Al Hansen
Well-known member
Rob Robertson and I were talking not too long ago about being lucky. It made me think of this particular time of my life, 2003-2004, which was my first year of retirement. It was Chili's first year as a retriever and she began at the age of 6 1/2 months. Maybe I should have purchased a lottery ticket or two.
UNBELIEVABLE
Dammit! I started to give myself a lecture when I watched the hen mallard fold up in mid-air. Unfortunately, she had darted in front of the drake just as I had pulled the trigger.
Chili, my almost eight month old yellow lab, was after her in an instant. I remembered the disgusting feeling I had in my gut at the time because I dislike shooting a hen as much as any other hunter. I could see the cattails moving from side to side as she negotiated through them. Then I heard the tell tale signs of her breathing when she had the duck in her mouth and was coming back with it. Chili came out of that thick mass of vegetation just as a beam of morning sunlight hit her. In that one second, I went from total disgust to one of immense jubilation. Yes, it was easy to see the band on the hen mallard’s leg. At the age of 62 and wearing waders, I still think I tried “The Toyota Leap” out in the middle of the marsh. That was one very happy moment. It was October 25, 2003, and our New Mexico duck hunting season was just in its fourth day.
I didn’t have long to wait until a small flock of seven mallards came flying by and decided to drop into my spread of decoys. I pulled on the first drake and he came crashing down. Then with the juices still flowing, I found the second drake as it was frantically trying to gain altitude and pulled the trigger on my Benelli Nova. It, too, spiraled down. Chili, was once again a very busy dog.
While sitting in my blind admiring my banded hen, I started reflecting upon my duck hunting career which began in October of 1954, when I was just thirteen years old. I have taken a lot of ducks in my lifetime and never once did I shoot a banded duck until the 2002-2003 season. Last year, I ended the season shooting two banded greenheads and I was swimming in euphoria! How could anything be better, especially after waiting 48 years to finally get one?
I happened to glance over at my pup and she had that fixed gaze which I have quickly learned to recognize as “incoming” ducks! This time a single greenhead gave my spread a once over and decided to come around for a second look. I quickly got on my duck call and gave him a couple of soft lonesome hen quacks and then watched the drake lock up his wings. Don’t ask me why I placed a perfect hole in the morning sky, but it happened. Sometimes I still wonder why I miss when everything seems so perfect. Well, miss I did, however, with the second shot he came crashing down.
With four mallards in my possession, I was feeling pretty darn smug. It was easy to glance at them from time to time as I still searched the morning skies. I don’t think that a minute went by when I saw perhaps ten to twelve mallards coming in from the south. My honey hole seemed to be in a perfect spot as far as any duck hunter is concerned. It was here, where the ducks wanted to be! The seeds from the smart weed plants were all over the place and the ducks were gorging themselves with them. It seemed like this flock put on the brakes all at the same time and in they came. I picked out a fat old greenhead and he came down with the first shot. Chili was on it in no time at all.
Since I hadn’t seen any other species of ducks that morning other than mallards, I decided to go home, proud as all get out because I had a banded duck. As I walked out of the marsh to my four-wheeler, I kept wondering where she was banded. More to come later--------
It was October 27th and I was up before the alarm actually rang. Being retired has its benefits and if you are a duck hunter then you’ll know what I am talking about. I had the coffee in my thermos and Chili out of her kennel. I could tell it was going to be another one of those “severe clear” days that the weatherman is always talking about down here. I have learned to adapt to my environment. As a youngster hunting in Minnesota, I would always look forward to those gray cloudy days with a blustery northwest wind blowing. Now that I am living in New Mexico, it is totally the opposite. Almost all the days are the same----very clear and with no wind to speak of.
It didn’t take long to get to my blind and make sure that everything was ready. The early morning hunt is my favorite because I love hearing the sounds of the duck’s wings or the loud quacks of the hen mallards talking to one another in the marsh. I could tell it was almost time for shooting hours to commence, so I hooked my coffee cup on a branch in the blind and got ready. This morning was a bit different because I was seeing not only mallards but widgeons and gadwalls. The first birds in happened to be a bunch of widgeons. I was able to select a great looking drake and put him down. I didn’t have much time to admire the bird that Chili brought back because I had a small flock of gadwalls come into the blocks next. Anyway, as they made a swing past me, I took out one of the drakes. What a beautiful duck they are.
Now I started to wonder where the mallards were. Well, I didn’t have to think about that but for a few minutes because at least 25 to 30 of them came in. I don’t know about anyone else but I have always had mega problems when a large number of ducks come into my decoys. I guess with all of those wings flapping and my eyes bouncing from one greenhead to another and another, I easily lose my concentration. Not much changed this morning. After taking three shots, I finally scratched one greenhead out of the flock. Chili made a fantastic retrieve because this bird was very much alive. As she brought it to me, I spotted the band on its leg. My gosh, how is this possible? To think that I shot another banded duck was almost more than I could fathom right then.
