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Since COVID contact quarantine eliminated me from working veterans' weekend, I made yesterday my mudhole cleanup day and met clear skies and a fierce NW wind there. Have long hated NW winds for bringing finishing birds dead over the blind from behind, instead of around one end or the other. But, more recently, have come to see westerly fronts as harbingers of...well, nothing.

Which is what i saw of new birds on the run out. Though a couple dozen jacks had, at long last, taken to the big pond just south of me. Ran on to the back blind, which had been popular with pre-season big ducks, just to see, and found the ibis that had also taken to it before the shooting started were back in droves, but only moved a very few mottled pairs.

So to work I went, beginning with pushing the east end of the blind island out of the run, where the wind had again pushed it, and then staking it in place where I hope to find it in September. Still nothing to be seen in the air, except the bright blue sky that is my favorite. Next cleaned out the blind and readied it for covering, then slipped under the boat hide to pull the artificial "Blind Grass" covering from the bug's dog door when exiting and entering the boat for retrieved south of the blind.

Then, when I crawled out from under the hide and stood up in the back of the boat, it happened: I bumped what turned out to be a baker's dozen mallards that were landing with the poule d'eau decoys on the west end of my spread. In hindsight, I wish I'd noted if there were hens among them and how many, but all I saw was silver, green and orange, all absolutely brilliantly so in the sun as they rose and peeled out with the wind.

And in that moment, I knew it was "that moment," even though it was the lure of safe harbor with the poule d'eau, instead of my calling that created it.

I've long pointed to the birds that almost invariably show when we're packed up and heading down the run or levee as "Chamber of Commerce birds" saying, "Y'all come back." And late in the afternoon, when the last of this season's cover had been hauled away to allow a fresh start next year, the blind was covered and the last decoy was finally in its bag after fighting the relentless wind all day to do so had all but whipped my 70yr-old ass and made me question, for the first time in memory, the work's worth, the thought of those mallards made it so.

Heartfelt post Rick!
Do what you love, and love what you do...........dem ducks is waitin' on you!

That reminds of the last day of the season hunt we made in 2020, where we ended up with a quick limit of GW and grays with ducks still coming. Brisk NNW wind and clear skies. It made the thoughts of a miserable season disappear and brought back the anticipation for the next seasons opener.

Love it, that's what keeps us coming. You'll be ready again in Sept/Nov.

In the mean time, hoping the alleged contact doesn't turn into a confirmed case for you.

Contact isn't "alleged:" grandson with it was tested twice and lives with us. But so far, so good...

Rick wrote:Contact isn't "alleged:" grandson with it was tested twice and lives with us. But so far, so good...

I'd say that's a bit more than alleged for sure; but lots of people I know have been contacted regarding the supposed close contact, but it was more like a bogus government tracking thing.

Thanks for taking us along on the ride again Rick, bumpy as it was.

Saw Paul Link’s post about trapping 487 mallards this year in SWLA and of those, ZERO were young of the year.

Also mentioned the out of whack male to female ratio.

You're most welcome. Thanks for coming along.

Had heard "500 mallards and without a juvenile" but didn't know how literally so it might be. Just that I'd not knowingly handled any.

Did he give sex ratio? First couple catches ran 15 and 16:1, but I'd think the 48 hens vs ??? drakes on our last venture toned that down some.

COVID contact quarantine (live-in grandson's symptoms remained mild and Chereaux and I dodged it) kept me away from a big "easy" pintail capture and another of specks last weekend. But they sent me pics to rub it in...

Glad y’all managed to dodge it!

I don’t recall seeing the actual sex ratio posted. He mainly harped on the lack of juveniles.

Maybe those mallards were there to send you off with a smile on your face. I'd like to think so. You deserved it. Thanks for the time to share the season with us, Sir Rick. You must know how much it is always appreciated.

You are, of course, welcome, Bud. One of the better habits I picked up after giving up some bad ones in '91 has been looking for my daily morning blessings, and those birds were certainly one such.

Rick have you made any recent trips to the marsh to see if this big freeze has ushered in duck numbers of yesteryear?

Haven't been to our marsh, but a friend who'd driven through Dave's blind's area day before yesterday said it had a lot of puddlers where they're normally far and few between. So the bug and I took a hike into a flooded fallow area without crawfish traps this morning, hoping to find mallards in the lee of a wooded drainage. But nada, zip, none where scads have sometimes been in past such weather.

Was bummed (and cold), so we took a less scenic route back to the house - and did get to see a couple big rafts of mostly divers and teal on wide-open, wind-blown crawfish ponds. They were both in proximity to the only body of geese we passed, and may have initially been attracted by them?

Still, for the most part, spooky dead for what was once a prime area in this kind of weather.

Bummer.

Was thinking about Paul’s report of out of whack Susie to drake ratio. Got me to wondering if the Susies that still go all the way to Louisiana are the last to return to the breeding grounds, thus left with sub par nesting habitat, opening them to predation, and not bringing any young of the year back with them. May be compounding the problem of ducks that used to make it down there stopping farther north.

