OUTDOOR CORNER: FALL HUNTERS MAY FIND THE RIGHT `CUP OF TEA-L'

If you think you would like to try duck hunting but cold weather is not exactly your "cup of tea," the Missouri Department of Conservation may have just what you're looking for. The nine-day special teal season started yesterday and runs through September 17.

Ask most Missouri waterfowl hunters to describe a typical day of duck hunting and it will go something like this:

Getting out of bed in the middle of a cold November night to drive to their hunting spot, trudging through frozen mud and ice to reach a duck blind while dragging enough decoys and related paraphernalia to stock a good-sized sporting goods store. Then, after all that exertion, trying to keep from freezing to death while huddling in their blind waiting for a winter sun that will bring precious little warmth with it. Likely, they won't even see the sun, only a dull gray sky that spits freezing rain in their faces as they peer out at the leafless trees that appear to be skeletons hovering around them.

Current temperatures in the 70's and 80's mean you can substitute insect repellent and lightweight camouflage for the insulated clothing you would normally need to go duck hunting but the warm weather has one major drawback.

Most of the teal found in southeast Missouri during September are cold-weather migrants from Canada and the United States. This year, both the temperatures and number of teal remain high in nesting areas. Bluewing teal are at an all-time high of 5.1 million, up 11 percent from last year, and greenwing teal number 2.3 million, up 9 percent from 1994. That means lots of teal up north but a cold front is needed to move them into southeast Missouri.

At present, Duck Creek Conservation Area (6,190 acres north of Puxico) holds the largest concentration of teal (100+) of any public hunting area in southeast Missouri. Ten MIle Pond Conservation Area (3,892 acres in Mississippi County) has few teal due to a lack of water. Otter Slough Conservation Area (4,886 acres in Stoddard County) will have extremely limited hunting opportunities due to extensive construction work on the area. Reservations are not required for teal hunting on any of these areas, but hunters are required to register at the respective area headquarters.

Shooting hours for teal run from sunrise to sunset with a limit of four per day and a possession limit of eight. In addition to a valid hunting permit, hunters 16 years of age or older are required to have both state and federal waterfowl stamps. All waterfowl hunters, regardless of age, are required to have a Migratory Bird Harvest Information Program (HIP) card.

Eugene Myers is a Missouri Conservation Agent in Cape Girardeau County.