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Darren wrote:

Rick wrote:Don't know that it's the same video you saw, Dave, but learned that there's one circulating of Litel's birds behind Kevin Berkin's house (white one by Goose Island Rd and 14). Kevin's cousin Ric told me Kevin had him come over to see the show yesterday, and as soon as he got out of the truck in Kevin's drive, he could hear the bird's chattering and nipping water and nearly feel the vibration in the air. Having been in the middle of such, I was flat envious.

Kevin confirmed rumors that those birds went unhunted.

What's up with that? Holding for regular season? Is it said to be all BW's?

Don't know that for sure. Videos are a bit grainy.

Dunno. Maybe waiting for the camp to be completed. Can't imagine such a concentration not drawing other species, too, but everyone says "teal".

Oddly to me, the birds are in second crop rice that's only a couple or three weeks out from harvest. Don't usually see that, so maybe too much of the first crop went where it shouldn't have and precluded hunting the area for a while.

Specks on the ground over that way at GS.

Picked up and ran the poly Riceland I carry in my pocket this time of year "just in case" for the first time in a long time this morning. Guess it's time to pocket it.

Doug just called to report a big string of specks passing the camp, so they may be coming in numbers with the front hopefully protecting us from Michael.

Rick wrote:Doug just called to report a big string of specks passing the camp, so they may be coming in numbers with the front hopefully protecting us from Michael.

What a front......brings specks and cooler weather, shoo's storms. Mother Nature on our side in La for once, but can't help but feel for the Fl coast.

Even without Michael, persistent (and fairly potent) easterly winds over the last week or more have got tides way up at the Shell Beach camp, over our dock last few days.

We're seeing the East wind and tidal surge here as well Darren, and keeping my bunghole tight, hoping that the new pier walkway (240') that we just completed on the East side of Mobile Bay, doesn't get taken out with this storm Last year, Nate took out our pier and bulkhead, and the replacement of the bulkhead alone tweren't cheap, but damn glad we have the family manpower to at least rebuild the pier ourselves...... God Bless those that are in the direct path of this storm, and I am saying my prayers of thanks that we are only on the fringe this go around.

And more damn rain for a region that's already in water trouble.

Saw ten specks while scouting last year's best deer spot with the bug this morning, but lost the race with a helicopter to toll them where I really wanted them. Probably good practice for a season of trying to put them over the mudhole before someone or something somewhere blows them out.

Also found that the farmer had poisoned the grass protection levee road, destroying the poke salad that drew my deer onto it along with whatever it was he apparently found a bother. Unless I'm that bother and it was just spite...an ugly possibility raised by none of the other grass roads being poisoned and the knowledge that he begrudges our still controlling the hunting there..

Finally got back into the marsh yesterday after the latest round of access wars, got my teal stuff out, blind cleaned, bailed and covered and went to work on opening the rest of the pond and breaking the flotant covering the back blind's trail. (And still got home in time to watch LSU earn some vindication for last week's sloppy play.)

Did what I could to lighten Marsh's load on bird's falling south of the blind by cutting that side of the blind island much narrower than it's been, so he'll have less of its miserably thin flotant to fight before reaching the boat trail's swimming water.

Not a good shot, because the bull tongue hides how narrow the island now is where Marsh has to cross it, but all I have of that remodel:


And it does illustrate one of the more "interesting" problems I encountered (along with breaking though flotant and going over my hip boots - twice), in that while trying to run over and clip a last four or five feet off the island's tip, I managed to break the whole east end of it off at a point just behind those bull tongues and even with the blind's east end. Had to push it back in place, stake it with a long 2"x 4" and hope the break will mend itself before a storm (or big wind?) pushes it somewhere I'd really rather it weren't.

Will meet the sun out there again this morning, only this time just to conserve time to mow our yard before the next rains fill the ditches again, as yesterday morning's sunrise bird watch was a total bust. Did not see a single duck of any description all day.

Looks like water level concerns are no longer that?

Water's now about where we expect it in winter, so all is well in that regard. Especially helpful in getting the rest of the flotant cleared from the pond and floating chunks of the island off to be ground where they'll not contribute to its regrowth. Does make the blind island a lot less stable to get around on than it was, so it's good that I broke down as much of the dead cane as I did while that was still possible. Still a lot of potentially dangerous (particularly to Marsh's eyes) dried cane debris on the island, and I plan on making him a clean open water route from the boat run to the ramp that lets him get in and out of the boat for retrieves to our south, which will most definitely be a wader project.

Was the first man in the marsh again yesterday and, again, didn't move or even see a duck.

Rick wrote:Water's now about where we expect it in winter, so all is well in that regard. Especially helpful in getting the rest of the flotant cleared from the pond and floating chunks of the island off to be ground where they'll not contribute to its regrowth. Does make the blind island a lot less stable to get around on than it was, so it's good that I broke down as much of the dead cane as I did while that was still possible. Still a lot of potentially dangerous (particularly to Marsh's eyes) dried cane debris on the island, and I plan on making him a clean open water route from the boat run to the ramp that lets him get in and out of the boat for retrieves to our south, which will most definitely be a wader project.

