[music]
[duck calls]
[gun shots]
[Narration] When you're out hunting waterfowl, there's
a good chance you will be checked by a Game Warden.
Here are a few tips you should keep in mind.
[Albert Flores] Good etiquette, when I come up on a blind,
usually I'm coming up in an airboat out here in the flats.
Most people know the Game Warden is coming.
They can see our boat.
But if not, once you see a boat approaching and you realize who it is good etiquette is
to go ahead and unload your guns.
Unload them safely.
When we get to the blind first thing we look for is license.
We look at your guns and we look at your birds.
So if you can have all that ready to go the inspection will go a lot quicker, we can get
you on your hunt and we can go on to next blind.
[Narration] During waterfowl season the most common violation
game wardens encounter has nothing to do with birds.
[Albert Flores] The most common violation that we see is not
having a hunter education course.
A lot of people don't realize that once you turn 17 you're required to have a hunter education
course.
Anyone born after September 2nd of '71 is required to have a hunter ed course.
[Narration] Hunters under 9 years old must be accompanied
by a person who is at least 17 years old, who is licensed to hunt in Texas, who has
passed hunter education or is exempt and they must be within normal voice control.
Hunters between 9 and 16 years old must successfully complete a hunter education course or be accompanied.
Age 17 and older must successfully complete a hunter education course or purchase a one
year hunter education deferral and be accompanied.
[duck calls]
[Albert Flores] In addition to your hunting license you need
a state migratory game bird endorsement and you also0 need your federal migratory game
bird stamp and those are the two main things you need to have out here.
[Narration] When you purchase a hunting license and the
stamp endorsements to hunt waterfowl, you should also become HIP certified and that
will be printed on your license.
[Albert Flores] HIP certification is your Harvest Information
Program and that's a mandated program by the federal government and it's looking for harvest
information on waterfowl to better determine what's out here what's been taken.
If you're buy a hunting license or buying an endorsement they are going to ask you questions
as to how many migratory birds you killed it doesn't cost anything extra, they'll print
it out with your license and we'll look at it when we check you out here in the field.
If you're missing you HIP you can run back to any store that sells licenses.
Take your driver's license with you.
Take your hunting license, just tell them you need that HIP certification, they'll print
it out, it won't cost you anything.
To hunt sandhill cranes you need to go get a Federal Sandhill Crane Permit and those
you can get at any Parks and Wildlife Law Enforcement Office or you can go online and
get that or you can also do it over phone, through Austin.
So there's several ways you can get it, it doesn't cost you anything, it's free but you
are required to have the permit with you when you're hunting.
[Narration] When Game Wardens inspect you when you're
hunting waterfowl, they will also check to see if your shotgun is legal.
[Game Warden] Okay, it can't hold more than three shells
right?
There's one.
There's two.
There's three.
Four.
Five.
[Albert Flores] A shotgun cannot hold more than shells in
the gun while hunting waterfowl and that's done with shotguns by putting as p-lug into
the magazine and that'll enable the gun to only fire three shots.
It's very important that you check your guns out here when you're hunting.
Out here when you're hunting
[Narration] Game Wardens will also check to make sure
the ammunition you use contains non-toxic shot.
It is illegal to hunt migratory waterfowl with lead shot.
[Albert Flores] Some of the most common violations are possession
of lead shot.
Out here run into a lot of hunters that run into different stores and they buy the first
shells that they see and it doesn't mean that it's legal to hunt ducks, you have to have
non-toxic.
[Narration] Hunters should look carefully at the box,
it should say steel or non-toxic.
Ok, so you've got a valid hunting license, the right endorsements, a legal shotgun and
non-toxic ammunition, now you've got to be careful about what waterfowl you harvest.
[Albert Flores] One of the other things that we see are over
limit on birds and this is due to the fact that you have new hunters out here in the
field or inexperienced hunters, they don't realize that hens and drakes look different.
So they shoot hen drake pintail and think they've got two different ducks.
Well, it's fine when it's two duck limit on pintails but when they shoot that third pintail,
now we've got a problem where they don't realize they're over limit.
So waterfowl identification is very important.
Always check out your waterfowl digest which is put out by Parks and Wildlife.
Bag limits change from year to year and specific species limits change for year to year so
it's very important don't come out there and assume that the bag limit is six birds, whatever
you shoot.
[gunshots]
[Albert Flores] Remember some birds have a one bird limit,
some have two, all together you can have six but you have to be very careful and know what
you're doing out here as far as bag limits go.
[Narration] When you do harvest a bird, it's important
for each hunter keep track of their own birds.
[Albert Flores] The birds, we like them separated by hunter,
as to who shot what.
We want your birds here, next birds here, next birds there.
It makes it a lot simplier, a lot easier to go through that inspection and be on our way.
[Narration] Many hunters clean their birds before they
go home.
Here too, there is something important to keep in mind.
[Albert Flores] The one thing to remember is until those birds
get to final destination which is your home, you have to keep a fully feathered or a head
attached to that bird so that we can identify that bird.
You can pluck them but a wing or head has to be attached.
That's the only way we can identify them.
[music]
[Narration] Another thing to keep in mind when hunting
is to always wear proper hearing protection and eye protection.
It's not required by law but it's just good common sense.
[gunshot]
[Narration] If you observe the game laws and practice
safe hunting techniques you will have an enjoyable hunting season.
[Game Warden] Guys, y'all be good.
Good luck with your hunt, alright?
[Albert Flores] To all our hunters, I just want them to know
as Game Wardens we realize we work for you.
You're our bosses out here and we want this to be a great experience for you, your kids,
we want people to keep hunting out here and hopefully everybody has a great hunting season
and we'll see you on the water.