Once again I was deep in thoughts, while staring at my second banded duck, of this 2003-2004 season. My goodness, I sure am lucky!. “Dweeb, dweeb”--- I knew I had a greenhead close by but behind me, so I sat still and didn’t move a muscle. Out of the corner of my eye I could see two ducks just about ready to land at the north end of my spread. I pulled on them and fired. Both ducks hit the water in an instant. By the way, Scotch doubles are fun to take when you can get them.
Things had slowed considerably, so I poured a cup of coffee and just sat there with a darn silly grin on my face-----just couldn’t help it while looking at that banded greenhead.
All of a sudden, right on the horizon, I had maybe eight or nine F-16's blow by me. Well, I know I am getting older but my reaction time was way off. I took two errant shots at those GWT’s, picked up my muddy coffee cup, swished some swamp water in it to rinse out the mud and weeds, and got ready for some more action. None came so I packed up.
My camera was about all worn out taking one picture after another of that drake mallard that was banded. Just think, in the last two days of hunting, I have taken two banded mallards!
One thing that I found myself doing ever since shooting that second banded mallard was checking the legs of every duck that Chili brought to me. I never used to do that before. More to come later-----
It was November 4th. In the last eleven days I had shot two banded ducks and now I could hardly wait to get out into the marsh. I had been seeing a lot of ducks, mostly mallards, and that always excites me. While I was driving the Kawasaki through the shallow parts of the marsh to where I park it, I had hundreds of mallards getting up in front of me. I could see them in the lights of the four-wheeler. If something like that doesn’t get the adrenalin flowing, then I don’t think it ever will.
As I walked in, I could hear the ducks exploding skyward as I flushed them out. The air was filled with ducks milling about but yet it was still too dark to see them. Just before shooting hours, I’ll bet I had at least forty to fifty ducks come pile driving right into the decoys. The one thing I’ll never forget was the gorgeous bull sprig who sat in front of me, not 12 to 15 feet away. As he started to swim around, I saw that Chili could no longer control those strong urges. Out of the blind she dashed, hell bent for election to get that bird. This was a first for her. I do have to admit that she got a good spanking when she got back.
I guess it must have gotten cold up north somewhere because there were ducks all over the place. I mean hundreds upon hundreds of ducks. I was once again the only guy hunting, so you can only imagine what was going on in my mind. At opening light, a gorgeous drake gadwall came in so I took him out. Chili was just coming back with him when a flock of mallards started to circle the decoys. They wanted in so badly. I waited for my pup to get back and just as she did the flock was back peddling into my spread. This time I did not allow myself to get involved in all the frenzy of flapping wings and looking for the curly tail feathers of the drakes. I froze my concentration on the first greenhead and squeezed the trigger. Down he came. I was then on the second drake and he got busted. I decided not to shoot a third shell because I happened to see some hens too close to the drakes to take a chance. Besides that, most of the time shooting that third shot is normally always a wasted shell. Why take the chance of wounding a bird?
As I glanced about, wherever I looked, I saw ducks. It was like going to duck hunting heaven and back, just for the day. In came another flock of mallards. This flock maybe had about fifteen birds in it. I called and called and on their second circle, they set their wings and came into my blocks, totally committed. I picked out the first drake and put him down. The second shot was almost easier than the first and with that mallard in the drink, I now had four greenheads and a gadwall in my blind.
Watching Chili has always fascinated me, because every day she seems to be learning something new. For example, today she recognized the fact that almost all of the ducks were coming in from the south because of the slight northerly breeze that we had. I found her looking to the south almost constantly. Once again she had that fixed gaze and I followed it. Sure enough she had spotted two pairs of mallards flying towards the honey hole. Just as they were about to land I pulled on the fattest drake mallard and fired. All four ducks flared up instantly. How the heck did I miss that shot? On the second shot, I finally connected and Chili was after my fifth mallard. As she grabbed it, I quickly saw that it was wearing a band on its left leg. My God, is it possible? I have never been this lucky in my life before. What a day! I looked at the five greenheads and the drake gadwall that were hanging on my duck strap in the blind. I decided to pour a cup of coffee and sit back in my old rusty folding chair and just soak up what was starting to sink in. There were still hundreds upon hundreds of mostly mallards flying all around the marsh and here I was staring at my limit of ducks with one of them banded. That was my third banded duck this year. To say the least, my trip home was euphoric! More to come------
I guess after taking that last banded drake mallard, I must have thought that every duck I shot was going to be wearing some jewelry. I hunted the next eleven days in a row. In that time I took 53 mallards, 2 gadwalls, 2 widgeons, 1 wood duck, 1 greenwing teal, and 1 snow goose. During this time, I was the only one hunting and each day I was seeing hundreds of ducks, which were mostly mallards. It was mind boggling to say the least. I was a believer now for sure when it came to “going to duck hunting heaven and back on a daily basis”!
