Shattered Expectations

Well, the opener ranked among the top 5 most disappointing of my days. High hopes based on a forecast of sunny weather and medium winds were dashed by dense fog and no winds. What should have been a short-order slaughter turned out to be a grind. Tasha, Papa, Jordan, Meredith, Dave, John, Blake, & I left the field with 20 birds.

6 Mallards
5 Green-wings
2 Specks
3 Gadwall
1 Pin
3 Shovelers

Praise Jesus and Pass the Ammunition

They're still there!!!!! I dunno if they'll stick until the opener, but as of this morning, we still have birds on the Home field. Despite my repeated attempts to contain the situation, I'm starting to get excited.

Probably setting myself up for a huge disappointment. Nonetheless, pray for stubborn ducks and south winds for the opener. It could turn out to be a decent shoot.

Why Now?????

Okay, let me get this straight: For 4 months I've begged for rain. For 4 months I've pleaded for rain. Despite the fact that I have desperately needed it, for 4 months I've had no rain.

Five days ago I started begging for dry weather. And of course, now its raining.

The birds have been on a night-feeding pattern. They are leaving the roost early (like 4:30 p.m.), but they're definitely most active at 5:00 and thereafter. Nonetheless, there remains a small, densely populated pocket of birds that are holding in the Home field in the mornings, and another sizable group that is hitting the field at 8:00 a.m. and thereafter. Unfortunately, that will all change today.

The night feeding pattern on the Home field ended this morning, with the arrival of this rain. Face it, birds on a night-feeding pattern rarely switch fields so long as weather patterns hold and they aren't forced by a lack of food, because flying into unfamiliar waters at dusk presents them with many risks they wouldn't encounter by flying to the same familiar field, night after night. On cloudy days, those ducks are prone to stretch their wings rather than loafing all day like they have been doing in the sunshine. Moreover, because there are no shadows on cloudy, rainy days, the ducks exploring new habitat aren't prone to predator ambushes, since the birds can see much more clearly. In summary, this shift in the weather exponentially increases the likelihood that the ducks will move to another field to feed.

To be clear, this is the worst kind of rain -- it is the kind that doesn't accumulate water in our other fields, but merely makes the birds jumpy and allows them to scout fresh water, like that recently pumped on the field immediately north of ours. Their pattern is broken, and now they've got the opportunity to switch feeding grounds. Had the dry, sunny conditions remained constant, I haven't the slightest doubt that opening morning would have ended in limits for our blind. However, given the dramatic change in conditions, I'm 100% less confident.

Cross your fingers and pray that these birds are stubborn, because otherwise we may watch someone else shoot the birds we've held for a week and a half on opening day.

Still in Business.

Cross your fingers, boys. It's lookin' like 30 or better for the opener. Of course, that is until things change and the ole Homer looks like a dry, barren field.

Brace Yourself . . .

Gentlemen: There remain ten (10) days before waterfowl season makes its glorious return into our otherwise mundane lives. AND, with a mere 10 days before the big dance, you'll never guess who showed up. No, really, GUESS. Okay, time's up: it's Mr. Hollywood himself!!!!!

I know, it's a HUGE surprise that a clan of boot-lips would show up in the Home field prior to the opener, but ready-or-not, here they come. Looked to be about 75-100 around this morning, and those are added to the 200 or so mallards, pins, gadwall, wigeon, and teal that were already feeding 20 feet North of the blind.

If we can hold our water, we're in for a decent shoot opening day.

From Little Acorns . . .

. . . Mighty Oaks Grow!

November 8, 2010:



November 10, 2010:





Dust off them waders, boys . . . we've got water, and where there's water, there will be ducks!

Workin'

Face it, if you're one of the 4 people that actually take a look at this blog from time to time, you're more than aware of the fact that there ain't no water and there's precious few ducks in town at present. I, however, not to be thwarted by desert conditions, defied my mantra and cranked the pumps on Friday to ensure the the Home Field will provide the birds a place to stop in for a drink 13 days from now. That being said, I'll try to post pictures tomorrow that detail my reasons behind why it seems like such a good idea. Big Creek is stuffed with mallards and a couple of dozen have found their way to the pit blind. If they're still there in 2 weeks, I intend to invite a few of 'em to my place for dinner.

As per the norm, since Saturday was the first weekend in November, the crew descended upon Gibson Farms like Cattle Egrets on a fresh cow pie. We worked at a fevered pitch, which was an optimistic undertaking at best. Given the drought conditions we've put up with over the last 6 months, we'll be lucky to see water in any of the 4 blinds we've brushed by the 1st of the year.