As the month of October draws to an end, I am reminded of the upcoming holiday season.

If you hunt in Missouri, you might very well compare this time of year to having dinner in a fancy restaurant. October hunting seasons such as archery deer/turkey, rabbit, grouse, woodcock, rail, snip and fall firearms turkey are merely appetizers for the smorgasbord of hunting seasons that are open in the month of November. For many, the main course will include firearms deer, quail, furbearers and even a taste of crow hunting.

While looking over the menu you might want to save some room for duck soup. Now I make no claims of being any kind of cook but I do know that the main ingredient in duck soup is probably duck. Local waterfowl hunters will soon have the opportunity to get things cooking.

The state is divided into three waterfowl hunting zones, each with different season dates. The north zone opened last Thursday, Oct. 22 and runs through Dec. 20. The middle zone, which includes both Duck Creek and Otter Slough Conservation Areas, opens for duck hunting this coming Thursday, Oct. 29 and continues through Dec. 27.

The middle/south zone boundaries follow a line running west from the Illinois border on Missouri Highway 34 to I-55 at Cape Girardeau; then south on I-55 to U.S. Highway 62, then west to Highway 53. Those areas south or east of that line fall into the south zone where ducks may be taken from Nov. 12 to Jan. 10, 1999.

Regardless of which zone you hunt, the potential is there for some excellent hunting opportunities. Wildlife researchers measure duck populations in two ways. Breeding duck surveys estimate the number of adult ducks returning to northern nesting areas each summer. Fall flight estimates predict the number of ducks expected to migrate south this autumn.

This year researchers have estimated the total number of breeding ducks at more than 39.1 million. That is an 8 percent decline from the record number of 42.6 million surveyed in 1997, but is still 20 percent above the long-term average.

The projected fall flight of 84 million is also down from the 90 million ducks in 1997 but also remains well above the average in the 1970s or 1980s.

Weather plays a huge role in the waterfowl season for Missouri hunters. Cold weather to the north is needed to push large numbers of birds south to waiting hunters. Combine some timely cold fronts with periodic rains, and we could have the recipe for duck soup.

Regardless of the zone being hunted, the daily limit is six ducks. It may include no more than four mallards (no more than two of which may be female), two wood ducks, two redheads, one pintail, one black duck, one hooded merganser and one canvasback.

Shooting hours are one half hour before sunrise to sunset. Waterfowl hunters 16 years of age and over must carry on their person a valid Federal Migratory Bird Hunting Permit and Conservation Stamp (Federal duck stamp) signed in ink across the face by the user, and Missouri Migratory Game Bird Hunting Permit, and a Small Game Hunting Permit.

Shells possessed or used while hunting waterfowl must be loaded with material approved as nontoxic by the United Fish and Wildlife Service. The only shot currently approved as nontoxic by the U.S.F.W.S. is steel shot, bismuth shot, tungsten iron shot, copper, zinc, or nickel plated steel shot for which the plating represents less than 1 percent of the shot weight. Lead shot plated with copper, nickel, or other material does not qualify.

For additional information, consult the MDC's 1998-99 Migratory Bird Digest, available from permit vendors statewide. While on the subject of permit, firearm deer hunters are reminded that any deer and bonus permits must be purchased prior to midnight, November 7 (one week before firearms season opens). Regular bucks only permits can be purchased throughout the season. We will talk more about firearms deer season in the near future.

Gene Myers is a Missouri Department of Conservation agent in Cape Girardeau County.