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Date: 9/21/2024

Direction and Velocity: Calm early ESE later

Temperature: HOT

Moon phase: full

Waterfowl Activity: Quite a few high flocks headed south. Nothing low and local but the few we took.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: No such thing

Hunters: Me and Bill

Malfunctions: Trying to duck hunt in 2024

Dog(s): Not yet

Special Equipment: None

Curses: High salt water

Kudos: Can't find one at the moment

Birds By Species: 5 BW

I'm not dealing with brush until we are clear of hurricanes. We will lose this peninsula/island this year due to wave action.

Date: 9/22/2024

Direction and Velocity: NNE light and comfortable compared to yesterday

Temperature: HOT but not as bad as yesterday

Moon phase: Saw it around 7 Am to our west still high in the sky.

Waterfowl Activity: Quite a few high flocks headed south.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: No such thing

Hunters: Me and Bill

Malfunctions: Again, trying to duck hunt in 2024

Dog(s): Not yet

Special Equipment: None

Curses: High salt water

Kudos: Can't find one at the moment

Birds By Species: DNS

I still enjoyed being in the blind seeing the thick wigeon grass we have in the ponds, though under deeper water. I watched skimmers working the pond (https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black_Skimmer/id), something I haven't seen since I hunted in Holly beach many years ago. I'm very curious as to how the big duck season will turn out if we still have this grass in our ponds.

“Trying to duck hunt in 2024”

Won’t lie that tickled me ha ha

Don't believe I've ever seen a skimmer, so that would be neat, but I sure feel for your situation otherwise. If there's any way you can skip work any weekday after tomorrow, text me. Maybe Sat or Sun, but have one or the other promised to family that hasn't been yet.

Date: 9/28/2024

Direction and Velocity: Light westerly

Temperature: Comfortable early

Moon phase:

Waterfowl Activity: Saw next to nothing

Waterfowl Responsiveness:

Hunters: Me, Bill and Blake

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): Not yet

Special Equipment:

Curses: High salt water

Kudos:

Birds By Species: 2 BW

We took the two out a flock flyby at warp speed at 10 minutes to 10. We left shortly after.

Date: 9/29/2024

Direction and Velocity: Nice breeze early for the first hour or so then flat calm.

Temperature: Nice and cool before the sun rise

Moon phase:

Waterfowl Activity: Saw a few more high flocks then yesterday.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Really good, thankfully.

Hunters: Me and Bill

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): Not yet

Special Equipment:

Curses: High salt water

Kudos:

Birds By Species: 8 BW

The eight birds came from the one and only flock we worked. The flock appeared very low to our NE as they buzzed our east spread at high speed. Bill stood up to shoot at the tail end bird and I stopped him. They turned east low to the water, and I thankfully, was able to turn them with a frantic call. The entire flock did a hard left turn showing their blues and headed back to us skimming the top of the cord grass. Six shots later there were 8 birds on the water.

The blinds north of us, north of hwy 82, limited out with 10 to 18 people both days in the first 15 minutes of LST. We could hear it.

Hopefully by opening day of the regular season we'll lose at least 3' of water on the property. It did drop a few inches over the weekend, but the three 36" pipe in the control structure can only move so much water, especially when there's 10K acres to drain through it.


Bill with the birds. We have a lot of blind brush work to do.

That’s making the most of an opportunity!

Bill stood up to shoot at the tail end bird and I stopped him. They turned east low to the water, and I thankfully, was able to turn them with a frantic call. The entire flock did a hard left turn showing their blues and headed back to us skimming the top of the cord grass.

That's what it's alllll about. Great work capitalizing from there.

WOW, that was one helluva volley!!!!!!!

Deltaman wrote:WOW, that was one helluva volley!!!!!!!

No foolin'.

Deltaman wrote:WOW, that was one helluva volley!!!!!!!

That doesn't happen very often, but when it does it's rewarding. Everyone is usually on the same darn birds, but Bill actually concentrated on and took those in his lane in this instance. This is something I need to get in the habit of calling out quietly as a reminder when the birds are on their final approach.

Date: 11/9/2024 opening day

Direction and Velocity: ENE 5 to10 then ESE 15 to 20 later

Temperature: Hot

Moon phase: not sure

Waterfowl Activity: very few seen

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Good, thankfully.

