Migratory Game Birds (Early Season)

Nothing in this publication authorizes any person to violate federal laws governing migratory game birds.

A migratory game bird stamp is required to hunt any migratory game bird, including mourning doves.

A Federal Sandhill Crane Hunting Permit is required to hunt sandhill cranes.

Dove, Teal, Gallinule, Rail, Snipe, and Woodcock

Note: Duck, merganser, coot, sandhill crane, and goose hunting dates and bag limits have not been finalized at this time. A separate digest containing general water fowl regulations will be available in October wherever licenses are sold.

Please report dove leg bands. Please check doves you shoot for leg bands and report them. The bands are very small and easy to overlook. Previous studies indicated two-thirds of banded doves taken by hunters were never reported. High reporting rates maximize return on hunting license dollars spent for needed management information.

Please report bands to the toll-free telephone number (1-800-327-BAND [2263]) or on the Internet at: http://www.reportband.gov.

No person shall hunt migratory game birds in this state unless that person is certified in the Harvest Information Program (HIP) in Texas. When you purchase a hunting license, indicate to the license clerk that you intend to hunt migratory game birds and need to be HIP certified by answering a few simple questions.

The letters "HIP" should appear on your license to indicate that you have been HIP certified.

• Aggregate Limit: A daily bag or possession limit composed of more than one species.
• Bait: Salt, grain, or other feed, directly or indirectly placed, exposed, deposited, distributed, or scattered, that could serve as a lure or attraction for migratory game birds to, on, or over any areas where hunters are attempting to take them.
• Baited Area: Any area on which bait has been placed, exposed, deposited, distributed, or scattered so as to serve as a lure or attraction for migratory game birds to, on, or over areas where hunters are attempting to take them. Any such area will remain a baited area for ten days following the complete removal of all bait.
• Daily Bag Limit: The maximum number of birds as specified for each species which may be taken during the legal shooting hours of any one day.
• Legal Shotgun: Shotguns not larger than 10 gauge, fired from the shoulder, and incapable of holding more than three shells (shotguns capable of holding more than three shells must be plugged with a one-piece filler which is incapable of removal without disassembling the gun, so the gun's total capacity does not exceed three shells).
• Manipulation: Alteration of natural vegetation or crops, including but not limited to mowing, shredding, discing, rolling, chopping, trampling, flattening, burning, and herbicide treatments.
• Migratory Game Birds: Includes all wild species of ducks, geese, coot, rail, gallinules, snipe, woodcock, doves (mourning, white-winged, white-tipped or white-fronted) and sandhill cranes. Does not include exotic collared-dove.
• Natural Vegetation: Any non-agricultural, native, or naturalized plant species.
• Normal Agricultural Planting, Harvesting, and Post-Harvest Manipulation: A planting or harvesting undertaken for the purpose of producing and gathering a crop, or manipulation after such harvest and removal of a crop, that is conducted in accordance with official recommendations of State Extension Specialists of the Cooperative Extension Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
• Possession Limit: The maximum number of migratory game birds that can be possessed at any time (two times the daily bag limit after the first day of the season). Sora and Virginia rails are an exception.
• Sinkbox: A low floating device concealing a person below the surface of the water. UNLAWFUL!
• Waterfowl: Includes ducks, geese, mergansers, and coots.

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NOTE: Hunters are responsible for knowing whether an area is baited or not.

• Baiting (the following baiting rules have been established by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service):
  • A hunter MAY hunt any migratory game bird:
    • over standing crops, standing flooded crops, and flooded harvested crops
    • at any time over natural vegetation that has been manipulated
    • where seeds or grains have been scattered as a result of normal agricultural planting, harvesting, or post-harvest manipulation
    • over crops or natural vegetation where grain has been inadvertently scattered as a result of entering or leaving the field, placing decoys, or retrieving downed birds
    • using natural vegetation or crops to conceal a blind, provided that if crops are used, no grain or other feed is exposed, deposited, distributed, or scattered in the process
    • except water fowl and cranes where grain or other feed has been distributed or scattered as the result of the manipulation of a crop or livestock feeding
  • A hunter MAY NOT:
    • hunt migratory birds with the aid of bait, or on or over any baited area
    • hunt over any baited area until 10 days after all baiting materials have been removed
    • hunt waterfowl or cranes over manipulated planted millet, unless the millet was planted more than one year prior to hunting
    • hunt waterfowl or cranes over crops that have been manipulated, unless the manipulation is a normal agricultural planting, harvesting, or post-harvest manipulation
• Documentation: All harvested migratory game birds not in the immediate possession of the person who killed them must be tagged with a wildlife resource document (PDF 174.9 KB) until the birds reach the possessor's personal residence and are finally processed. If a hunter's personal birds have been finally processed at a cold storage or processing facility and the hunter transports someone else's birds, then a WRD must accompany those birds until they reach the possessor's permanent residence.
• Emergency Rule Changes: These rules may be modified to make them consistent with federal regulations or to protect the wildlife resource through emergency action by the TPWD executive director.
• Lawful Hunting Means and Methods: Shotguns, archery equipment, falconry, dogs, artificial decoys, and manual or mouth-operated bird calls are lawful. Hunting is permitted in the open or from a blind or other type of concealment or from floating craft or boat provided that all motion resulting from sail or motor has ceased. Sails must be furled and motor turned off before shooting starts. A "sinkbox" (see definition) is unlawful.
• Nontoxic Shot: While waterfowl hunting, only nontoxic shot approved by the director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service may be possessed. Lead shot is unlawful!
• Species Identification: Except for migratory game birds processed at a cold storage or processing facility, or doves, one fully-feathered wing or the head must remain attached to migratory game birds while the birds are being transported between the place where taken and the permanent residence of the possessor. Note: Migratory game birds may be dressed for immediate cooking at a place other than a permanent residence (e.g., hunting camp). This does not include placing dressed birds in a cooler/refrigerator for later consumption while at a place other than a permanent residence. Hunters are encouraged to leave plumage on all doves other than mourning dove, white-winged dove, and white-tipped dove (e.g., exotic collared-dove) for species identification.
• Transfer: A person may not transfer or give migratory game birds to another person while in the field. After leaving the field, a person must have a wildlife resource document for any migratory game bird not in the immediate possession of the person who killed them (see Daily Bag and Possession). Migratory game birds may be shipped, provided a wildlife resource document accompanies the package. See above for more information on documentation. A sample can be seen at wildlife resource document (PDF 174.9 KB).
• Vehicles: It is unlawful to hunt from or by means of motor-driven vehicles and land conveyances or aircraft of any kind, except paraplegics and single or double amputees of legs may hunt from stationary motor-driven vehicles or land conveyances. It is unlawful to use motor-driven land, water, or air conveyances or sailboats to concentrate, drive, rally, or stir up any migratory game bird.
• There is no open season for migratory game birds on public roads or the right-of-way of public roads.
• Federal Regulations: For more information on federal regulations, contact: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, P.O. Box 329, Albuquerque, NM 87103. Phone (505) 248-7889 or visit www.fws.gov/le

