Pre Season

[Ricky Spanish]

Where I hunt we'd never put up with anyone that can't play nicely. Huge area of flooded woods.
I've been told by the locals to just pick where I want to go and if they're already there to just say "I'd like to hunt here too if you all don't mind".
One guy and a dog squeezing in is no big deal at all.
Play nice and everyone else tends to play nice too.
Nobody wants a conflict. We all have guns.

[DComeaux]

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[Duck Engr]

One big dust bowl

[DComeaux]

Forbes Biological Station

We had rough winds earlier in the week, but managed to get the flight in on Thursday, October 27th. The takeaway from this week is that birds are congregated where there is food with water on its feet. Chautauqua NWR, Swan Lake NWR, and Jack Lake provide the evidence. Abundance of our early migrators continue to build, especially green-winged teal and northern pintail. I estimated 196,330 ducks in the IRV this week, a 30% increase from last week’s count and 9% below the 10-year average (216,549) for this river. Duck abundance increased along the MS river as well. I estimated 161,525 there this week, 17% above the 10-yer average. Chautauqua NWR near Liverpool, IL and Swan Lake near the river confluence continue to hold a high percentage of our ducks in IL. It isn’t unusual for these refuges to hold lots of our ducks in the fall, but the percentages they’re supporting in comparison to the rest of the IRV and CMRV are a little staggering this year. There are lots of things likely at play there, most notably the phenomenal food they’ve produced and the ability to get water on it. Regardless, the “greenies” and pintails are loving it. Abundance of green-winged teal was well above the 10-year average along both river systems again this week. Similarly, pintails were well above the 10-year in the CMRV, and right at the average in the IRV.

I’ve been plugging our research the last couple of weeks. Enough of that, for now. Let’s talk species. And since we’re hitting the end of October, we may as well talk pintails. Northern pintails (Anas acuta), or sprigs, are one of the most highly sought-after species of duck in North America. They are the “graceful flyers,” their long necks and long, pointy central tail feathers make them easy to pick out amongst a crowd of dabblers. If you were to pick a plumage that mostly resembled a tuxedo, it would be this one. You might also say there is one that resembles a tuxedo-shirt…..I’m looking at you, northern shoveler…. I digress. In the MS flyway, the bag limit has recently been lowered to 1/hunter for northern pintails. The truth is, elegant though they may be, they’re not very adaptable on the breeding grounds. They’re often early arrivers on the prairies and tend to like very short grasses for nesting cover. As it turns out, many times that means wheat stubble from last year’s harvest which looks like good nesting cover to them but leaves them very open to predators. On the off chance the predators don’t get ‘em, the combines coming through to plant or prep the fields do. There is growing evidence and many heated discussions among researchers regarding the “pintail problem” and whether it is more of a production issue than a hunting issue. If the former turns out to be the case, we could all enjoy a higher bag limit in the future. I, for one, hope that works out. For those of us in the CMRV and IRV, pintails peak in late October/early November. I love to count them because they’re easy to spot. “Just look for the headlights” as Yetter liked to say.

Good luck to the north and central zone hunters this weekend! Send us some pictures of your pups holding bull sprigs! For this week’s numbers and more information about the waterfowl survey, check out our webpage at http://www.bellrose.org. Stay tuned for more updates next week…….

A mixed flock but mostly pintails in a refuge at the confluence of the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers.

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The “graceful flyers.” Photo credit: Ryan Askren (http://www.ryanaskren.com)

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Pintails loafing on a levee on a refuge along the upper Illinois river near Chillicothe.

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[Deltaman]

Thanks for the update Dave!

[Darren]

Pins are indeed such a stunningly graceful bird, wish we decoyed and killed more than we do given how many we typically SEE in the bunkie area fields. Usually just a few a year lately harvested, thousands typically seen.

