Picture Tuesday....Spring Snows

Jay Anglin

Jay Anglin

Well-known member
I hooked up with long time DHBPer Mike Livingston this past weekend. Despite tens of thousands of birds taking the express north and west we managed a 5-10 birds each day. It wasn't for a lack of trying. The migration was spectacular compared to what I'm used to. The highlight of the trip was having a drake pintail/mallard hybrid float by at 15 yards leading a flock of 13 bull sprig. The coolest bird I've ever seen. I managed my first Ross-I've never had a shot at one. The first day I would estimate that we saw close to 100K snows come through. Over the next couple days we saw another 50-75K dark and light geese as well as ducks. Tons of pintail and quite a few cans. Great show...thanks Mike and Shane!

Ross vs Snow
rossandsnow.jpg


My trophy Ross I'm going to have mounted.
trophyross.jpg

 
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ah yes. I am going to do my part this spring.

Any reason you are getting the ross mounted? Are they rare in your neck of the woods?
 
Well Chris...yes. I've only seen two east of the Miss. In fact, they used to be damn rare in your neck of the woods as well. I'm sure you've shot dozens upon dozen of them but I've never had one come anywhere near me when I've been hunting so I was thinking it would make a neat mount. Someday when the white goose population crashes it'll be rare again.
 
Jay, glad you had some success. It was a HUGE push over the weekend. I wont post how many we got on Fri, Sat, Sun- call me if you want to know...
 
I will. By the time they got to us they were rolling hard. Breaking them down was a bitch. I'll bet most of the birds we saw are back in Kansas and Missouri by now.
 
Oh! Well Congrats then! I guess i never knew that they were only in the central for the most part. Very cool!

Do you know how you are going to get it mounted yet?
 
Nice looking birds you got there. I think that Ross's will look great. Amazing to think that our grandfathers probably never even knew they existed, or at least never saw one, and now they need hunting to help to control them.
Hunting spring Snows is an experience that's for sure. Almost makes a guy wish for a trophy drake season in the spring.

Tim
 
Chris check out the history of the Ross's goose. Online the info is newer but most of my reference books are much older and they often allude to a few Ross's that end up in the Central Flyway like it was unusual. The vast majority of Ross's geese used to winter in the Sacramento Valley in California and occasionally some would make it to Mexico. It's pretty remarkable how they've shifted their patterns and the population has proliferated. Snows also used to be relatively confined to the gulf coast and look how many of them winter further north on the snow line now.

My plan was to have it "bowed up" coming down like I saw him right before I pulled the trigger. Tail straight, feet straight neck bent a little and his wings in a nice arc bent at the elbows. Can you tell I've thought about it!? Maybe he'll come out of the ceiling right above my computer.
 
haha Jay i totally know what you mean when you are talking ross' geese bombing the dekes! We always joke that they are the first idiots to commit suicide outta thousands flying in the stratosphere...

heres a little eye-candy... A BLUE PHASE ROSS! It was shot by a buddy of mine and made a boastful mount. I sure hope the image works lol

chuck.jpg
 
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That's really neat...a real trophy. One of the guys we hunted with shot one this year but apparently it wasn't that nice.

Ross's are kinda like Canvasback that way I guess. The first time I shot a big bull can on LSC a big flock came through the blocks and the three of us let them have it and horrors of horror I shot the only drake redhead with them...it was rainy so it was hard to notice until after it was down. So, I'm cussing and kicking water because this was my first big flock of cans and shot an awesome trophy redhead instead-go figure. My dog goes out to get them and my buddy starts running-literally-out to get his he's so happy-whooping and hollering. At that point the same flock we just shot into came back around and buzzed the decoys between he and us and I waited for them to clear and shot one. Apparently that didn't phase them because they flew out into the bay and made a big loop and came back in again and three landed in my mallard decoys.

They've sharpened up a bit since they've been re-opened for a long time now but it still amazes me how a reverred duck like the can is simply put....a complete dumbass sometimes.
 
it still amazes me how a reverred duck like the can is simply put....a complete dumbass sometimes.
Click to expand...

Totatlly agree! Keep pluggin away at the snow boys and let us know how you guys are doing on em!

--chris
 
Jay,

That little Ross is going to look good in your collection, they are neat little geese as your pic's show.

Dave
 
Thanks guys...I think it will too. It won't take up too much space either! I just think they are one of the coolest little birds out there.
 
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