Breakdown: Split Number 1:

Grand Total for the First Split:

124 Birds
Mallards:  52.  42%
Gadwalls:  40.  32%
Shovelers:  13.  10%
Greenwings:  7.  6%
Wigeon:  4.  3%
Specks:  4.  3%
Pintail:  2.  2%
Canada Goose:  2.  2%
15.5 Birds Per Hunt on 8 Hunts at Trigger Happy Hunting Club.

Commentary:

Numerically, it certainly wasn't as good as last season's 1st split total of 179 Birds for an average of 19 birds per hunt.  ON THE OTHER HAND, the grand total of mallards harvested during last season's first split was a whopping 5 (that's right, I said FIVE).  It's funny, because the difference between this year's gadwall split and last year's is only 2 birds.  The difference on pin's is only 1.  The obviously different number is the total shoveler count.  2012's 1st split talley is a grand total of 13, which is EIGHTY-SIX birds short of last year's headcount.  In summary, we've done just as well, minus a butt load of ditch ducks.  Not too shabby.

Now, contrast those numbers against 2010/2011's first split, and the story starts to come together.  In 2010, which we have lovingly dubbed the greatest mallard year on record, our first split ended with a very humble 44 birds reduced to possession.  Only 10 of those were mallards.  Like this season, only 7 were greenwings.  A mere 7 were shovelers.  Another 12 were grey ducks, 4 were specks, and only 1 was a pintail.  It wasn't until December 11 of 2012 that we actually started getting into numbers of birds.  By Christmas, we'd killed 333.  By Christmas of 2011/2012, we'd killed 435 (of course, 312 of 'em were flat-snout's).

I'm getting to a point:  I was somewhat disappointed at the way the birds tapered off at the end of this split, but in the scheme of things from a historical perspective, I'd say we're doing just fine.  As a matter of fact, I'd say that the season's shaping up quite nicely.