Was the first man in the marsh again yesterday and, again, didn't move or even see a duck.

Weather does appear to be shaping up properly well to our north, record lows in much of the area and even some snow on the ground here and there. While sweltering today, looks to be the end of it for the foreseeable; wheels in motion..........


......hopefully

Darren wrote:Weather does appear to be shaping up properly well to our north

......hopefully

Had coffee with Clark from Cherry Ridge this morning, and he's all fired about favorable weather patterns. But I'm afraid to even consider the possibility of what I think a "normal" first split show of big ducks, let alone bonus birds. Last first split's memory is way too fresh in mind, and i'm focusing my efforts on making due, as best I can, with little ducks.

Read a few posts today from guys in Canada, sad that everything is freezing up already with 6 to 8 inches of snow on the ground, but this really means nothing to me anymore when it comes to migration. There's many miles of enhanced real estate between here and there, and something wacky going on with the fowl.

If we get unprecedented early cold and snow in the northern states this year and we still get nothing, I give up.

DComeaux wrote:If we get unprecedented early cold and snow in the northern states this year and we still get nothing, I give up.

I doubt that. Squeak louder, sure. But give up?

Meanwhile, the folks up North will continue to blame the great USFW/DU conspiracy for their birds not coming like the old days.

Rick wrote:

DComeaux wrote:If we get unprecedented early cold and snow in the northern states this year and we still get nothing, I give up.

I doubt that. Squeak louder, sure. But give up?

Meanwhile, the folks up North will continue to blame the great USFW/DU conspiracy for their birds not coming like the old days.

yeaaaaaa I don't see you just hanging it up to become a full-time FFL disciple. Rick brings up fair point in that there are states on north end of this whole system that dont have the birds they did before either.

ANYWAY

Good rains today......looks like Rick needs no more, Dave & MB have too much......but the Bunkie field could use it though . Maybe Eric too, looks like good bit up that way this morning. Interestingly enough Shreveport is on tap to break their record COLD high temp for the day by almost TEN degrees, per weather channel this morning.

Warming of the globe!!

Darren wrote:

Rick wrote:

DComeaux wrote:If we get unprecedented early cold and snow in the northern states this year and we still get nothing, I give up.

I doubt that. Squeak louder, sure. But give up?

Meanwhile, the folks up North will continue to blame the great USFW/DU conspiracy for their birds not coming like the old days.

yeaaaaaa I don't see you just hanging it up to become a full-time FFL disciple. Rick brings up fair point in that there are states on north end of this whole system that dont have the birds they did before either.

ANYWAY

Good rains today......looks like Rick needs no more, Dave & MB have too much......but the Bunkie field could use it though . Maybe Eric too, looks like good bit up that way this morning. Interestingly enough Shreveport is on tap to break their record COLD high temp for the day by almost TEN degrees, per weather channel this morning.

Warming of the globe!!

I don't plan to give up duck hunting, just the hope and anticipation of things to come. It's the little boy who cried wolf scenario that's wearing on me.

Darren wrote:Good rains today......looks like Rick needs no more, Dave & MB have too much......but the Bunkie field could use it though . Maybe Eric too, looks like good bit up that way this morning.

They were reporting 5" in Forked Island at 4:30 this morning. No where near that here, but I'm still mighty glad to have finally gotten my blind buttoned up. Though still a bit worried about what the fronts might do to my broken island.

Finally catching an occasional below 50% humidity afternoon, trying to get my specks primed and repainted - and reminding myself how much I've yet to learn about airbrushing, much less forgotten since spring.

Also been toying with the notion of a decoy to appeal to our PhD carrying birds and finally finished painting the detail (by brush) and rigging it yesterday. Looking forward to seeing reactions to it.

Rick wrote:Finally catching an occasional below 50% humidity afternoon, trying to get my specks primed and repainted - and reminding myself how much I've yet to learn about airbrushing, much less forgotten since spring.

Also been toying with the notion of a decoy to appeal to our PhD carrying birds and finally finished painting the detail (by brush) and rigging it yesterday. Looking forward to seeing reactions to it.

Pink flamingo?

Darren wrote:Pink flamingo?

Ever see a flamingo carrying a post grad degree?

Show us your secrets!


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Bug and I made a conditioning round of an abandoned crawfish pond in Klondike, and though too distant to hear, couldn't miss these guys' distinctive flight, even without the little camera's 30X zoom:


Saw two more of similar size, one tailing the other, even farther out, so while still not "specklebelly day," it's coming.

Ericdc wrote:Show us your secrets!

Too afraid it would be like whirlygigs: before you could wink, blink or fart everybody would be using one.

Rick wrote:

Darren wrote:Pink flamingo?

Ever see a flamingo carrying a post grad degree?

Never seen a duck do it either, but wondered if you were scheming with an alternative species that would appeal to seasoned migratory game via heron or egret.....or pink flamingo

Given the amount of egrets common to flooded ag lands, wonder how an egret decoy down the levee a bit from the blind might factor in committing more birds to the spread.