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Hill Country and Edwards

Highland Lakes and the Edwards Plateau tanks. The thinnest duck ground in Texas, and honest about it: divers on the lakes and not much else.

5.5

Moderate Movement

Moderate Movement

6.8

Conditions

3.5

Birds here

Low confidence↑ +0.4 last 24hPintails 6.1

Conditions here are scoring 6.8 this morning, and that number is the same for every duck on this water. The wigeon score is held at 5.5 because the wigeon numbers in this region read 3.5 out of 10 for the date. A good morning on birds that have not arrived is still a quiet morning.

Wigeon score, conditions as of Mon, Nov 2, 3:00 PM

Hill Country and Edwards

5.1

Falling 8° vs yesterday

Legal light 6:25 AMSunrise 6:55 AMSunset 5:50 PM🌗 Last quarter · 40%

5AM5SSE · 66°
6AM3NNW · 65°
7AM3SE · 63°
8AM6NNE · 62°
9AM13NNW · 61°
10AM12NNW · 64°
11AM12NNW · 65°
6.2Decoy score · ToughBluebird sky: expect wary, high birds · Midweek rest: birds have settled since the weekend crowds

Best window: 8:00 AM to 11:00 AM

Built around the strongest northwest wind of the morning

Held to the season curve: conditions are better than the wigeon numbers here this time of year

  • Dry fall: birds concentrated on remaining water

Season dates · High Plains Mallard Management Unit October 24-25, 2026 and October 30, 2026 to January 31, 2027. North Zone November 14-29, 2026 and December 5, 2026 to January 31, 2027. South Zone November 7-29, 2026 and December 12, 2026 to January 31, 2027.

Times shown for the region center. Season dates and limits change yearly and by zone: verify with Texas Parks and Wildlife.

Playas, rice and flooded fields: OpenMarsh, sloughs and timber: OpenReservoirs, bays and the Laguna: Open0 freezing degree-days over the last 6 days, counting the next 2 at half (estimated from air temps until the satellite ice feed lands)

Water on the landscape: Dry fall: birds concentrated on remaining water (68% of Texas in drought, US Drought Monitor).

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  • Held to the season curve: conditions are better than the wigeon numbers here this time of year
  • Temperatures falling about 12°F over the next 48 hours
  • Corn harvest roughly 98% complete, heavy field feed available

Good

Held to the season curve: conditions are better than the wigeon numbers here this time of year. Temperatures falling about 12°F over the next 48 hours. Strongest window: Mon into Tue.

Wigeon
5.5Mon25.1Tue3

Days 8 through 14 sit beyond the reliable forecast window and lean on season history. Read them as a trend, not a promise.

The score is a weighted blend of the drivers below, each rated 0 to 10 from current conditions. No black box: this is the whole model.

Cold front / temp trend25% weight
6.4

Temps falling ~12°F into the next 48h

Wind direction + speed22% weight
6.2

NW winds to 13 mph across 9 of the next 48h

Freeze north of region3% weight
1.5

0% of upstream hours below 28°F

Snow advance upstream2% weight
1.5

Little to no snow upstream

Local open water / holding15% weight
7.7

68% of the state in drought: less water, and birds stacked on what is left

Season timing22% weight
3.5

Shoulder of the migration window

Crop harvest / field feed12% weight
9.8

Corn ~98%, beans ~91% (typical-progress estimate)

Hunter reports0% weight
5.0

No reports in the last 72h, so this factor is not counted

Pro

The freeze line across the stations upstream of this region, station by station, so you see shallow water locking up before the birds arrive on it.

Pro

Last night's NEXRAD read on whether birds actually moved: how much lifted off after sunset, which way it tracked, and how fast it flew under its own power once the wind at that altitude is subtracted out.

77°Fnow
SSW 14 mphwind
↓ 8°next 24h, falling
DayHi / LoWindSnow
MonNov 278° / 67°SW 15 mph
TueNov 371° / 57°NW 15 mph
WedNov 476° / 52°SSE 9 mph
ThuNov 581° / 58°W 16 mph
FriNov 669° / 52°N 15 mph
SatNov 769° / 53°NNE 6 mph
SunNov 877° / 54°N 9 mph
Pro

What other hunters reported in this region over the last 72 hours: species, how hard they were feeding, and whether the birds looked like new arrivals. Filing your own report is free and counts toward this region's score either way.