It was now November 17th. Once again, I watched the mallards leap out of the smart weeds and fly away as I drove my four-wheeler to my parking spot in the marsh. I was so proud of Chili. She had learned her lesson the day she broke out after that drake pintail that was swimming around in front of the blind. Never again did she pull that stunt. I do have to admit that when the ducks were swimming around close to the blind, I would whisper in her ear, “Stay, Chili.” That she did.
Over the past two weeks or so, ever since all of the ducks have been here, I have been getting to my blind much earlier. I found it great fun to be there and practice with my duck call. Heck, I had hundreds upon hundreds of hen mallards talking to one another all morning long, so I figured I might as will cash in on this once in a lifetime experience. I sure did enjoy talking back and forth with them. At the same time I was able to fine tune my skills with my whistle call because I had been seeing a lot of widgeons and pintails. Too bad pintail season wasn’t open yet.
This morning the first ducks in were widgeons and I pulled a cool double on a pair of drakes. That duck has to be one of the prettiest of all the North American waterfowl. Chili had no sooner brought the second drake widgeon back to me when a small flock of mallards came in. I quickly dispatched a nice looking drake. Well now, it was about five minutes into the season and I already had three ducks on the strap.
Coming out of the south, I spotted about 20 mallards heading straight for my honey hole. They didn’t even circle. With reckless abandonment they poured into their favorite spot to eat, which was also my favorite spot to hunt! Everything happened so fast, that I almost couldn’t believe it. I didn’t even have time to shoot. The ducks were swimming all around the decoys and talking to one another as they fed on smartweed seeds. I sat there, took a couple of deep breaths, and then stood up. As they flared, I chose a greenhead on the right side and put him down. Chili made a mad dash out there and retrieved this beautiful specimen. As she gave me the bird, it was then that I realized I was now holding the fourth banded duck of this hunting season. Holy cats, our duck season just started on October 22nd!
I had to literally drop the banded drake out of my hands when I heard the whistling of wings overhead. Right out in front of me, maybe a dozen or so mallards were settling into the honey hole. I put the bead of my Benelli Nova on the first greenhead and down he went. I then found a second drake and made him crash to the water. My day of hunting was over. I don’t think but fifteen minutes had gone by.
Have you ever had your facial muscles get tired from smiling too much? Mine were. Never in my life have I ever been so lucky. More to come-----
On Friday, November 21st, I was once again pumped just because of the amount of ducks I had been seeing. It was hard not to be on top of the world considering that I had already shot banded ducks on October 25th, October 27th, November 4th, and November 17th. My normal jaunt into the blind was totally different from the average day. This morning I had to break at least ½ inch of ice to get to my blind because it was that cold. All the way to my hunting area I had been tossing around one idea after another on what I should shoot. For such a long time now, I have been taking only greenheads or at least trying to, with an occasional hen mallard thrown in by mistake. I decided to shoot what ever came into the honey hole no matter what.
Well, for starters I had a lone drake widgeon fly right over me from behind and as he flew away, I was able to put him down with the second shot. The next ducks in happened to be a small flock of widgeons. I got really lucky when I pulled a double on a pair of drakes. Chili was once again working hard and as soon as she had handed me the second bird about a half dozen widgeons came flying towards the decoys. Something evidently wasn’t looking just right for them so I got on my whistle and was able to turn them. They came straight in. I selected a gorgeous looking drake, shot and shot and shot and watched him fly away. Well, heck, what could I do other than laugh? I had my pup looking at me with that quizzical expression and of course if she could have talked it would have been, “ Al, how come you missed?” Chili once again became the serious one and by the slow movement of her tail I knew she had spotted some ducks. Sure enough another small bunch of widgeons were heading my way. This time with careful aim, the drake folded on the first shot. For a while I thought that perhaps I would end up taking six widgeons as I looked at the four that adorned my duck strap.
For once I had a small break in the action and decided to pour myself a nice hot cup of coffee. While enjoying that I glanced over at those beautiful widgeons and then at Chili and saw that she was very intent about something. Sure enough she had seen a small flock of ducks. I quickly set my coffee cup down on the pallet. As they came closer I noticed that the flock was made up of gadwalls and a few mallards. It was right then and there that I decided to go for the greenheads if the chance presented itself. As lucky as I have been so far this season, that is exactly what happened. As I called to them they made an abrupt turn and ended up flying directly over the top of me maybe only 30 to 35 yards up. I quickly put the bead on the greenhead at the left side of the flock and fired. Down he came. I then found the second greenhead on the right side of the flock and fired. With that bang, he folded in mid air and came crashing into the marsh not too far from the blind.
