By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post

The weeks leading up to teal season is a busy time for the staff at Cheyenne Bottoms. Staff tries to prepare the wetlands to make the land as accessible as possible for the hunters. Cheyenne Bottoms Area Wildlife Manager Jason Wagner says it was even tougher this year because of the large amount of water the area received.

Poor weather and habitat did not lead to an overall great opening weekend to teal season at Cheyenne Bottoms.

“We had a lot of birds in August with a few cool snaps, but hardly no new birds came in since then,” said Wagner. “I think many of them left and found private land for better habitat.”

Wagner says the average bird kill per hunter for opening week at the Bottoms was around 2.8. A successful weekend for the year would be between 4 and 4.5 birds per hunter.

“I talk to several hunters that know the area really well, and some of them did not fire a shot but you talk to the next group and they shot their limit,” Wagner said. “It is really spotty.”

Last week, Wagner estimated there were less than 1,000 teal at Cheyenne Bottoms.