Preseason 2021-2022...

[Rick]

Set lines on Cherry Ridge this morning and saw precious few teal until the weather soured. Roughly a bazillion and twelve squealers, and several little pods of poule d'eau. The later being something I recall being surprised by when setting lines there last year, too.

[Deltaman]

Rick,
We have a bunch of Black Bellied Whistlers that show up along our Alabama coast in the Spring to hatch and raise their young, but for the most part, they disappear come duck season. I hunted doves in Baldwin County (Fairhope area) last Saturday, and one of the fellow Pecan growers said he had over 300 of them on one of his ponds. Said they would even run the local Canada geese out of there at times, so they must be tough little boogers.

[Rick]

Squealers:


and more squealers:

[Deltaman]

WOW!!!! No shortage of birds there

[DComeaux]

They're getting ready to move south with the next front.

[Rick]

They're getting ready to move south with the next front.

Sure weren't many teal hanging around.

But these characters were:

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Not the 38 we need there, but a start.

[DComeaux]

Nice! I can smell them from here. Was that next door?

[Rick]

Yup. First morning on CR.

[Deltaman]

Nice haul!!!!

[Darren]

They're getting ready to move south with the next front.

Interestingly, per Paul's banding and telemetry data on BBWD, we've got no evidence to support that occurring. They simply re-distribute to more urban and even industrial areas across the coastal south. Awfully smart!

[Rick]

Nice haul!!!!

Pretty much the run of our area's mill, with more of the same this morning:

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[Deltaman]

Look at that fat bastage!!!!!! Know y'all were glad to cull that fat lizard
Looks like it's time to invest in a new 5-gallon bucket

[Rick]

But that one still works...

[SpinnerMan]

As a 4.5 gallon bucket.

Looks just like one I use that still works just fine.

That's a big bubba.

[Deltaman]

But that one still works...

understood Rick, ya gotta get all the good you can out of something so useful!

[SpinnerMan]

I wasn't joking, but when I picked up my 4.17 gallon bucket yesterday I heard a crack.

I may be pushing my luck to continue using it

PXL_20210930_221230873.jpg

[Rick]

Been letting the farm road to the marsh dry out before driving it to bring blind lids in and decoys out, but did so yesterday. Was well past prime time for traffic, and the only duck of any sort seen was an apparent cripple in the run to Clyde's blind. Lots of limkins.

[Deltaman]

Rick,
"Lots of limkins" Are those the same thing as marsh hens?

[DComeaux]

Limpkins followed the apple snails.

[Rick]

First heard the new squawking and mentioned it to my partner while picking eggs in July, but they were apparently shy enough of the airboat or my mind too focused on the task at hand to spot its source until prepping for September teal, when they seemed most everywhere. Look somewhat like a giant clapper rail, but fly like the crane family.

[SpinnerMan]

They're not always shy. Sometimes, they will ham it up for the camera.

IMG_20191228_164606.jpg

[Deltaman]

That beak looks deadly!!!

[Rick]

They're not always shy. Sometimes, they will ham it up for the camera.

IMG_20191228_164606.jpg

By the end of September teal, they were even tolerant enough our shooting to sometimes be within 80 yards or so of the blind, but I've yet to see one snail grabbing. Just quite a few of them flying out of the boat's path with snails they were unwilling to drop.

[SpinnerMan]

They're not always shy. Sometimes, they will ham it up for the camera.

IMG_20191228_164606.jpg

By the end of September teal, they were even tolerant enough our shooting to sometimes be within 80 yards or so of the blind, but I've yet to see one snail grabbing. Just quite a few of them flying out of the boat's path with snails they were unwilling to drop.

There's one place I like to go for a walk when I'm in Florida, where that picture was taken, that has them all over the place. Based on the number of empty snail shells everywhere, that's why. I've seen a few snail hunting and with freshly grabbed snails.

I like that place because there is such a wide variety of birds in such a small area. Plus turtles and other critters and one ~6' alligator that is said to be missing a leg. Seen the gator, but not whether or not he is short one leg.

From a facebook post a couple years ago after a particularly enjoyable bird watching walk. "We saw great blue heron, little blue heron, tricolored heron, white Ibis, limpkin, snowy egret, roseated spoonbill, anhinga, double-crested cormorant, mallard duck, mottled duck, mallard/mottled hybrid duck, muscovy, gallinule, black-crowned night heron, mockingbird, green parakeet, osprey, bald eagle, and a few others I didn't know what they were."

[Rick]

The Audubon Zoo.

[SpinnerMan]

[BGkirk]

I remember last year during an early morning public land hunt while setting up these birds were making all sorts of racket. I kept pausing to listen because I knew I hadn’t heard it before. I suppose a mess of them were roosting and got disturbed or they found the buffet of apple snails and were feeding at night


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[Rick]

Banded wood ducks in Big Pasture this morning and had several green-wings among the teal by-catch, so I got a lesson in both spotting immature teal by their tail feathers (notched in the middle at this time of year) and sexing eclipse green-wings by the coloration of a long feather above their wings (all black on males and two-tone on females). Also far and away the easiest set access I've been party to. Sweet morning.

[Darren]

Any other bycatch/sightings of note?

[Rick]

Any other bycatch/sightings of note?

No other by-catch under the net but a few squealers. Still scanning the skies for specks, but no dice.