[DComeaux]

Trey Iles
(225) 765-5115
riles@wlf.la.gov

For Immediate Release
Oct. 31, 2022



The National Veterinary Services Laboratory has confirmed H5N1 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), also known as bird flu, in hunter-harvested blue-winged teal in southwest Louisiana. Additionally, several captive birds have died from HPAI in northeast Louisiana.
HPAI has been detected in wild birds, domestic poultry, or both in 49 states and resulted in the death of over 3,000 wild birds and nearly 48 million domestic birds (poultry). Waterfowl can become sick and die from the disease, however, many birds are carriers that do not show clinical signs. LDWF routinely investigates reports of sick or dead bird events if large numbers are impacted.
The Center for Disease Control considers H5N1 HPAI a low risk for public health. While the virus presents a low risk to humans, it is important to avoid contact with sick birds. Also, be mindful that hunting equipment may transport the virus. If you hunt waterfowl and have backyard poultry, plan for added biosecurity measures (http://www.bah.state.mn.us/media/HPAI-N ... -Final.pdf) to keep your flock healthy.
Some general safety guidelines for hunters and others handling wildlife and their tissues include:

• Do not handle or eat sick game.
• Field dress and prepare game outdoors or in a well-ventilated area.
• Wear rubber or disposable nitrile gloves while handling and cleaning game.
• When done handling game, wash hands thoroughly with soap or disinfectant and clean knives, equipment, and surfaces that were exposed to game with hot soapy water and a 10% bleach solution.
• Do not eat, drink or consume tobacco products while handling animals.
• All game should be cooked thoroughly to an internal temperature of at least 165° F.
• Avoid contact with surfaces that appear to be contaminated with feces from wild or domestic birds.
• Hunters should not feed organs, viscera or carcasses to retrievers or leave carcasses to be consumed by other wildlife.
Some other protective measures include:

• As a general rule, observe wild birds from a distance, do not attempt to handle wild animals. Avoid contact with domestic birds (poultry) that appear ill or have died.
• People who work with poultry and wild birds should receive the annual influenza (flu) vaccine. This action reduces the potential for genetic changes in avian influenza, which may render the virus more apt to infect people, thus increasing the potential of pandemic influenza.
For more information, contact LDWF State Veterinarian Dr. James LaCour at jlacour@wlf.la.gov or LDWF Assistant State Veterinarian Dr. Rusty Berry at rberry@wlf.la.gov.

[Rick]

Just one more damn thing.

[DComeaux]

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2023-c...- ... yE8a4I66rQ

Join MRD and CPRA as they host community conversations on the upcoming Coastal Master Plan.
About this event​
Join Restore the Mississippi River Delta, the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority and community partners at this community conversation ahead of the 2023 Coastal Master Plan's release in January.
The meetings will be an opportunity for communities to engage with the Coastal Master Plan team. Topics will include:
· Discussion on how CPRA is addressing challenges facing specific regions
· Near-term regional projects considered for the Draft 2023 Coastal Master Plan
· What a future without action looks like across the coast and in specific regions
· Review of draft 2023 plan regional and coastwide maps
· Demonstration of the new 2023 Coastal Master Plan viewer (interactive)

Tuesday, November 1, 2022 6-8 p.m.
Lil G’s, 9338 LA-23, Belle Chasse, LA 70037 Belle Chasse

Thursday, November 3, 2022 6-8 p.m.
Docville Farm, 5124 E St Bernard Hwy, Violet, LA 70092

Wednesday, November 9, 2022 6-8 p.m.
Xavier University, 4980 Dixon St, University Center, New Orleans, LA 70125

Thursday, November 10, 2022 6-8 p.m.
Larose Civic Center, 307 E 5th St, Larose, LA 70373

Wednesday, November 16, 2022 6-8 p.m.
Northshore Technical Community College, 65556 Centerpoint Blvd, Lacombe, LA 70445

Thursday, November 17, 2022 6-8 p.m.
Lafayette Science Museum, 433 Jefferson St, Lafayette, LA 70501

