Dinner from the sky
DUCK HUNTING FOR FUN , SKILL AND ADVENTURE
GRANT BAILEY
ONE OF THE MOST overlooked yet enjoyable quarries to chase afield these days are ducks . These tasty flying delicacies cost way too much a kilo in the supermarket , and are no fun to hunt there . No need for that second-rate alternative , buddy . Go get ’ em yourself .
If deer get scarce in my neck of the woods , duck hunting is a welcome alternative . When most hunters can spend a week or two in the deer bush getting nada , I can usually bang down a few ducks in a day and have a feast fit for a king , with all the fun and adventure that goes with it .
The early season dabblers are within reach of every beginner , and even a working stiff can hunt the peak dawn and dusk flight times . And no need for big-water boats or mighty decoy spreads required for the latecomers on ice-fringed waters either . A pair of chest waders will suffice nicely .
Often I pack the car the night before , ready for an early morning departure . Rising at some way too early hour , yet feeling like a kid at Christmas not knowing what dawn will bring , I ’ m always hopeful . Arrival at some unmarked path on a muddy back road , and departure from car warmth into cool dark woods is game-on time . Duck ponds are fringed by bushes with mazelike qualities . Navigating them is akin to hiking with your eyes shut . Fortunately , it ’ s mostly downhill .
The swamp is shallow except for the troughs dug by beavers , so look out for them as you wade knee-deep from shore , shotgun held high and breath held in .
The curtain of darkness is drawn slowly aside , first just a hint , then uncertain outlines , then the squinting to survey surroundings : It ’ s time to set out a few decoys and find a place to blend in . A tree to lean on , or a beaver lodge to sit on will do , anything that gives room to see , and freely swing a barrel .
Ducks too are pre-dawn risers , eager for a breakfast on seeds , pond weed , bulbils , and the like , growing in the swamp . Some come in before legal shooting time , dodging through silhouetted trees on cupped wings , dumping air , splashing feet first . You try to mark their landing spot , but they will spy you and paddle , putting distance between you and them , or flee .
The next ones that bank in will be followed by your big-assaucer eyes and your front bead . If you ’ re on the ball they ’ ll fall with a boom-splash . Don ’ t fetch them now , for followers may be close behind and the least movement will spook them . Just mark their locations well , and wait .
Some are young mallards , others feisty wood ducks , and pocket-sized teal , the tastiest of all , but hardest to hit as they come in twisting and weaving like Elvis on a hot rock . A brace of them is good shooting , and a good meal . These early season birds are locals , hatched and raised close by . The bigger , older , hardier northern ducks won ’ t be down until later .
Only the first couple weeks of the season will be productive in this two-acre marsh , as the teal will leave shortly for Mexico , and the woodies and mallards will seek out bigger water for premigration staging , so this swamp will be left to the beavers and
shitepokes . No need to return here after this morning , and the evening shoots are typically disappointing anyhow .
After the season ’ s opening weeks , waterfowl will be scarce until late October , so set your hopes on early cold north winds to hurry more of them down from the boreal forest nesting grounds . Hunt grouse until then .
Then in early November come the diving ducks hatched in the Canadian taiga , and mature red-legged mallards from the northern and western potholes , all travellers on the Mississippi and Atlantic migratory flyways which we , unknowing but fortunate , live under .
Special are the days when a nor ’ eastern rain squall heralds the arrival of naive north country ducks , enticed by decoy spreads of gunners on bigger waters . These are days duck hunters dream of incoming flocks and dinner falling from the sky .
Thanks to organizations like Ducks Unlimited , the world ’ s largest wetland conservation organization , the North American waterfowl population is relatively stable in a time when bird numbers in general are in steep decline . Their efforts , combined with our own to conserve and protect , pay big dividends in enhanced habitat and sustainable harvests . Hunters involved in the food web are predictably likely to protect these treasures for today and the future .
Roast wild duck , braised turnips and mashed potatoes people . Get out the forks and the waders .
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