Snow Goose Hunting

Friday, February 9, 2018

2017-2018 Texas Snow Goose Count Worst Ever?

The 2017-2018 mid-winter index was completed and the numbers suggest what we've all expected, a continued decline in the number of wintering snow geese in South East Texas.

According to a recent report in the Houston Chronicle, the amount of light geese counted in aerial surveys was only 191,000. This puts the 2017-2018 survey as the lowest ever recorded and down a whopping 80% from the highs of the late 1990's.

Texas Mid-Winter Index - Light Goose Count

Year	MWI Count
1982	807,000
1983	821,000
1984	921,000
1985	672,000
1986	795,000
1987	621,000
1988	548,000
1989	602,000
1990	674,000
1991	831,000
1992	693,000
1993	903,000
1994	986,000
1995	721,000
1996	1,093,000
1997	826,000
1998	1,010,000
1999	NR
2000	964,000
2001	652,000
2002	535,000
2003	363,000
2004	469,000
2005	404,000
2006	399,000
2007	558,000
2008	299,000
2009	362,000
2010	431,000
2011	631,000
2012	253,000
2013	395,000
2014	196,000
2015	442,000
2016	254,000
2017	212,000
2018	191,000

Saturday, January 7, 2017

Texas Mid-winter Waterfowl Survey 2017 - Texas Goose Count

The 2017 Texas Mid-winter Waterfowl Survey was flown during the last week of December 2016 and the results are in for light geese.

Zone 1 - 54,771
Zone 2 - 88,625
Zone 3 - 65,043
Zone 4 - 4,411

Total 212,850

The survey consists of the following 4 zones in SE Texas.

Zone 1 is the upper coast southeast of Houston

Zone 2 is the mid-coast north of 59

Zone 3 is the mid-coast south of 59

Zone 4 is the lower coast south of Guadalupe River.

The Numbers (1982-2017)

Light Geese

Year	MWI Count
1982	807,000
1983	821,000
1984	921,000
1985	672,000
1986	795,000
1987	621,000
1988	548,000
1989	602,000
1990	674,000
1991	831,000
1992	693,000
1993	903,000
1994	986,000
1995	721,000
1996	1,093,000
1997	826,000
1998	1,010,000
1999	NR
2000	964,000
2001	652,000
2002	535,000
2003	363,000
2004	469,000
2005	404,000
2006	399,000
2007	558,000
2008	299,000
2009	362,000
2010	431,000
2011	631,000
2012	253,000
2013	395,000
2014	196,000
2015	442,000
2016	254,000

2017 212,850

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Status of Mid-Continent White-fronted Geese

White-fronted Geese (aka Speckled bellies, bar bellies, or specks) are some of the most fun species of waterfowl to hunt in the United States. Being highly responsive to hand calls, these birds often provide quite the decoying show. Unlike snow geese which tend to winter in large groups exclusively, white-fronted geese tend to prefer to remain in smaller family groups as the season progresses. Because of this, they are extremely hard to count during the winter survey. Biologist instead focus on fall surveys in Alberta and Saskatchewan to perform counts before the birds break up and head south.

Below is a chart outlining the results of this survey. Regulatory agencies in the U.S. us the three year running average to determine bag limits on white-fronted geese. If the 3 year average is 800,000 or more birds, a liberal bag is available for that year.

TSS Pellet Count Per Ounce

This table compares the pellet counts per ounce of 11g/cc Lead, 12g/cc Hevishot, 15g/cc Heavyweight, and 18g/cc Tungsten Supershot (TSS).

Steel, Lead, Hevishot - Shotshell Pellet Count Table

These charts show the comparison of pellet counts between lead, steel and Rem HD (aka hevishot). Shotshells, pellet count. Hevishot, Steel, Lead.

For more ballistic info, check out this page.

Thursday, August 11, 2016

2016 USFWS Waterfowl Population Status Report Released

The 2016 USFWS Waterfowl Population Status Report was released this year on August 10th. This is around 3 weeks later than it has been released in previous years. The full report can be found here: Link to Report

A brief summary of the findings includes 48.4 million breeding pairs of ducks, down from 49.5 million estimated last year. Pond estimated were 5 million which is 21% below last years estimate of 6.3 million. Conditions in most areas were poorer than last year, but still should provide a good flight south this winter.

Status of Light Geese
The 2016 snow goose hatch was estimated to be average for the Mid Continental Populations with colonies on SouthHampton Island doing particularly well. The total midwinter index last year was reported to be 3.4 million snow geese. This is a 5% increase over 2015. Ross Geese in the Queen Maud Gulf Region nested 3 days earlier than normal and it's expected the fall flight will be average to above average.

Mid-Continent White-fronted Geese
977,000 White-fronted geese were counted last year during the fall staging survey. Conditions were average to above average for nesting white-fronted geese and with the staging count over 800,000 average should allow for liberal bag limits to continue.

Sunday, May 1, 2016

2016 Texas Midwinter Index - Annual Waterfowl Survey - Texas Goose Counts

Texas is no longer the snow goose capital of the world. It has been this way for at least the last decade. It remains a shadow of it’s former self due to a host of reasons including loss of habitat, decline in rice production, water shortages, hunting pressure, and warmer winters. Snow geese have shifted their main migration to places like Arkansas and Missouri which now winter millions of snow geese each year.

Coastal Mid-Winter Index

The Mid-winter index is an aerial survey conducted around December 13^th or 14^th in Texas every year in order to count waterfowl species and observe population trends over time. Pilots and trained observers have been flying the same predetermined transects in key wintering areas of the Texas Coast since at least the early 1980’s. Details of the 2016 survey and past surveys can be found on the TPWD website or by following this link: http://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/game_management/waterfowl/

The survey consists of the following 4 zones in SE Texas.