Leg 2 of Jarhead's great adventure

[Brad Bortner]

About 2 hours ago I got a text message from UPS that Jarhead had been delivered. When I got him unloaded from his Armored Personnel Carrier (Terry's packing crate could survive armageddon), he quickly deployed with a likewise uniformed warrior. They huddled and began planning a frontal assault on winged cousins. Do these two look like trouble?

I must say that Terry carved a beautiful decoy and a wonderful memorial to his nephew. Please follow this thread for updates over the next week. Jarhead is going to see the some action!! Over and out!

 

[Kevin Harrington]

Great Deke's, great name, and a great tribute to a young marine. The USMC anniversary is approaching. A little tribute goes a long way in keeping these memories alive.

 

[Andrew L.]

Was just going on to see if it had been delivered yet. Glad you got it on time. Good luck!

 

[Geoff Vine]

Wow! What an infamous photo. If you only knew some of the trouble that the two carvers of those decoys have rustled up.

Terry looks like we need a deployment to Strongsville. We gotta break the place in. Bring your cooler...

 

[Terry Desilets]

Geoff:
Hey! I resemble that remark! It seems I am in great company once again! What a beautiful decoy. As always, I am humbled. Count me (and Judi) in for the ODCCA show. We'll have to find a new place to eat though, Cheescake Factory is pretty much out of the question! A well stocked cooler is a must!

Best to you and your family!

TD

 

[Brad Bortner]

Reveille came early for Jarhead this morning. No amphibious maneuvers today. Jarhead started with observing the sunrise.

But this sunrise was in a special place. Overlooking the Nation's Capitol from the U.S. Marine Corps Memorial.

Terry carved this decoy in memory of his nephew Cpl. Ben Desilets, who was killed in action in Iraq. The keel on this bird is inscribed with the globe and anchor, a tribute to Cpl. Desilets and the name Jarhead. Thank you Cpl. Desilets.

After seeing some other sites (sorry I couldn't arrange a float in the Reflecting Pool), Jarhead took in the sites at Patuxent Wildlife Research Refuge. Patuxent is the site of many break-through discoveries in wildlife research including the actual chemical pathways and biological impacts of DDT, methods to propagate Whooping Cranes, and it also houses important migratory bird offices like the Bird Banding Lab, and the pilot/biologists that fly the waterfowl surveys, conduct the analyses behind the hunting regulations, and those that conduct the harvest surveys.

Jarhead is on the move and has some special plans and new sites. Semper Fi.

 

[Andrew L.]

Those were some great pictures! awesome idea.

 

[Terry Desilets]

Brad:
Stunning photos! Thank you for taking the time and effort to show Jarhead a good time. I hope he gives back during the hunt!

Best regards
TD

 

[Al Hansen]

Well done, Brad. What a fitting tribute. Sure did enjoy those pictures and the comments you made especially of the Patuxent National Wildlife Center. That sounds extremely interesting. I would like to be a mouse in the corner privy to all the conversations that go on there. Just listening to the waterfowl pilot/ biologists who make the aerial surveys would be enough! Made me think of Norm Saake. Good luck with Jarhead.
Al

 

[Brad Bortner]

Al, Norm Saake is a good friend and fun guy to hunt with. ONly guy I know who prefers hunting everything with a 28 gauge. I've seen him take everything from green-winged teal to tundra swan with a 28 gauge.

 

[Brad Bortner]

Jarhead decided he needed to take a swim in the Atlantic before migrating to the Pacific. So he took a dip off the sandbar that Bar Harbor Maine is named after.

He spent the day learning about his cousins and their management issues. Although Jarhead isn't a seaduck he posed with the Continental Technical Team of the Sea Duck Joint Venture. These folks are the US and Canadian biologists who work at learning more about sea ducks, and set the priorities for most of the sea duck banding, surveys and research. In the background is the sandbar at low tide with the remaining tourists walking and driving all over it looking for treasures.

Jarhead is now set to migrate west to the wet coast, although the forecast for the winter-hurricane-nor'easter makes me think the east coast will be the wet and windy coast this weekend.

 

[Chuck J]

Although Jarhead isn't a seaduck he posed with the Continental Technical Team of the Sea Duck Joint Venture.

Brad

I think SOMEONE has to work on their scheduling...couldn't there be a Scaup Symposium or something going on???

Looks like you continue to show Jarhead a good time, and definately a unique experience.

Educational and entertaining as always...

Best
Chuck

 

[John Lane]

Awesome, Awesome, Awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Brad Bortner]

Although Jarhead isn't a seaduck he posed with the Continental Technical Team of the Sea Duck Joint Venture.

Brad

I think SOMEONE has to work on their scheduling...couldn't there be a Scaup Symposium or something going on???

Looks like you continue to show Jarhead a good time, and definately a unique experience.

Educational and entertaining as always...

