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WOW, a surprise to me as well!! Seems like they would just eat their way out of that dark, wet, gullet, or at least cause them some digestive issues. Bad Ass birds!!!!

The herons eat little alligators, and big alligators eat herons. "Welcome to the jungle..."

Rick wrote:The herons eat little alligators, and big alligators eat herons. "Welcome to the jungle..."

And apparently not so little alligators as well.

I saw a gator try to grab a blue heron one time. That was pretty cool. Would have been cooler if he actually got it

Not for the heron.

Definitely not

Assuming the predicted rains allow it, the helicopter will be spotting nests on some of our stuff today, with "picking season" to follow in its wake. Am wondering if the wet spring has our gators running a bit late, as I'm not finding much for nests in places I have in the past. That, and I know the bug's sparring partner has still been improving on hers (which she'd just started in the last video of her):


Bit annoying that I can't get the bug to show enough interest in her or the others on our morning route to get zapped for it, after he and she had inspired an e-collar purchase. Nice that he's disinterested, sure, but it's $150 I could have spent on something more useful...like a couple or three boxes of steel 5s.

Rick I talked to one of the big shots at the Lacassane club today. He mentioned they have a marsh impoundment that someone collects eggs on and that the collector only found 1 nest, assuming he’s used to finding a lot more. It had something to do with the amount of grass the gators use to make nests.
Atleast that’s what I thought I heard.

I only get to visit with him during holiday events when extended family gets together. Usually we can sneak away and talk waterfowl but the rain kept us stuck around everyone else under the roof


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Probably Jude. We pick their eggs, and the marsh on Illinois Plantation was strangely vacant, while there were still quite a few nests on the ag land. I didn't stick around while they flew yesterday and didn't hear what's there this year. Also don't remember what we thought the nesting issue might be, but pretty sure they fish that marsh very hard.

Going to start picking with Cherry Ridge and our marsh Tuesday, and it will be interesting to see what they're like after all this rain. Thinking high water may have killed all of the cane at and around my spot...

You weren’t kidding about the as close to the road as she could get part. Wow.

Funny how things differ regionally. We have to train ours not to trail deer. I’d say not messing with gators is a little more essential than deer.

Duck Engr wrote:We have to train ours not to trail deer. I’d say not messing with gators is a little more essential than deer.

Yep.

My first Chessie actually caught a fawn by the heel when pheasant hunting. Long, hilarious story. End of the story, I caught her while still latched on the hoof. She got "trained" right then and there with a lesson she never forgot

And if you see my youngest brother, tease him about running from the fawn. That fawn bawling and dragging the dog around sounded like a bear in the corn with us.

My second Chessie took off after deer while training on pheasants in the winter after her first hunting season. She broke and was out of range of the collar before I could blink. I was actually worried I lost her before I finally found her. Next trip to the same area. As we approached the same corner, I had the collar on max and the finger on the trigger. Sure enough, deer. This time she barely broke before I was laying it on her. She fought it for a second but begrudgingly turned back. That thankfully did the trick as well.

I remember a couple years later she bumped a deer right in front of her in the fence line we were working for pheasants. She just turned her head and looked at me. It was hilarious

Rick wrote:Probably Jude. We pick their eggs, and the marsh on Illinois Plantation was strangely vacant, while there were still quite a few nests on the ag land. I didn't stick around while they flew yesterday and didn't hear what's there this year. Also don't remember what we thought the nesting issue might be, but pretty sure they fish that marsh very hard.

Going to start picking with Cherry Ridge and our marsh Tuesday, and it will be interesting to see what they're like after all this rain. Thinking high water may have killed all of the cane at and around my spot...

Yes it is Jude. Good guy


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Duck Engr wrote:Funny how things differ regionally. We have to train ours not to trail deer. I’d say not messing with gators is a little more essential than deer.

Don't know about. South Louisiana duck dogs can get gone after deer, too. Sometimes for good.

I've had good luck just "NO"ing them off all fur from very early on and not having to worry about deer, stray cats, roaming dogs, squirrels and the like leading them into trouble. Or coyotes:

Impressive patience by Peake. I’ve never seen a coyote stick around so long


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His den was in the brush we walked through in the video, and he and a few others were used to seeing the dogs and I in their AO nearly daily. Peake never messed with any of them until our Brittany, Kie, got old enough for a couple of them that would once shadow him as if for fun apparently decided he'd become potential food. After that, Peake wouldn't tolerate a coyote that showed when Kie was with us, unless I called him off them.