Chili has had a lot of experience for being just an 8 ½ month old pup. I sent her off after the first greenhead. As she picked it up and turned, it was then that I saw the glimmer of metal on the leg. “Oh, my God,” was all I could say. She proudly carried that drake to me and placed it into my hands. I was so busy looking at the band number on the duck that I had totally forgotten about the second greenhead that was out there. Well, there was one of us who did not forget and that was Chili. She dashed out after it and came back. I was still sitting in my chair checking over the banded drake, its number, and didn’t really notice my yellow lab sitting there patiently waiting for me to take the mallard out of her mouth. As I turned to talk to her and say, “Good Girl”, it was then that I became speechless for the first time in my life. Chili was holding a banded greenhead, also. I stared in disbelief. I had picked two greenheads out of a flock of ducks and both of them that I shot happened to be banded. Oh, my gosh-----that is number five and six this year!
I was so wired by the time that I got home, my wife wondered if I would be coming down out of the clouds. That night after supper, she looked at me and said, “Al, you might as will go hunting tomorrow morning, because if you don’t, you’ll keep on thinking that you will have missed another opportunity to shoot a banded duck!” I know that I have the most wonderful wife in the world. Just think, she has to put up with this duck hunting nut-----More to come.
The alarm didn’t even have to go off because I was up a good fifteen minutes before that. You talk about being bright eyed and bushy tailed. I was that! The coffee was in the thermos and Chili was at my side as we walked to the truck. I quickly gave a look around to make sure I had everything I needed and off we went. As I drove to the parking area, I can’t begin to tell you of all of the thoughts that were literally flying through my mind. To just think that I had taken six banded ducks in such a short period of time was almost unthinkable. However, now when I added in the fact that the last two came out of one flock on the double that I took----that seemed incredibly hard to soak in. I just had another flashback, This was only the second year in my career of duck-hunting that I have shot banded ducks. Wow!
Well, here it was, Saturday, the 22nd of November. I wondered if there would be anyone else out in the marsh shooting ducks besides me? As Chili and I walked towards the honey hole, I could hear another four-wheeler heading into the marsh north of us. This marked the first time that another hunter had been out in the marsh besides myself. I sure was getting spoiled having this whole area to myself.
From what I could hear, this place was alive with ducks—mostly mallards. The smart weed seeds were everywhere and so were the puddle ducks. There were hundreds upon hundreds of them. I had them pouring into the honey hole now and it was increasingly hard for my pup to maintain her calm. She kept looking at me as if to say, “Hey, how come you aren’t shooting those ducks?” When shooting hours finally began, I shagged out the ducks with a couple of funny quacks on the duck call. I don’t like shooting any that come in before hunting starts. I’d rather have them start coming back later on in the morning, in two’s and three’s or small flocks. Anyway, it works for me.
I had a lone drake come in first because I could hear him calling. Since he was coming at me from the east it was difficult to identify him but I had heard him calling. I had to take two shots to put him down and then Chili went to work. When she came back I thought at first I had shot another hen mallard. As I checked it over, I saw the tell-tale signs of the clear beak, just like that of the greenhead, and with its slightly darker plumage I knew instantly that I had taken a beautiful Mexican duck. Not another minute had elapsed when one more single flew by. This greenhead made a wide circle and dropped in without a moments hesitation. I got lucky and put him down within an arm’s reach of the blind.
As I looked about all I could see were ducks. I could hear their whistling before I actually saw them but in they came. I saw that there was one drake widgeon along with five hens. I waited for the right angle and when it presented itself, I pulled the trigger. The five hens scrambled for altitude as Chili dashed out to retrieve the drake. Right after she got back I watched a small flock of mallards as it was working its way towards the honey hole with a larger flock right behind them. I decided to let the small flock land in the decoys just to see what the larger flock would do. It was like I had turned on an electro magnet. Wow, did it work well! I pulled two drakes out of that flock of madness! Since the Mexican drake counts as a mallard, I needed only one more to fill out my limit. As if on cue, a single drake mallard came flying in and with the first shot I put him down among the decoys. Chili was after him in an instant and when she cleared the cattails, that is when I saw that gleaming piece of metal shining in the morning sunlight. I just shook my head and started to laugh. I guess maybe I should have pinched myself, also.
In this one stretch of 28 calendar days, I had gone duck hunting on 26 of them, and had come home with 7 banded ducks. How does one relate to such luck? I sure as heck wasn’t born with it. Like I had mentioned before, I had hunted for 48 years before I finally took my first banded duck last year and now this.
Shot 10/25/2003 Hen Mallard----Banded 12/31/2000 Socorro, NM
Shot 10/27/2003 Drake Mallard–Banded 08/19/2000 Monte Vista, CO
Shot 11/04/2003 Drake Mallard–Banded 11/17/1999 Socorro, NM
Shot 11/17/2003 Drake Mallard–Banded 08/12/2000 Mirror, AB
Shot 11/21/2003 Drake Mallard–Banded 08/11/2002 Center, CO
Shot 11/21/2003 Drake Mallard–Banded 12/19/2000 Socorro, NM
Shot 11/22/2003 Drake Mallard–Banded 08/28/1996 Amidon, ND
UNBELIEVABLE
Dammit! I started to give myself a lecture when I watched the hen mallard fold up in mid-air. Unfortunately, she had darted in front of the drake just as I had pulled the trigger.