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Doves (please report leg bands to 1-800-327-BAND): Migratory game bird stamp endorsement required to hunt any doves in any season. NOTE: There is no closed season or bag limit restrictions for Eurasian collared-doves or common pigeons (rock doves); however, it is recommended that plumage be left on these birds for identification purposes.

• North Zone:
  • Regular Season: Sept. 1-Oct. 24, 2012 and Dec. 22, 2012-Jan. 6, 2013.
    • Daily Bag Limit: 15 mourning, white-winged, and white-tipped (white-fronted) doves in the aggregate, to include not more than two whitetips.
    • Possession Limit: twice the daily bag limit.
• Central Zone:
  • Regular Season: Sept. 1-Oct. 24, 2012 and Dec. 22, 2012-Jan. 6, 2013.
    • Daily Bag Limit: 15 mourning, white-winged, and white-tipped (white-fronted) doves in the aggregate, to include not more than two whitetips.
    • Possession Limit: twice the daily bag limit.
• South Zone:
  • Regular Season: Sept. 21-Oct. 28, 2012 and Dec. 22, 2012-Jan. 22, 2013.
    • Daily Bag Limit: 15 mourning, white-winged and white-tipped (white-fronted) doves in the aggregate, to include not more than two whitetips.
    • Possession Limit: twice the daily bag limit.
• Special White-Winged Dove Area:
  • Special Season: Sept. 1-2 and Sept. 8-9, 2012.
    • Daily Bag Limit: 15 white-winged, mourning and white-tipped (white-fronted) doves in the aggregate, to include not more than 4 mourning doves and 2 whitetips.
    • Possession Limit: twice the daily bag limit.
  • Regular Season: Sept. 21-Oct. 28, 2012 and Dec. 22, 2012-Jan. 18, 2013.
    • Daily Bag Limit: 15 mourning, white-winged and white-tipped (white-fronted) doves in the aggregate, to include not more than two whitetips.
    • Possession Limit: twice the daily bag limit.
• Falconry Season (Statewide) - Dove:
  • Regular Season: Nov. 15-Dec. 21, 2012.
    • Daily Bag Limit: 3 in the aggregate.
    • Possession Limit: 6 in the aggregate.
• Dove Hunting Zones
  
  

• September Teal-Only Season (Blue-winged, Green-winged & Cinnamon Teal):
  • Statewide: Sept. 15-30, 2012.
    • Daily Bag Limit: 4 in the aggregate.
    • Possession Limit: 8 in the aggregate.

• King and Clapper Rails:
  • Regular Season: Sept. 15-30, 2012 and Nov. 3-December 26, 2012.
    • Daily Bag Limit: 15 in the aggregate.
    • Possession Limit: 30 in the aggregate.
  • Falconry Season: Jan. 28-Feb. 11, 2013.
    • Daily Bag Limit: 3 in the aggregate.
    • Possession Limit: 6 in the aggregate.

• Sora and Virginia Rails:
  • Regular Season: Sept. 15-30, 2012 and Nov. 3-December 26, 2012.
    • Daily Bag Limit: 25 in the aggregate.
    • Possession Limit: 25 in the aggregate.
  • Falconry Season: Jan. 28-Feb. 11, 2013.
    • Daily Bag Limit: 3 in the aggregate.
    • Possession Limit: 6 in the aggregate.

• Moorhens (Common Gallinules) and Purple Gallinules:
  • Regular Season: Sept. 15-30, 2012 and Nov. 3-December 26, 2012.
    • Daily Bag Limit: 15 in the aggregate.
    • Possession Limit: 30 in the aggregate.
  • Falconry Season: Jan. 28-Feb. 11, 2013.
    • Daily Bag Limit: 3 in the aggregate.
    • Possession Limit: 6 in the aggregate.

• Woodcock:
  • Regular Season: Dec. 18, 2012-Jan. 31, 2013.
    • Daily Bag Limit: 3 in the aggregate.
    • Possession Limit: 6 in the aggregate.
  • Falconry Season: Jan. 28-Feb. 11, 2013.
    • Daily Bag Limit: 3 in the aggregate.
    • Possession Limit: 6 in the aggregate.

• Wilson's Snipe (Common snipe or jacksnipe):
  • Regular Season: Nov. 3, 2012-Feb. 17, 2013.
    • Daily Bag Limit: 8 in the aggregate.
    • Possession Limit: 16 in the aggregate.

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