The September teal season in Texas is always about water, weather, and wind, which are often referred to as the “three Ws.” Too much water, and the little ducks are scattered from Sabine to South Padre. Too much weather in the form of a tropical cyclone, and teal season takes a backseat to human survival. Too much north wind, and bluewings can blow right through the state.
The good news is Texas hasn’t received too much water—drought conditions persist after an early summer of widespread rainfall. Hurricanes have not been a problem along the Gulf Coast either.
“Bluewings are in our second-crop rice fields and starting to find our moist-soil ponds,” says Slade Schiurring, landowner, rice farmer, and chairman of DU’s Ricebelt Chapter in El Campo. “We expect to see the numbers continue to grow in southwest Colorado and west Wharton Counties.”
Last week’s tropical moisture dumped rain along the Texas and Louisiana border but missed most of the Texas coast. “It has been a little dry, but those good rains in May and June have helped our marshes,” says Brian Davenport, owner of Fin and Fowl Outfitters near Anahuac. “The marsh is in pretty good shape, and I’m seeing lots of wigeon grass growing.”
Davenport reports that he has seen quite a few teal in the marsh around Smith Point and in flooded rice along the coast. Anahuac and High Island marshes have benefited this week from daily rainfall and swollen tides associated with low pressure over the region.
“Much-needed rains from Tropical Storm Edouard showed up and helped out with a few inches of water,” says Chuck Uzzle of Orange. “It might have saved the early teal season around Jefferson County and Cameron Parish because August was so brutal.”
Uzzle notes that teal numbers have improved since the full moon, and marsh conditions should be good for the regular duck season if the region gets an average amount of rainfall in September and October.
Which brings us to the third variable—north winds. Calhoun County guide Jake Huddleston reports that teal numbers in his area increased from mid- to late August, but a recent front appears to have pushed many bluewings to the south. “We lost a couple thousand birds on that north wind last week,” he says.
Just as north winds can blow birds out of the area, they can also usher in fresh flights of bluewings from the Midwest, and long-term forecasts call for a weak cold front to reach Texas sometime around the eve of the opener.
“Hopefully, we will have the right weather in the tiny, nine-day window of teal season,” Calhoun County guide Jake Huddleston reports. “We need it to rain and cool down.”
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