OUTDOOR CORNER: VARIETY OF CHOICES PRESENTED TO HUNTERS DURING FALL MONTHS

As the month of October draws to an end, I am reminded of the upcoming holiday season. If you hunt in Missouri, you might very well compare this time of year to having dinner in a fancy restaurant.

October hunting seasons such as archery deer and turkey, rabbit, grouse, woodcock and fall firearms turkey are merely appetizers for the banquet of hunting seasons that open in the month of November. For many, the main course will include firearms or muzzleloading deer, quail, furbearers and even a "taste" of crow hunting.

While looking over the "menu" you might be wise to save some room for "duck soup." Now I make no claims of being any kind of cook (I don't even qualify as a poor one) but I do know that the main ingredient in "duck soup" is ducks. Local waterfowl hunters will soon have the opportunity to get things cooking.

The state is divided into three waterfowl hunting zones, each with different season dates. The north zone opened yesterday, Oct. 26 and runs through Dec. 14. The middle/south zone boundaries follow a line running west from the Illinois border on Missouri Hwy. 34 to I-55 at Cape Girardeau; then south On I-55 to U.S. Hwy. 62, then west. Those areas south and east of that line fall into the south zone where duck season runs from Nov. 23 to Jan. 11, 1997.

Regardless of which zone you hunt, the potential is there for some excellent hunting opportunities. Wildlife researchers measure duck populations in two ways. Breeding duck surveys estimate the number of adult ducks returning to northern nesting areas each summer. Fall flight estimates predict the number of ducks that will migrate south this autumn.

This year researchers have estimated the total number of breeding ducks at almost 38 million. That's a 5 percent increase from 1995 and the highest number since 1979. The projected fall flight of nearly 90 million ducks is the highest in more than two decades.

Weather plays a huge role in the waterfowl season for Missouri hunters. Cold weather to the north is needed to push large numbers of birds south to "hungry" hunters. Combine a timely cold front with periodic rains, and we could have the recipe for an excellent season.

Recent waterfowl counts on Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) areas in the southeast region reveal the following: Ten Mile Pond Area (3,892 acres in Mississippi County) reported 8,000 ducks. Duck Creek Conservation Area (6,190 acres north of Puxico) had 3,300 while Otter Slough (4,886 acres south of Dexter) reported 5,300. Coon Island (3,263 acres south of Poplar Bluff) was holding only 150 ducks. Remember, these numbers can literally change overnight depending on weather conditions.

Now that we have a list of ingredients for our "duck soup," all we need to do is follow the recipe (or regulations) to partake of our feast. Regardless of the zone being hunted, the daily bag limit is five ducks. It may include not more that four mallards (No more than one of which may be female), to wood ducks, two redheads, one black duck, one-hooded merganser, one pintail and one canvasback.

Shooting hours are one-half hour before sunrise to sunset. Waterfowl hunters aged 16 and older must have a valid federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp (signed in ink across the face by the user) in addition to a valid small game hunting permit. Starting this season MDC also requires waterfowl hunters to purchase a Missouri migratory game bird hunting permit. This permit replaces the Missouri waterfowl stamp and the migratory bird harvest information program card.

Shells possessed and used while hunting waterfowl must be loaded with material approved as nontoxic by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The only shot currently approved as nontoxic by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is steel shot, bismuth shot, copper, zinc or nickel-plated steel shot for which the plating represents less than 1 percent of the shot's weight. Lead shot plated with copper, nickel or other material does not qualify.

For additional information, consult MDC's 1996-97 Migratory Bird Digest, available from permit vendors statewide.

~Gene Myers is a Missouri Conservation agent in Cape Girardeau County.