INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND 
Interest in a special hunting season on teal was formally expressed 
in 1957 when the Mississippi Flyway Council proposed an experimental 
teal season for Louisiana. No immediate action was taken on this pro¬ 
posal, but interest in regulating harvest by species increased as duck 
populations decreased during the late 1950's and early 1960's. In the 
spring of 1962, the Regulations Committee of the Technical Section, 
Mississippi Flyway Council, met with delegates from the Atlantic and 
Central Flyways at Oak Harbor, Ohio. The attendants discussed waterfowl 
"species management" and defined the species and/or areas which might be 
used to provide additional hunting recreation. 
Waterfowl biologists attending this meeting concluded -that blue¬ 
winged teal was the best species for the first attempts at intensive 
species management. The blue-winged teal was choserf because: (1) it 
seemed to have a low rate of hunting kill and (2) it migrated early 
allowing it to escape gunning pressure in most of the United States, 
and tending to isolate it from other species of ducks in the autumn. 
Green-winged teal were included with bluewings because biologists thought 
that most hunters would not be able to distinguish between these two 
species of similar size. Moreover, the effect of the early shooting on 
the greenwing was expected to be small because, being a later migrant, 
it would not be present in large numbers to be harvested. 
The Committee report was presented to the Technical Sections of 
the Central and Mississippi Flyways and subsequently to the Flyway 
Councils. In August 1963, the Mississippi Flyway Council moved that 
an early blue-winged teal season be planned and that the mechanics for 
this season be set up for the fall of 1964. However, the Regulations 
Committee of the Council concluded that the necessary data gathering 
procedures for the experimental season could not be set up in time for 
1964. They recommended that an experimental teal season be conducted 
in the Mississippi Flyway in 1965. This was acceptable to the States 
in the Mississippi Flyway as well as to the Bureau of Sport Fisheries 
and Wildlife. During this period, the Central Flyway Technical Section 
and Council had gone through similar stages of preparation and the 
Central Flyway was included in the experimental September teal hunting 
.season to be held in 1965. This report presents and discusses data 
collected during the 1965 September season so that they may be considered 
in the continuance of the experiment in September 1966. 
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