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.

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 (1982-2016) - Light Geese

 

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