Thursday, November 17, 2022 12:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m.
RiverFront Grill’s Banquet Room, 530 Park Ave, Abbeville, LA 70510

Wednesday, November 30, 2022 6-8 p.m.
Clarion Inn Conference Center, 1500 Louisiana 30 W, Gonzales, LA 70737

[DComeaux]

Blake and I got out in the marsh yesterday to work on the boat hide. The line of storms that came through in the early morning hours had a lot of wind with it and sideways rain that lasted until 10:30. We had a much later start than we had planned, but we got the frame wrapped with a leafy thatch and threw in a few roseau to break up the straight lines a bit. The sunken pit is just a short 10 yard walk from the hide. We didn't see a duck during our time out there (midday) but there are plenty around us.

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The water is extremely low on the entire property, and I am so glad we now have a surface drive to work with. The go devil long shaft would no doubt be a workout in the current conditions. There is nothing more than a thin sheet of water over the thick mud pretty much on the entire route. Our pond is a little deeper with about 6" to 8" of water. Randal and the other blind to our south may have issues getting to their blinds.

We took some time late yesterday afternoon to get another 25# of shrimp. We'll keep after those until they have all left the marsh for the Gulf. We did catch a few speckled trout as well. Chasing red fish is now in the lineup.

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Blake and I will be down there on Thursday night, and we'll put out the decoys, clean up the blind, and add a little brush on Friday. We also baited and set the crab traps this weekend so hopefully we'll have a few for a crab boil in the afternoon.

[Darren]

Sportsmans paradise still

[DComeaux]

Forgot to add that on Sunday morning while driving home early in the morning I saw my first two decent sized, low flocks of specs near Cow Island. They sounded wonderful. Haven't seen those in that area in the last 3 years or so.

[Duck Engr]

That’s awesome! Maybe the ol pendulum is swinging back your way.

[Deltaman]

Love dem swimps!!!!!!!

[DComeaux]

Nice weather for opening weekend.

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Sunday 7 AM.png

[Rick]

Would seem ideal. But, as always, "We'll see..."

[Darren]

Most importantly, and as a departure from some of our earlier cold events, it's also going to be very cold all the way up as your maps show. Look ahead a week, seeing signs of extreme cold temps in upper midwest.

[DComeaux]

My fear is that this may push out many of what's here.

[Ricky Spanish]

My fear is that this may push out many of what's here.

Isn't it November?
What season is November?
Hint: ends in cane

[MARSH BEAR]

Dave - I was thinking the same thing - a good cold front will push the Gadwall out of our marsh - where they go I don't know, and some come back, but not as many as there were before the front. The greenwings don't seem to be effected by the cold as the Gadwall are. I would love to be hunting on Friday, Nov 11

[DComeaux]

Picked up a few blind rations yesterday.

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[Ricky Spanish]

Picked up a few blind rations yesterday.

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Ready too.

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[Rick]

Picked up a few blind rations yesterday.

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Offshore hands swear by 'em for ling bait. I'd eat the bait and toss the ling purple worms. (Wasting shrimp on trout made no sense to me, either.)

[DComeaux]

Picked up a few blind rations yesterday.

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Ready too.

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I did get a few cans of those sardines as well. Love spam. Get some in the camper.

[DComeaux]

Posting this here not to clutter Ricks log. Taken 11/27

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[MallardBay]

That is a whole lot of birds. Thanks for sharing! May have to hit up Rick and see if he knows if Paul or others plan to band during the split. Would be nice to do it 30 minutes from the house instead of hour or more.

[Rick]

I've not heard anything about banding yet.

[Ricky Spanish]

Pins are graceful bird.

They're ballerinas of the sky.
They make flight look easy.

[Deltaman]

WOW, those pics make my heart race!!!!!

[Ricky Spanish]

WOW, those pics make my heart race!!!!!

I watched wave after wave of pintails going over me before Thanksgiving. They ignored the refuge and kept on going south.