Chili, my almost eight month old yellow lab, was after her in an instant. I remembered the disgusting feeling I had in my gut at the time because I dislike shooting a hen as much as any other hunter. I could see the cattails moving from side to side as she negotiated through them. Then I heard the tell tale signs of her breathing when she had the duck in her mouth and was coming back with it. Chili came out of that thick mass of vegetation just as a beam of morning sunlight hit her. In that one second, I went from total disgust to one of immense jubilation. Yes, it was easy to see the band on the hen mallard’s leg. At the age of 62 and wearing waders, I still think I tried “The Toyota Leap” out in the middle of the marsh. That was one very happy moment. It was October 25, 2003, and our New Mexico duck hunting season was just in its fourth day.
I didn’t have long to wait until a small flock of seven mallards came flying by and decided to drop into my spread of decoys. I pulled on the first drake and he came crashing down. Then with the juices still flowing, I found the second drake as it was frantically trying to gain altitude and pulled the trigger on my Benelli Nova. It, too, spiraled down. Chili, was once again a very busy dog.
While sitting in my blind admiring my banded hen, I started reflecting upon my duck hunting career which began in October of 1954, when I was just thirteen years old. I have taken a lot of ducks in my lifetime and never once did I shoot a banded duck until the 2002-2003 season. Last year, I ended the season shooting two banded greenheads and I was swimming in euphoria! How could anything be better, especially after waiting 48 years to finally get one?
I happened to glance over at my pup and she had that fixed gaze which I have quickly learned to recognize as “incoming” ducks! This time a single greenhead gave my spread a once over and decided to come around for a second look. I quickly got on my duck call and gave him a couple of soft lonesome hen quacks and then watched the drake lock up his wings. Don’t ask me why I placed a perfect hole in the morning sky, but it happened. Sometimes I still wonder why I miss when everything seems so perfect. Well, miss I did, however, with the second shot he came crashing down.
With four mallards in my possession, I was feeling pretty darn smug. It was easy to glance at them from time to time as I still searched the morning skies. I don’t think that a minute went by when I saw perhaps ten to twelve mallards coming in from the south. My honey hole seemed to be in a perfect spot as far as any duck hunter is concerned. It was here, where the ducks wanted to be! The seeds from the smart weed plants were all over the place and the ducks were gorging themselves with them. It seemed like this flock put on the brakes all at the same time and in they came. I picked out a fat old greenhead and he came down with the first shot. Chili was on it in no time at all.
Since I hadn’t seen any other species of ducks that morning other than mallards, I decided to go home, proud as all get out because I had a banded duck. As I walked out of the marsh to my four-wheeler, I kept wondering where she was banded. More to come later--------
It was October 27th and I was up before the alarm actually rang. Being retired has its benefits and if you are a duck hunter then you’ll know what I am talking about. I had the coffee in my thermos and Chili out of her kennel. I could tell it was going to be another one of those “severe clear” days that the weatherman is always talking about down here. I have learned to adapt to my environment. As a youngster hunting in Minnesota, I would always look forward to those gray cloudy days with a blustery northwest wind blowing. Now that I am living in New Mexico, it is totally the opposite. Almost all the days are the same----very clear and with no wind to speak of.
It didn’t take long to get to my blind and make sure that everything was ready. The early morning hunt is my favorite because I love hearing the sounds of the duck’s wings or the loud quacks of the hen mallards talking to one another in the marsh. I could tell it was almost time for shooting hours to commence, so I hooked my coffee cup on a branch in the blind and got ready. This morning was a bit different because I was seeing not only mallards but widgeons and gadwalls. The first birds in happened to be a bunch of widgeons. I was able to select a great looking drake and put him down. I didn’t have much time to admire the bird that Chili brought back because I had a small flock of gadwalls come into the blocks next. Anyway, as they made a swing past me, I took out one of the drakes. What a beautiful duck they are.
Now I started to wonder where the mallards were. Well, I didn’t have to think about that but for a few minutes because at least 25 to 30 of them came in. I don’t know about anyone else but I have always had mega problems when a large number of ducks come into my decoys. I guess with all of those wings flapping and my eyes bouncing from one greenhead to another and another, I easily lose my concentration. Not much changed this morning. After taking three shots, I finally scratched one greenhead out of the flock. Chili made a fantastic retrieve because this bird was very much alive. As she brought it to me, I spotted the band on its leg. My gosh, how is this possible? To think that I shot another banded duck was almost more than I could fathom right then.