Listen to the hen mallards directing sky traffic.https://youtu.be/D9MTwavNYN0
At 6 minutes they get going good.

Lot of birds in that video, but none seemed to be "directing traffic" or influencing it at all.

Used to live across a dead-end road from a 40 acre rice field bordering the northern edge of our coastal marsh and would often sit on my front porch listening to sassy hens, albeit mottleds until our mallard months rolled around. "Greeting" calls sometimes seemed the right nomenclature for their 3 - 7 or 11crescendo note series, as particularly mouthy hens might well pop off at everything with wings - black birds included. Other times, however, if such a series was greeting birds , they must have been swimming or walking by below my line of sight.

Rick wrote:Lot of birds in that video, but none seemed to be "directing traffic" or influencing it at all.

Used to live across a dead-end road from a 40 acre rice field bordering the northern edge of our coastal marsh and would often sit on my front porch listening to sassy hens, albeit mottleds until our mallard months rolled around. "Greeting" calls sometimes seemed the right nomenclature for their 3 - 7 or 11crescendo note series, as particularly mouthy hens might well pop off at everything with wings - black birds included. Other times, however, if such a series was greeting birds , they must have been swimming or walking by below my line of sight.

Right at least there are hens.
I need to record about 4 miles back up that road earlier.
I never think of it. Them hens get very vocal prior to takeoff they're saying follow me let's go eat.

Finally had a robin in the yard.

Rick wrote:Finally had a robin in the yard.

How did he tastes?

Believe it or not I had robins in the yard Saturday and Sunday first time this year, and I thought of you Rick.

Have had quite a few down here for good couple months, their distinct call usually surrounding us. At home where I grew up in SE La, I remember waves of robins swarming people's yards but haven't seen them in those numbers.

Friend who guides for Cherry Ridge told me this morning that Clark had taken a spin there before the wind changed and cold snap broke and found lots of big migratory ducks (as opposed to the mostly divers I saw in Klondike crawfish ponds and that friend had seen in Thornwell crawfish water. Hoping a few big ducks found our marsh hospitable, as well.

I've had quite a few Robbins hanging around the last few days. There's still hope. Looking ahead!

Still some robins here, too, so they may be avoiding the seemingly annual Easter blizzard up North.

But the bug and I were greeted for the first time this year by a pair of Canadas we met on a friend's farm last off season. Seemed happy to see us, as they swam our way honking their lungs out, until I told the bug it was OK to run them up, which he did. Hoped they'd handle it as they did our using them as a training tool last year, which they seemed to by flying ever tightening circles around me as I walked the grass road and landing behind the bug, after I waved him on in our direction of travel.

Last year, they became so accustomed to us, that they'd swim to our end of the crawfish pond they then favored and appear amused by my using them as potential diversions and launching marks at ever narrowing angles past them for the bug with a .22 blank powered hand launcher. Appeared this morning that we may be able to pull that off for a while again, until they get wrapped up in brood rearing.

What's the story on this one, DComeaux said he's good for the $1.1M and we all can go:

Thought I knew that piece well, but the "excellent water control" I knew of was of the ilk Dave's all too familiar with, and I'm guessing they must have a mobile "camp" somewhere. Previous owner may well have hunted more with me than on it, and put much, if not all, of it into conservation reserve that would probably preclude possible farm income.

We got 2-4 inches predicted.
Lake is low so let it rain.

Darren wrote:What's the story on this one, DComeaux said he's good for the $1.1M and we all can go:

We drove through that place on joy rides many, many days after our hunts just to see what was in the area. It's only 3.5 miles NNW as the crow fly's from where we hunted. That place would be a lot of work and a money pit. You'd need plenty of disposable income, but honestly, If I was one of those I'd love to play with this place. I just don't think I'd pull the trigger today with the migration the way it is, even with stupid money. I think I would do something like this today in the marsh, though.

Rick, is that "Sheriffs" camp still there just past this place west and north of the road? It's was or is set aside fields as well.

"Sheriff's Camp" (so named to discourage anyone high enough on crack to think there might be something to steal there) is still there - on a piece that, while literally barely wider than the camp,runs north along the parcel's west boundary. So there would be a free crazy neighbor in the deal.

We leased the Monceaux piece that now makes up the bulk of the parcel's north end (and was probably pasture when you knew it) and borders what was Bert's west boundary south of the road (where the new houses are now). That was thirty years ago, and while then all in rice except some beans on the hill where the houses are, it was poor enough in those prime times that we only kept it a year. And we never bothered with Bert's mess that makes up the parcel's east end, even though it's closer to that area's goose traffic - which is largely dependent on how much pressure's being put on the school section it borders.

Drop dead gorgeous morning turned this morning's exercise rounds through Klondike rice/crawfish country into more of an appreciative amble of soaking in the sights, sounds and sensations. Nary a mosquitoe or deer fly to sully it.

Was a little surprised to see the three (or perhaps four?) well separated pairs of blue-wings that turned up on a friend's crawfish ponds yesterday were still there, as his farm seldom hosts them coming or going. Couldn't help but wonder if these were considering staying through summer or just resting up.