mid-August showed flocks of 30 to 50 teal in oxbow lakes and other permanent, natural wetlands.” Managed wetlands along major regional rivers, where water pumping has provided early season habitat, has also counted teal. The heavy rains over the Labor Day holiday have resulted in better local waterfowl habitat in the southern parts of the region but wetlands continue to be parched in more northern reaches.
The availability of local wetlands during late summer is the key to “great” local teal hunting. The birds are here and seed-producing plants on the arid summer wetlands hopefully enjoyed enough early summer precipitation to produce lots of good teal food. August is usually a dry month…that’s no surprise. But the natural lowland vegetation needs to be surrounded by shallow water to be a magnet for migrating teal. The bottom line is that soaking rains, coupled with record teal numbers, should result in excellent local hunting.
Following several years of record waterfowl production, poor nesting conditions last year (2002) prompted wildlife officials to shorten the early teal hunting season by a week compared to 2001. But unusually wet spring weather this year has saved the day! Plenty of late winter snow and early spring rain in the prairie duck factory country of the north-central United States and south-central Canada has provided another successful waterfowl nesting year. The moisture combined with waterfowl habitat established by state, provincial, and federal agencies, Ducks Unlimited, and other conservation groups has made it possible for waterfowl to sustain a marvelous comeback.
The Conservation Department has historically established a warm-weather early teal hunting season to allow hunter harvest of a resource surplus that would otherwise be lost to the later big duck season dates. Low numbers on the North American continent prevented the special hunting season during the 1988 through 1991 period. Between then and last year, 1998, most early waterfowl hunting seasons have been set to run nine days.
The 1998 early duck season was liberalized with seven extra days — to total 16 — prompted by growth of the continent-wide population of blue- and green-winged teal, both now well above the goals set by the North American Waterfowl Management Plan. The extended teal season persisted until the precipitation-starved pothole Spring of last year that resulted in the reduced nine-day 2002 season.
Even with high populations of teal, Show-Me State hunters still need to be aware of habitat conditions. The big question following a dry late summer is whether there will be enough water on the wetlands to hold migrating birds.
Sharing steaming late summer marshes with droves of mosquitoes and countless other insects and pollen-laden aquatic plants, an early teal shooter can itch and sneeze himself into distraction. All decked out in rubber waders and a camouflaged rain parka, the hunter is usually a self-contained sauna. The situation is a far-cry from a few weeks following when the big ducks and colder weather come barreling down the waterfowling pike.
Wading and shooting among the lush vegetation of late summer, with or without decoys, at the erratically speedy targets is a wingshooter’s dream come true. The delicately flavored small but tasty teal make the end product of the experience all the more worthwhile.
During early teal season, the hunter must be at his identification best. While regular duck season allows for some species recognition errors, the early season hunter must shoot only at teal. It can be tough for the inexperienced hunter to tell teal from other ducks as they zip, barely above water level, within shotgun range. Resident wood ducks or early migrants like gadwalls and shovelers often use the same marshes in September and test the waterfowler’s identification skill.
Although the hunting weather is warm, early teal shooting is true waterfowling in any sense of the word. The fast, erratic flights of teal that skim just above the marsh show up and disappear like wisps of wind-driven smoke. Even though they decoy easily and often pass back over the shooter after being shot at, teal present a formidable target and often leave hunters empty-handed, out of ammunition, and standing in their sweat and tears…Outdoors in Northwest Missouri.