Once again I was deep in thoughts, while staring at my second banded duck, of this 2003-2004 season. My goodness, I sure am lucky!. “Dweeb, dweeb”--- I knew I had a greenhead close by but behind me, so I sat still and didn’t move a muscle. Out of the corner of my eye I could see two ducks just about ready to land at the north end of my spread. I pulled on them and fired. Both ducks hit the water in an instant. By the way, Scotch doubles are fun to take when you can get them.
Things had slowed considerably, so I poured a cup of coffee and just sat there with a darn silly grin on my face-----just couldn’t help it while looking at that banded greenhead.
All of a sudden, right on the horizon, I had maybe eight or nine F-16's blow by me. Well, I know I am getting older but my reaction time was way off. I took two errant shots at those GWT’s, picked up my muddy coffee cup, swished some swamp water in it to rinse out the mud and weeds, and got ready for some more action. None came so I packed up.
My camera was about all worn out taking one picture after another of that drake mallard that was banded. Just think, in the last two days of hunting, I have taken two banded mallards!
One thing that I found myself doing ever since shooting that second banded mallard was checking the legs of every duck that Chili brought to me. I never used to do that before. More to come later-----
It was November 4th. In the last eleven days I had shot two banded ducks and now I could hardly wait to get out into the marsh. I had been seeing a lot of ducks, mostly mallards, and that always excites me. While I was driving the Kawasaki through the shallow parts of the marsh to where I park it, I had hundreds of mallards getting up in front of me. I could see them in the lights of the four-wheeler. If something like that doesn’t get the adrenalin flowing, then I don’t think it ever will.
As I walked in, I could hear the ducks exploding skyward as I flushed them out. The air was filled with ducks milling about but yet it was still too dark to see them. Just before shooting hours, I’ll bet I had at least forty to fifty ducks come pile driving right into the decoys. The one thing I’ll never forget was the gorgeous bull sprig who sat in front of me, not 12 to 15 feet away. As he started to swim around, I saw that Chili could no longer control those strong urges. Out of the blind she dashed, hell bent for election to get that bird. This was a first for her. I do have to admit that she got a good spanking when she got back.
I guess it must have gotten cold up north somewhere because there were ducks all over the place. I mean hundreds upon hundreds of ducks. I was once again the only guy hunting, so you can only imagine what was going on in my mind. At opening light, a gorgeous drake gadwall came in so I took him out. Chili was just coming back with him when a flock of mallards started to circle the decoys. They wanted in so badly. I waited for my pup to get back and just as she did the flock was back peddling into my spread. This time I did not allow myself to get involved in all the frenzy of flapping wings and looking for the curly tail feathers of the drakes. I froze my concentration on the first greenhead and squeezed the trigger. Down he came. I was then on the second drake and he got busted. I decided not to shoot a third shell because I happened to see some hens too close to the drakes to take a chance. Besides that, most of the time shooting that third shot is normally always a wasted shell. Why take the chance of wounding a bird?
As I glanced about, wherever I looked, I saw ducks. It was like going to duck hunting heaven and back, just for the day. In came another flock of mallards. This flock maybe had about fifteen birds in it. I called and called and on their second circle, they set their wings and came into my blocks, totally committed. I picked out the first drake and put him down. The second shot was almost easier than the first and with that mallard in the drink, I now had four greenheads and a gadwall in my blind.
Watching Chili has always fascinated me, because every day she seems to be learning something new. For example, today she recognized the fact that almost all of the ducks were coming in from the south because of the slight northerly breeze that we had. I found her looking to the south almost constantly. Once again she had that fixed gaze and I followed it. Sure enough she had spotted two pairs of mallards flying towards the honey hole. Just as they were about to land I pulled on the fattest drake mallard and fired. All four ducks flared up instantly. How the heck did I miss that shot? On the second shot, I finally connected and Chili was after my fifth mallard. As she grabbed it, I quickly saw that it was wearing a band on its left leg. My God, is it possible? I have never been this lucky in my life before. What a day! I looked at the five greenheads and the drake gadwall that were hanging on my duck strap in the blind. I decided to pour a cup of coffee and sit back in my old rusty folding chair and just soak up what was starting to sink in. There were still hundreds upon hundreds of mostly mallards flying all around the marsh and here I was staring at my limit of ducks with one of them banded. That was my third banded duck this year. To say the least, my trip home was euphoric! More to come------
I guess after taking that last banded drake mallard, I must have thought that every duck I shot was going to be wearing some jewelry. I hunted the next eleven days in a row. In that time I took 53 mallards, 2 gadwalls, 2 widgeons, 1 wood duck, 1 greenwing teal, and 1 snow goose. During this time, I was the only one hunting and each day I was seeing hundreds of ducks, which were mostly mallards. It was mind boggling to say the least. I was a believer now for sure when it came to “going to duck hunting heaven and back on a daily basis”!
