And for those with access to decent waterfowl habitat, the outlook is excellent. After many areas struggled with spotty teal numbers over the past week, autumn's first good push of cool air in conjunction with a waxing moon seems to be bringing more of the early-migrating little ducks to Texas. They'll be welcomed. That's just about what Texas waterfowl managers figured when, this past year, they finally gained federal approval to extend the teal-only season from nine to 16 days. And because highest participation in the hunts occurs on Saturdays and Sundays, those weekends are the most important days of the season.
Teal numbers tend to peak later in the month.
By having three weekends to work with, you've got good odds of having at least two of them happening when we have a lot of teal in the state. Opening weekend, Sept. 11-12, was very, very good just about statewide, Sullivan said. The only prerequisite for success was hunting an area with decent teal habitat, he said. And that was a bit of a problem, particularly in many areas along the coast. Some marshes and most of the prairie were, and continue to be, extremely dry.