That’s an awesome video Rick. I’ve never seen one stick around near that long either. Those south LA yotes have just a little bit less fur than ours up here.

Duck Engr wrote:Those south LA yotes have just a little bit less fur than ours up here.

Summer cut.

Awesome video Rick, and Thank You for sharing! Strong instinct there, and hard to believe he stayed so long with you and Peake so close.

Duck Engr wrote:Those south LA yotes have just a little bit less fur than ours up here.

A whole lot less than the ones up here, especially in the winter.

Some of them are also a lot bigger up here. A little more wolf DNA. I believe the northeastern coyotes are pushing into our region because occasionally you see a huge SOB, but there are also the skinny little guys from time to time like in the video.

Typical coyote tracks are about 2.5". I saw one that looked 80 lbs in his full winter coyote during mating season. A friggin' beast just glaring at me with wolf eyes, while the typical size Mrs. lurked in the bushes behind him. After he went his way, I got out of the truck. To be honest, I was not getting out until he was gone His paws were 3.1 inches. My 85 lb Chessie's paws were 3.5. He was probably a legit 50 lb animal, but with a full winter coyote and him makin himself look as big and bad ass as he could, he was an impressive looking animal.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_coyote#:~:text=Distribution%20The%20eastern%20coyote%20is%20present%20throughout%20the,West%20Virginia%2C%20Maryland%2C%20Delaware%2C%20Virginia%2C%20and%20Washington%2C%20D.C..

Ohio coyotes shown on average to be a hybrid of western coyote (66%), western wolf (11%), eastern wolf (12%), and domestic dog (10%)

Adult eastern coyotes are larger than western coyotes, weighing an average of 20–25 kilograms (45–55 lb), with female eastern coyotes weighing 21% less than male western coyotes.

I’ve only seen one “oh em gee that’s big” big one up here. I was running a 15’ batwing bushog one fall and had one come out of the creek bottom bowed up in front of the tractor acting like he wanted to fight it. Didn’t have a gun so I accepted his challenge. He backed down when the front end weights hit his nose.

Started this year's egg picking in our marsh and found "good" news and bad news at my mud hole.

"Good" being that we picked a nest with a mean momma where this pic of the blind was taken from:

and it's good that she'll not have hatchlings to protect in a place Marsh routinely works in teal season.

Bad news being that the blind in the photo is on its side:


Chain or turnbuckle let go, and past experience has me looking anything but forward to getting it upright and re-anchored.

Ooof, I'm sure that wasn't what you had in mind.


PS Where's the "pond"?


Always gives flips me out to see how starkly different your hunt scene is from offseason to inseason.




Whereas at our lease, for example, it's pretty much identical.

What we go through to trick a duck......

Rick wrote:past experience has me looking anything but forward to getting it upright and re-anchored.

That looks like a bitch

Could you fill it up with water to get it to Atleast sit right again?

Roseau looks non existent too except that little sparse patch I see


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Aww man! That sucks.

BGkirk wrote:Could you fill it up with water to get it to Atleast sit right again?

Roseau looks non existent too except that little sparse patch I see


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Between the nest and sassy momma right in front of the pond and the rolled blind, I flat forgot to look for or at cane.

The blind Rx begins with pulling the wire "roof" off the boat hide, as well its blind-side center supports (which weren't driven deep for just such reason) for access and unhooking anchor chains that are still holding. Then pull the lids, floor sections and benches to lighten the load, after which the opening has to be lifted high enough to keep new water from coming in while the blind is pumped out enough to start to float and can be righted, moved into place and refilled enough to sink it there while it's re-anchored. Somewhere beyond "a bitch" but, I trust, still possible in my dotage.

Ouch!!!
Well, at least you've seen it and have a plan, however much a pain in the ass, and know what needs to be done to correct.

I knew without land access, it was a pain, but damn.

Good luck. Hopefully you can find some cheap labor to help get it back in working order.

SpinnerMan wrote:Hopefully you can find some cheap labor to help get it back in working order.

I may even be able to do it myself - with Archimedes' help. But if push comes to shove, I've a big ol' grandson who's fond of hunting the spot:


(Had another volunteer, but was afraid he'd want to play Mexican music and dance...)

Rick wrote:(Had another volunteer, but was afraid he'd want to play Mexican music and dance...)

SpinnerMan wrote:

Rick wrote:(Had another volunteer, but was afraid he'd want to play Mexican music and dance...)