It was now November 17th. Once again, I watched the mallards leap out of the smart weeds and fly away as I drove my four-wheeler to my parking spot in the marsh. I was so proud of Chili. She had learned her lesson the day she broke out after that drake pintail that was swimming around in front of the blind. Never again did she pull that stunt. I do have to admit that when the ducks were swimming around close to the blind, I would whisper in her ear, “Stay, Chili.” That she did.
Over the past two weeks or so, ever since all of the ducks have been here, I have been getting to my blind much earlier. I found it great fun to be there and practice with my duck call. Heck, I had hundreds upon hundreds of hen mallards talking to one another all morning long, so I figured I might as will cash in on this once in a lifetime experience. I sure did enjoy talking back and forth with them. At the same time I was able to fine tune my skills with my whistle call because I had been seeing a lot of widgeons and pintails. Too bad pintail season wasn’t open yet.
This morning the first ducks in were widgeons and I pulled a cool double on a pair of drakes. That duck has to be one of the prettiest of all the North American waterfowl. Chili had no sooner brought the second drake widgeon back to me when a small flock of mallards came in. I quickly dispatched a nice looking drake. Well now, it was about five minutes into the season and I already had three ducks on the strap.
Coming out of the south, I spotted about 20 mallards heading straight for my honey hole. They didn’t even circle. With reckless abandonment they poured into their favorite spot to eat, which was also my favorite spot to hunt! Everything happened so fast, that I almost couldn’t believe it. I didn’t even have time to shoot. The ducks were swimming all around the decoys and talking to one another as they fed on smartweed seeds. I sat there, took a couple of deep breaths, and then stood up. As they flared, I chose a greenhead on the right side and put him down. Chili made a mad dash out there and retrieved this beautiful specimen. As she gave me the bird, it was then that I realized I was now holding the fourth banded duck of this hunting season. Holy cats, our duck season just started on October 22nd!
I had to literally drop the banded drake out of my hands when I heard the whistling of wings overhead. Right out in front of me, maybe a dozen or so mallards were settling into the honey hole. I put the bead of my Benelli Nova on the first greenhead and down he went. I then found a second drake and made him crash to the water. My day of hunting was over. I don’t think but fifteen minutes had gone by.
Have you ever had your facial muscles get tired from smiling too much? Mine were. Never in my life have I ever been so lucky. More to come-----
On Friday, November 21st, I was once again pumped just because of the amount of ducks I had been seeing. It was hard not to be on top of the world considering that I had already shot banded ducks on October 25th, October 27th, November 4th, and November 17th. My normal jaunt into the blind was totally different from the average day. This morning I had to break at least ½ inch of ice to get to my blind because it was that cold. All the way to my hunting area I had been tossing around one idea after another on what I should shoot. For such a long time now, I have been taking only greenheads or at least trying to, with an occasional hen mallard thrown in by mistake. I decided to shoot what ever came into the honey hole no matter what.
Well, for starters I had a lone drake widgeon fly right over me from behind and as he flew away, I was able to put him down with the second shot. The next ducks in happened to be a small flock of widgeons. I got really lucky when I pulled a double on a pair of drakes. Chili was once again working hard and as soon as she had handed me the second bird about a half dozen widgeons came flying towards the decoys. Something evidently wasn’t looking just right for them so I got on my whistle and was able to turn them. They came straight in. I selected a gorgeous looking drake, shot and shot and shot and watched him fly away. Well, heck, what could I do other than laugh? I had my pup looking at me with that quizzical expression and of course if she could have talked it would have been, “ Al, how come you missed?” Chili once again became the serious one and by the slow movement of her tail I knew she had spotted some ducks. Sure enough another small bunch of widgeons were heading my way. This time with careful aim, the drake folded on the first shot. For a while I thought that perhaps I would end up taking six widgeons as I looked at the four that adorned my duck strap.
For once I had a small break in the action and decided to pour myself a nice hot cup of coffee. While enjoying that I glanced over at those beautiful widgeons and then at Chili and saw that she was very intent about something. Sure enough she had seen a small flock of ducks. I quickly set my coffee cup down on the pallet. As they came closer I noticed that the flock was made up of gadwalls and a few mallards. It was right then and there that I decided to go for the greenheads if the chance presented itself. As lucky as I have been so far this season, that is exactly what happened. As I called to them they made an abrupt turn and ended up flying directly over the top of me maybe only 30 to 35 yards up. I quickly put the bead on the greenhead at the left side of the flock and fired. Down he came. I then found the second greenhead on the right side of the flock and fired. With that bang, he folded in mid air and came crashing into the marsh not too far from the blind.
