Introduction Graham Cochrane

Graham Cochrane

Graham Cochrane

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Hello everyone,
Thank you for approving my application to join the site! I just wanted to introduce myself and give some background information.

I am from the northshore of MA and have been hunting ducks for about 5 years. I started when me and my wife bought our home and I quickly discovered the rich history of duck hunting around plum island and the surrounding area!

The first few years were very humbling but I continue to learn everytime I set out and sometimes even come back with something to show for it!

I have been hunting from a 15' aluminum canoe. Although it is versatile, I have yet to figure out a way to sneak up on birds in open water with it! I hope to get my first scull boat soon and learn as much as I can untill then.

I look forward to meeting all of you1000002615.jpg

Thank you,
Graham
 
Graham Cochrane said:
Hello everyone,
Thank you for approving my application to join the site! I just wanted to introduce myself and give some background information.

I am from the northshore of MA and have been hunting ducks for about 5 years. I started when me and my wife bought our home and I quickly discovered the rich history of duck hunting around plum island and the surrounding area!

The first few years were very humbling but I continue to learn everytime I set out and sometimes even come back with something to show for it!

I have been hunting from a 15' aluminum canoe. Although it is versatile, I have yet to figure out a way to sneak up on birds in open water with it! I hope to get my first scull boat soon and learn as much as I can untill then.

I look forward to meeting all of youView attachment 76110

Thank you,
Graham
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Graham~

Welcome aboard - and thanks so much for that wonderful photo. I especially like the brilliant sunshine (a stiff northwest breeze) and the "cow-licks" in the Salt Hay. I am originally from the south shore of Long Island - Great South Bay - and so saltmarsh is my favorite place.

This is the first boat I built - early 1980s.

sm SJS Grassboat - Seganus Thatch early 80s.JPG

For the past 30 years we have lived "upstate" - between Saratoga Springs and Bennington (VT). We will be driving over your way in early July when my daughter's family flies into Logan from Berlin.

All the best,

SJS
 
Welcome from the NW corner of Pa.. I don't kill a lot of birds here but just being out is still a thrill even after almost 40 years. Don't worry, there's a great group of hunters here that can answer a lot of questions. Whack em and stack em.
 
Welcome from Rend Lake area of southern Illinois. Duck hunting will humble any of us at times. I've been at it 50 yrs now, and it is very addictive. And I might add, very expensive at times! You have came to a good site, so sit back and enjoy the ride!
 
Welcome from the west side of the Rocky Mountains. I live in south central Idaho, the desert. I moved up here 35 years and figured I was giving up duck hunting for bear hunting in the mountains. What I did find was a mecca for a variety of waterfowl just 20 miles from my house all along the Snake River. We've had a tremendous downturn in mallard numbers for what ever reason you want to attach to it, but divers abound and we are diver hunters, which generally means very little competition. I've been duck hunting for 57 years and learn something new every time I get out.
 
Looking forward to your participation. We lived on Little Neck one Fall and Winter. I would run my boat through the marsh from the Ipswich R. to the Essex R. marsh where a friend of mine owned a duck camp on an island in the marsh. Beautiful country.
 

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Welcome. They don't let you hunt around Plum Island, do they? I spent a fascinating couple of weeks learning about scary agricultural diseases up there back in 2008. Long Island is a completely different world from anything I knew up to that point, but it had an interesting vibe. I kept eyeing the marshes and wondering how they hunted the area.

Nate
 
Nate Hoyt said:
Welcome. They don't let you hunt around Plum Island, do they? I spent a fascinating couple of weeks learning about scary agricultural diseases up there back in 2008. Long Island is a completely different world from anything I knew up to that point, but it had an interesting vibe. I kept eyeing the marshes and wondering how they hunted the area.

Nate
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They don't let you hunt on the island, but there are designated hunting areas around that are a part of the Parker River Refuge. There are also the Salisbury marshes north of the island as well.

Yeah, the overflow from the cities upstream of the Merrimack is an unfortunate ecological burden to the surrounding marshes. If I don't come back with a bird, I can at least help pull some of the trash that gets washed into the marshes!

It has been really interesting to learn about the marshes and how different the black ducks behave compared to other species. As I hunt out of a canoe, I am restricted to staying in the marshes and base everything on the tide. It's actually my goal this year to hunt more freshwater areas and to get into sculling, so I can still hunt if the tide is not in my favor!

Screenshot 2026-05-08 135822.jpg
 
SJ Fairbank said:
I think you guys are talking about different Plum Islands. One at the tip of Long Island, NY. "Anthrax Island". The other in MA at the NH border.
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SJ-

You beat me to it. The Plum Island off Long Island's North Fork is a federal disease research facility.

https://www.dhs.gov/science-and-technology/plum-island-animal-disease-center

I visited it several times whilst working for NYSDEC - to monitor Ospreys and to test the local Canada Geese for diseases.

All the best,

SJS
 
Steve Sanford said:
SJ-

You beat me to it. The Plum Island off Long Island's North Fork is a federal disease research facility.

https://www.dhs.gov/science-and-technology/plum-island-animal-disease-center

I visited it several times whilst working for NYSDEC - to monitor Ospreys and to test the local Canada Geese for diseases.

All the best,

SJS
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I got a tour about thirty years ago. Ruined the myth we all enjoyed while fishing around it. The more interesting story is about eating lunch sitting on shell fragments on the Ruins, back in the day.
 
SJ Fairbank said:
I think you guys are talking about different Plum Islands. One at the tip of Long Island, NY. "Anthrax Island". The other in MA at the NH border.
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Ah. Derp. All those northeastern states are so little I just presumed Plum Island, New York was no more than twenty minutes from any of them 😉.

Like Springfield’s, there is probably a Plum Island in every state. I wonder how many could even tangentially be duck associated?

Nate
 
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