First wishing all a Very Happy Thanksgiving Day with Friends and Family.
After closing my last post and finalizing my purchase of my new little single Scull Duck Boat I headed to Humboldt Bay where I grew up and hunted these fine little Sea Geese.
Some know some do not just li8ke the Scull boats I wrote about in my last post.
Of the waterfowl these little guys about the size of a large corn feed Mallard or Cackling goose they are the best eating waterfowl of their species. They like ducks and Geese are dark meat but not the same simply because they are a bird that eats eel grass as their main diet and will eat some aquatic sea lettuce and very few other things.
These little guys winter in Baja Mexico where they are hunted in my opinion a little too hard even though the population is doing extremely well. With the limit in Mexico of 6 birds a day is great but with a little hand out to the guide a continue of shooting continues.
Here in the States along the pacific Fly way we sportsman are regulated to 2 birds a day with a possession limit of 6 birds. This limit runs from the Alaskan Peninsula of Izembek AK to the California, Mexico Border. Before staging in Izembek national wildlife refuge and the highest concentration of eel grass along the pacific flyway these birds come as far as Russia to find their way to Mexico where they winter
Back in the day when I was a young man in the early 60's these birds were very sought after and Humboldt Bay was and old timer Mecca. With numbers of blinds along the south spit which is a roadway between the ocean and Humboldt Bay. Also, there were many stilt Blinds out in the bay that extended 10 to 15 ft above the bay and surrounded by Brant decoys.
The Brant would stage in the ocean and then come to the bay where they could feed and fill their craws with eel grass which according to the Dept of wildlife is very high in nutrients and why these guys can fill up and get fat to continue their journey in a very short time.
This is why these birds can leave Izembek Refuge 1 day and be in Baja Mexico in 80 hours on a direct flight which Most do. The few hundreds that stop in very few places like Humbold Bay and why these birds are so sought after and why I for one have missed hunting these little sea geese for a few years.
Huge flocks of anywhere from a few to hundred enter the bays along the Pacific Flyway. But! Only very few Bays have the Eel grass in the bays or estuaries. After leaving Alaska.
There are 2 main breeds of Brant the Pacific Black and the American brant and the only difference is the pacific of coarse fly the Pacific fly way while the American Brant fly the easter flyway along the east coastal bays. I wish I knew more about that flyway and their numbers.
On the pacific these little guys after leaving Russia headed to Izembek National refuge and the Alusican peninsula where they will all stage and feed on eel Grass fatten up for their 80-hr. flight to from Izembek AK to Baja Mexico with the exception of a few thousand that stop off in local bays and estuaries.
In our 3 days of hunting, we were very fortunate to have killed 12 of these fine eating little guys along the pacific flyway and Humboldt County.
I hope all enjoy this little fantasy of the pacific Black Brant which many know nothing about and if they ever have the chance to hunt them should in my opinion.
Today is a Thankful day for all of us living in this country and we all should recognize this and enjoy all that we are so very fortunate to have.
Today I will get my little Single scull home and with very little to do on it to suit me then on to our local bays to Hunt Ducks and Geese. while away I have heard that we after the first of the year the Pacific flyway will increase the number of Sprig (Pintail) to our bag limit from 1 to 3 again in my opinion they should have done years before this. In the day when we could shoot, and the bag limit was 7 there were far fewer than we have today. There is getting to be so many that everyone finally has got on the band wagon and complaining. I don't want to get started.
I hope everyone enjoys a little chat about Birds most know nothing about. We all live and hunt so different and many birds we do not have along with the many bird's others do not have. It is always nice to hear and see what other parts of the country does.
Happy holidays to all, good hunting, be safe, pick up after yourself. MikeE
After closing my last post and finalizing my purchase of my new little single Scull Duck Boat I headed to Humboldt Bay where I grew up and hunted these fine little Sea Geese.
Some know some do not just li8ke the Scull boats I wrote about in my last post.
Of the waterfowl these little guys about the size of a large corn feed Mallard or Cackling goose they are the best eating waterfowl of their species. They like ducks and Geese are dark meat but not the same simply because they are a bird that eats eel grass as their main diet and will eat some aquatic sea lettuce and very few other things.
These little guys winter in Baja Mexico where they are hunted in my opinion a little too hard even though the population is doing extremely well. With the limit in Mexico of 6 birds a day is great but with a little hand out to the guide a continue of shooting continues.
Here in the States along the pacific Fly way we sportsman are regulated to 2 birds a day with a possession limit of 6 birds. This limit runs from the Alaskan Peninsula of Izembek AK to the California, Mexico Border. Before staging in Izembek national wildlife refuge and the highest concentration of eel grass along the pacific flyway these birds come as far as Russia to find their way to Mexico where they winter
Back in the day when I was a young man in the early 60's these birds were very sought after and Humboldt Bay was and old timer Mecca. With numbers of blinds along the south spit which is a roadway between the ocean and Humboldt Bay. Also, there were many stilt Blinds out in the bay that extended 10 to 15 ft above the bay and surrounded by Brant decoys.
The Brant would stage in the ocean and then come to the bay where they could feed and fill their craws with eel grass which according to the Dept of wildlife is very high in nutrients and why these guys can fill up and get fat to continue their journey in a very short time.
This is why these birds can leave Izembek Refuge 1 day and be in Baja Mexico in 80 hours on a direct flight which Most do. The few hundreds that stop in very few places like Humbold Bay and why these birds are so sought after and why I for one have missed hunting these little sea geese for a few years.
Huge flocks of anywhere from a few to hundred enter the bays along the Pacific Flyway. But! Only very few Bays have the Eel grass in the bays or estuaries. After leaving Alaska.
There are 2 main breeds of Brant the Pacific Black and the American brant and the only difference is the pacific of coarse fly the Pacific fly way while the American Brant fly the easter flyway along the east coastal bays. I wish I knew more about that flyway and their numbers.
On the pacific these little guys after leaving Russia headed to Izembek National refuge and the Alusican peninsula where they will all stage and feed on eel Grass fatten up for their 80-hr. flight to from Izembek AK to Baja Mexico with the exception of a few thousand that stop off in local bays and estuaries.
In our 3 days of hunting, we were very fortunate to have killed 12 of these fine eating little guys along the pacific flyway and Humboldt County.
I hope all enjoy this little fantasy of the pacific Black Brant which many know nothing about and if they ever have the chance to hunt them should in my opinion.
Today is a Thankful day for all of us living in this country and we all should recognize this and enjoy all that we are so very fortunate to have.
Today I will get my little Single scull home and with very little to do on it to suit me then on to our local bays to Hunt Ducks and Geese. while away I have heard that we after the first of the year the Pacific flyway will increase the number of Sprig (Pintail) to our bag limit from 1 to 3 again in my opinion they should have done years before this. In the day when we could shoot, and the bag limit was 7 there were far fewer than we have today. There is getting to be so many that everyone finally has got on the band wagon and complaining. I don't want to get started.
I hope everyone enjoys a little chat about Birds most know nothing about. We all live and hunt so different and many birds we do not have along with the many bird's others do not have. It is always nice to hear and see what other parts of the country does.
Happy holidays to all, good hunting, be safe, pick up after yourself. MikeE
