Almost blinded by moonlight

Al Hansen

Al Hansen

Well-known member
I have never been a fan of the full moon when it comes to duck hunting. Any other time of the year, I enjoy it. Well yesterday morning I just had that feeling that the ducks had been at this spot I was sitting at all night long, eating to their heart's content. Now that it was time to hunt nothing was happening or so I thought! I was lucky enough to shoot one teal.
Al

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By the way, it was a fantastic day in the field.
 
Al~

What a treat! We were driving along Ocean Parkway (south shore of Long Island) last night when ol' Harvest Moon gave us a show. I was so glad my 84-year-old Mom was with us and could enjoy every subtle change - especially being able to make out Jackie Gleason's face....

Your photos of the Ibis are just wonderful - I especially like the way I "discovered" each silhouette when my eye wandered away from the moon.

How close were those Pintail so that you could get that speculum shot? Modern cameras/lenses continue to astound me.

All the best,

SJS
 
Al, Looks like another wonderful morning. I like all the shots of the moon with the ibis, but I think the pintail shots get my heart racing the most. Can't wait till tomorrow! Our early season starts hopefully my scouting pays off. Jeff
 
How close were those Pintail so that you could get that speculum shot? Modern cameras/lenses continue to astound me.


I'd say it was in hand... and I'm pretty sure its a greenwing speculum. I hope. :) I did a double take too.


Al,
Great shots! The Ibis are just flat out cool. I'm hoping to see some geese like that soon but it won't be the camera I will be grabbing.

Tim
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Al~

Excuse me!!!! I did not notice the black secondaries - GWT all the way! (Actually, it shows how the GWT is more closely related to the Pintail than to the BWT-Cinnamon-Shoveler group.)

All the best,

SJS
 
Those "high head" pintails remind me of the Kankakee pintails that surfaced in the decoy community for the 1st time; a few years back.
 
Al~

What a treat! We were driving along Ocean Parkway (south shore of Long Island) last night when ol' Harvest Moon gave us a show. I was so glad my 84-year-old Mom was with us and could enjoy every subtle change - especially being able to make out Jackie Gleason's face....

Your photos of the Ibis are just wonderful - I especially like the way I "discovered" each silhouette when my eye wandered away from the moon.

How close were those Pintail so that you could get that speculum shot? Modern cameras/lenses continue to astound me.

All the best,

SJS
Click to expand...

Hi Steve---I'm glad you liked them I just happened to be holding my camera in my lap when I saw the ibis flying by. They weren't too far away. I only have one lens for my camera and that is a 24-105mmL f.4.
As for that speculum, I was holding a GWT in my hands when the sun was rising and saw the light glint off of that bright green. I decided to take a picture of it. I had to be 18 inches to focus and then I cropped it some.
Al
 
Al, Looks like another wonderful morning. I like all the shots of the moon with the ibis, but I think the pintail shots get my heart racing the most. Can't wait till tomorrow! Our early season starts hopefully my scouting pays off. Jeff
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Thanks so much, Jeffrey. I also get that same reaction when I see a bull sprig come in. Down here we get a lot of pintails that seem to migrate early along with the teal. We have to wait until the latter part of October before we can shoot them however.
Good luck with your opener. Pictures maybe?
Al
 
Great shots Al! I especially like the neck collar J7F0.

Have a great day!
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Thank you, John. Wouldn't that be something to get when our season opens for Canada geese? We are allowed 2 per year and normally the season is open for a couple of weeks towards the end of the season in January. By the way, when I had that picture on the computer I cropped it some more to see if there was a band on its leg and there was.
Al
 
How close were those Pintail so that you could get that speculum shot? Modern cameras/lenses continue to astound me.


I'd say it was in hand... and I'm pretty sure its a greenwing speculum. I hope. :) I did a double take too.


Al,
Great shots! The Ibis are just flat out cool. I'm hoping to see some geese like that soon but it won't be the camera I will be grabbing.

Tim
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

Hey Tim. Glad you enjoyed those ibis shots. I really enjoyed that also. I happened to see them coming from Bosque del Apache and heading north to this field to eat. When they passed in front of the moon it was darn near better than shooting a duck. Well, almost---
Al
 
Those "high head" pintails remind me of the Kankakee pintails that surfaced in the decoy community for the 1st time; a few years back.
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William, isn't it amazing how we can recall that specific moment in time when you see something like that? I was surprised at how far along the drake was in his plummage especially for Sept.
Al
 
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