Chili has had a lot of experience for being just an 8 ½ month old pup. I sent her off after the first greenhead. As she picked it up and turned, it was then that I saw the glimmer of metal on the leg. “Oh, my God,” was all I could say. She proudly carried that drake to me and placed it into my hands. I was so busy looking at the band number on the duck that I had totally forgotten about the second greenhead that was out there. Well, there was one of us who did not forget and that was Chili. She dashed out after it and came back. I was still sitting in my chair checking over the banded drake, its number, and didn’t really notice my yellow lab sitting there patiently waiting for me to take the mallard out of her mouth. As I turned to talk to her and say, “Good Girl”, it was then that I became speechless for the first time in my life. Chili was holding a banded greenhead, also. I stared in disbelief. I had picked two greenheads out of a flock of ducks and both of them that I shot happened to be banded. Oh, my gosh-----that is number five and six this year!
I was so wired by the time that I got home, my wife wondered if I would be coming down out of the clouds. That night after supper, she looked at me and said, “Al, you might as will go hunting tomorrow morning, because if you don’t, you’ll keep on thinking that you will have missed another opportunity to shoot a banded duck!” I know that I have the most wonderful wife in the world. Just think, she has to put up with this duck hunting nut-----More to come.
The alarm didn’t even have to go off because I was up a good fifteen minutes before that. You talk about being bright eyed and bushy tailed. I was that! The coffee was in the thermos and Chili was at my side as we walked to the truck. I quickly gave a look around to make sure I had everything I needed and off we went. As I drove to the parking area, I can’t begin to tell you of all of the thoughts that were literally flying through my mind. To just think that I had taken six banded ducks in such a short period of time was almost unthinkable. However, now when I added in the fact that the last two came out of one flock on the double that I took----that seemed incredibly hard to soak in. I just had another flashback, This was only the second year in my career of duck-hunting that I have shot banded ducks. Wow!
Well, here it was, Saturday, the 22nd of November. I wondered if there would be anyone else out in the marsh shooting ducks besides me? As Chili and I walked towards the honey hole, I could hear another four-wheeler heading into the marsh north of us. This marked the first time that another hunter had been out in the marsh besides myself. I sure was getting spoiled having this whole area to myself.
From what I could hear, this place was alive with ducks—mostly mallards. The smart weed seeds were everywhere and so were the puddle ducks. There were hundreds upon hundreds of them. I had them pouring into the honey hole now and it was increasingly hard for my pup to maintain her calm. She kept looking at me as if to say, “Hey, how come you aren’t shooting those ducks?” When shooting hours finally began, I shagged out the ducks with a couple of funny quacks on the duck call. I don’t like shooting any that come in before hunting starts. I’d rather have them start coming back later on in the morning, in two’s and three’s or small flocks. Anyway, it works for me.
I had a lone drake come in first because I could hear him calling. Since he was coming at me from the east it was difficult to identify him but I had heard him calling. I had to take two shots to put him down and then Chili went to work. When she came back I thought at first I had shot another hen mallard. As I checked it over, I saw the tell-tale signs of the clear beak, just like that of the greenhead, and with its slightly darker plumage I knew instantly that I had taken a beautiful Mexican duck. Not another minute had elapsed when one more single flew by. This greenhead made a wide circle and dropped in without a moments hesitation. I got lucky and put him down within an arm’s reach of the blind.
As I looked about all I could see were ducks. I could hear their whistling before I actually saw them but in they came. I saw that there was one drake widgeon along with five hens. I waited for the right angle and when it presented itself, I pulled the trigger. The five hens scrambled for altitude as Chili dashed out to retrieve the drake. Right after she got back I watched a small flock of mallards as it was working its way towards the honey hole with a larger flock right behind them. I decided to let the small flock land in the decoys just to see what the larger flock would do. It was like I had turned on an electro magnet. Wow, did it work well! I pulled two drakes out of that flock of madness! Since the Mexican drake counts as a mallard, I needed only one more to fill out my limit. As if on cue, a single drake mallard came flying in and with the first shot I put him down among the decoys. Chili was after him in an instant and when she cleared the cattails, that is when I saw that gleaming piece of metal shining in the morning sunlight. I just shook my head and started to laugh. I guess maybe I should have pinched myself, also.
In this one stretch of 28 calendar days, I had gone duck hunting on 26 of them, and had come home with 7 banded ducks. How does one relate to such luck? I sure as heck wasn’t born with it. Like I had mentioned before, I had hunted for 48 years before I finally took my first banded duck last year and now this.
Shot 10/25/2003 Hen Mallard----Banded 12/31/2000 Socorro, NM
Shot 10/27/2003 Drake Mallard–Banded 08/19/2000 Monte Vista, CO
Shot 11/04/2003 Drake Mallard–Banded 11/17/1999 Socorro, NM
Shot 11/17/2003 Drake Mallard–Banded 08/12/2000 Mirror, AB
Shot 11/21/2003 Drake Mallard–Banded 08/11/2002 Center, CO
Shot 11/21/2003 Drake Mallard–Banded 12/19/2000 Socorro, NM
Shot 11/22/2003 Drake Mallard–Banded 08/28/1996 Amidon, ND
