Leschper: Recent rains may put a damper on duck hunting

This year should be something to quack about.

Duck season began last weekend in the High Plains Mallard Management Unit and Saturday in the rest of the state, and by all indications it should be a banner year when it comes to the number of birds that will be migrating south. However, recent moisture statewide after prolonged drought could be detrimental to hunters who had planned on targeting their favorite spot during the early season.

The added moisture has a two-pronged effect that could hinder seeing scads of ducks in locales that seemed primed leading up to the season. It will provide more water sources for birds to frequent while contributing more forage sources after it has taken root, which could lead to the scattering of birds in both cases. And as with other winged quarries, hunting pressure also tends to affect concentrations of ducks when they figure out where they've been shot at and where they haven't.

That being said, breeding counts tallied by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service show upwards of 42 million ducks, a 13 percent increase over last year's total. And while birds could be somewhat scattered for any number of factors, there should be no shortage of young ducks this fall, especially with Midwest nesting success after last season and through the spring.

Texas again has a liberal duck season, a change from a three-year run involving the hunter's choice system of bag limits. You will be able to harvest six ducks per day, which may include no more than five mallards (only two of which may be hens). The other limits are three wood ducks, two scaup, two redheads, one pintail, one canvasback and one mottled duck.

Despite the change from the framework used in the previous three seasons, hunters still must know without a doubt what variety of duck they're pointing a shotgun at before they squeeze the trigger. With this in mind, here's a quick look at some quick ways to distinguish one duck from another as we begin a new month.

Size

Teal are the smallest ducks hunters in Texas see and though the early season was in September, there might still be some cruising around. Though most ducks are similar in girth, some species are slightly larger than others. For example, a canvasback drake and a redhead drake may have somewhat similar coloration, but a canvasback is larger, which could help distinguish a difference.

Silhouette

Not all ducks are built the same, which again is an a

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