SLOW BUT EXCITING

Day two.  Things  were much different today.  Had very few duck this morning.  As you know Ralph is a goose hunter so to call a shot on duck when there is as chance of a goose, out in a dark sky is not his game.  So after things lighten up some he did let the guys go on a couple flocks of teal.  Had about 50 big boys setting right on the north edge of the lake.  They jumped up and flew over to the lake on the north edge of town. 

Today we were seeing a sight, either we are not aware of, or a very strange occurrence. 

We have been seeing large numbers, of a members of the hawk family, circling like eagles and hawks, do while hunting.   There were 50-100 birds in each flock.  We are not sure just what we were seeing.  Now with us setting in a new location.  Is this something that happens in this flyway, that we have never seen before, or is this something that is just plain strange?  At first we thought they were eagles, but then decided they were to small for eagles, but bigger that a falcon.  They just have to be, a hawk of some type.   We had to see at least 4-6 huge mass, as I say 50-100 of them just circling as they passed by.  But with this wind, even if they were circling, they come and went pretty quick.  Other birds we seen migrating today were: cormorants, few pintails, gulls, and clouds.

Checking with other hunters we find out they were harvesting duck, in good numbers.  I understand both big and little ducks.  No one was seeing or harvesting any Canada's.  One flock of Pintails, gave us a good look, but stayed wide. A couple of flock is B W Teal did give us a couple of shots.  Don't look for me bragging on the kill on them. 

Late morning we had a big Canada dropped his tail while flying over when, we hit him with the call.  Made about a round and a half dropping so fast, his ears had to be popping, as he settled in to our spread.  A hunter tried the sneak attack, he was too smart to fall for that stuff and escaped with out drawing a shot.  At about one o'clock, Ralph had left the pits to drive a hunter back to his car, when either that goose or one of his friends, tried the same trick. Anyway this second goose didn't fare as well.  What would you expect, with no supervision, the crew opened up on him and dumped him into the pond. 

 

Then the best part of the day.  We could see another rain showerBearing down on us, so we figured we should close up and head to the house.  Hunters walking on the road and Ralph and I were closing our blind.  Some one said, I hear geese, and we looked and they were spotted east of the lake.  Grandson started calling them, Ralph and I kept working on our blinds.  Then there was the buzz that they are turning.  So I had to look.  Just about as far as you could see in the muck, I could see them, and as far as I could tell they were flying away, even it was hearing "you got them Kyle".  Well he worked, hard on them, then they just kept, coming back, and back.  Once they got to the south end of the lake, started "corn shucking" as we call it here, Maple Leafing other places.  Anyway,  they are dumping air, a gesture to show they are happy. All the time coming right up through the lake. It appeared, to me they were going to settle in the decoys, leaving us with only the vision, so I joined in on my call, and then to help.  There was about eight, that then pulled toward the pits, pulling the entire flock, right up over us.  A couple hunters had loaded shells, into there ol smoke poles and Ralph called the shot.  One down and two hurt.  At least we got one for the effort. And I got one excited grandson. His dog seen this bird fall and made a charge for this bird, for his first retrieve of the year.  Could be no better close, to a rainy day.

As always remember the troops with a prayer tonight, and please check back again.

See ya.   Carl