Best
Chuck

Send him back to me in the last week of January and he will get possibly get to this major conference. http://www.northamericanducksymposium.org

Speaking of the Waterfowl Symposium, I am sure the conference organizers would be happy to take registration fees from all the waterfowl hunters and enthusiasts out there. The last comprehensive waterfowl symposium this size was held in 1987.

 

[Carl]

Wow, that is one heck of a conference agenda!
I wish I could get away with going to that one but I dont think I could talk the boss into paying for it.

 

[Al Hansen]

Al, Norm Saake is a good friend and fun guy to hunt with. ONly guy I know who prefers hunting everything with a 28 gauge. I've seen him take everything from green-winged teal to tundra swan with a 28 gauge.

Brad, one of the most memorable moments in my duck hunting career was spent having dinner with Tim Mitchusson and Norm Saake here in Socorro. Norm had come down with his air boat and home made layout boats to hunt Elephant Butte. We spent almost 4 hours that evening talking "ducks" and I cherished every second.

T Mitch told me that one year he had invited 3 of his waterfowl biologist friends from other states to come down for the last weekend of the duck season. This is when we still had water and lots of ducks. The rules for the weekend shoot were simple. Each man must shoot 5 greenheads and one bull sprig and all this was to be done with a 28 gauge shotgun. They pulled it off by the way.

Two things about Norm that I will never forget. The first being about his job---aerial surveyor. He told us about flying the Great Salt Lake area on a survey one day and that he counted over a million birds. I then asked him about "how close to exact do you do you get?" Do you ever over estimate? His quick response was that he never overestimated----ALWAYS underestimated.
Years later, Tim, sent me an actual photo of a large flock (tens of thousands) of light geese that had been counted. The surveyor had underestimated it by a few hundred but the amazing thing was that they did make an "exact" count on that flock.

One other thing about Norm. If I remember correctly, he has two favorites in the waterfowl group; cans and swans. I wished I could have watched him in action because he told us that while in his layout boat he could use his 28 gauge in an ambidextrous manner. If the flock came in on his right side, he started out as a lefty and as they crossed over in front of him he would switch over to the right hand side and complete his shooting.

I didn't need to be in a duck slough to have fun on that day. Those memories will always be with me.
Al

 

[Brad Bortner]

Jarhead made the trip to the Pacific Northwest on Friday night to wash off that Atlantic salt. After readying the boat, we launched the boat for a shake down cruise for the first trip of the season. It was raining incessantly, but my wife was game for a hunt. We cruised about 15 miles of river looking for a concentration of divers but its early for the scaup to be here and the ones we found were out on big water (the Columbia is close to 5 miles wide there). Once I settled on a suitable spot for the winds and tides, we set up. It was pouring so no pictures of the set up or retrieves. But Jarhead did bring good luck for the two birds I shot are both pretty rare for this location. A hen lesser scaup (98% of the scaup on this part of the river are greaters) and a drake ringneck. In 20 years of hunting here I've only taken ringnecks one other time and that was in the middle of a deep freeze. Kip and Brant both got a retrieve but after a couple of hours of constant downpour we decided to call it a day.

Today was warmer, calm and light rain. My wife and I headed out to find the scaup. We found one flock of about 100 near a favorite spot. The tide was running in at a reasonable pace so we deployed the long lines and gave Jarhead a safe spot for combat. I apologize for using his plastic cousins but my deckhand is rather inexperienced at handling wooden and cork decoys.

It was slow at first so we enjoyed the scenery and serenade by a couple of visitors.

I got impatient and took two hens (sorry Brad F) and a hen buffy. But shooting picked up and both dogs made some nice retrieves. Kip made a fine retrieve on one bird that fell about 100 yards out.

The rains started again, so Brant went looking for a dry spot when he was waiting for his turn on deck.

It continued to rain but I finished up with 6 scaup and a buffy with 11 shots. The birds fow both days got drenched so this is about as pretty as I could make them for a "tailgate" shot.

Tomorrow will bring some more opportunities for Jarhead to show his stuff. Got a new crop of deckhands showing up so we might have to step it up some. Or if I can't find some more flocks of scaup Jarhead may have to go on Special Ops. Sorry about the cellphone pictures, it's too wet to bring out the Canon.

 

[Carl]

Other than the rain, looks like a great hunt!

 

[Nick H]

Great hunt and photos, Brad. Thanks for sharing - I'm overseas right now and will be for several more months so I'll miss this season, but I had some amazing hunts on the LCR over the last couple years while I was living in OR and your post was a nice touch of home and a reminder of many fond memories.




If I could find work in my field I'd move back to the PNW in a heartbeat!

 

[Brad Bortner]

This is nothing compared to what is happening on the east coast, but I'll post an update on Jarhead. The rains have stopped but the forecast winds of 9 knots from the south were 10-15 from the west making lumpy water and restricted navigability at low tide. So we had to settle for a close-in hunt in a protected cove. Didn't get any divers to look at us but the wigeon wanted to visit Jarhead. It's hard to hide a 19 foot Bankes in cattails but we did get a few in range. FWS PNW deputy Regional director Richard Hannan enjoyed his visit with Jarhead.