Hunters: Blake, Bill and me

Malfunction: Extremely high salt water

Special Equipment: None

Curses: High salt water

Kudos: The birds actually turned when called.

Birds By Species: 3 BW 5 GW

I have Remi with us down here, but I decided we'd wait for more "normal" conditions before taking her on her first hunt. We had enough to deal with this morning. She did take a ride with Bill and I in the boat to check crab traps.

We lost a teal and gadwall that were still lively when they fell near the blind. With this high water they disappeared quickly. Chasing crippled birds in knee deep water through dead, tangled grass in not something I can do as well as I once did.

Blake and Bill with our birds


We have a little over 4 dozen so far. The wife wants a shrimp and crab "stew" when I get home tomorrow.

Any word on breech repair progress?

Rick wrote:Any word on breech repair progress?

It was patched but some levees were topped with the extra high tides. We need strong north winds.

Date: 11/10/2024

Direction and Velocity: Nice northly breeze

Temperature: warm

Moon phase: not sure

Waterfowl Activity: More seen today mostly teal

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Really good

Hunters: Me and Bill (Blake wasn't feeling good this morning)

Malfunction: Still the high salt water

Special Equipment: None

Curses: High salt water

Kudos: The birds actually turned when called.

Birds By Species: 8 BW (one with a band) 4 GW

We had our first 4 on the water five minutes after LST, and it stayed fairly steady for a while. Not having a dog, I went out quickly after every volley which cost us opportunities with some flocks (no lost birds). We needed only one bird to fill, and I had just returned with a bird and was in boat hide when bill shot three times. Two birds had landed but were two close together so he waited for them to separate but they jumped, and he missed. By this time things had slowed up and we had to wait another 45 minutes or more for the next opportunity. We finished just before 9.

Bill with the birds. Thank God for teal.


The wife got her wish.

There it is! And a band to boot!

Glad they found you. Band info?

Rick wrote:Glad they found you. Band info?

Paul link - Hatched in 2022. I don't have the year or place banded yet. I did this on my phone in the blind without glasses, in a hurry and Bill has the band. I thought I had saved the info to my phone but I can't find it.

Always jealous of that stew; may be time for me to fire one up myself again.

Good Start DC. You deserve it

Thanks guys.

DComeaux wrote:

Rick wrote:Glad they found you. Band info?

Paul link - Hatched in 2022. I don't have the year or place banded yet. I did this on my phone in the blind without glasses, in a hurry and Bill has the band. I thought I had saved the info to my phone but I can't find it.

Here it is.

Great report Dave, Congrats, and lots of good eating in that pot too!!!!!

That's surely from Rockefeller, and weren't you there with us in 2022? Might not be the first time you've had your hands on him.

To give a little perspective of our water situation, in this photo I'm in the blind and there should be no water between me and the boat hide. There should be tall cord grass and other lush vegetation obscuring my view of the boat hide and the water beyond. In the lower center of the picture there is a 2 x 12 board walk that leads to the mouth of the boat hide that currently has mid-shin to near knee deep water over it. That walkway usually has tall cord grass and other vegetation that extends over our heads on either side. It's normally a tight trail. Everything is brown, like we would've had a big frost mid winter.



This is the pond to our east. The grass you see near me is normally the waterline edge of that pond. This side usually has only a few inches of water depth. It is pushing the limit of our decoy tethers, with some I had to put very near the grass due to their length. Large waves with this water depth will have our decoys scattered out, I'm afraid.

Rick wrote:That's surely from Rockefeller, and weren't you there with us in 2022? Might not be the first time you've had your hands on him.

It was banded in 2023 hatched in 2022 or earlier. I don't think I participated in any of those last year.

Oops, I misread. Then it's just a used duck someone else has had their mitts on.

I was outside yesterday evening doing some patch work on my waders and heard my first flock of geese (snows) headed south. This morning walking out of the house to let Remi do her thing in the yard I heard my first robins. My cousin next door called me yesterday evening to say he heard and saw some robins in the trees in his yard.

The migration is underway.

That’s noteworthy. I think I recall a couple recent years where you noted robins were absent maybe throughout the whole winter??

Duck Engr wrote:That’s noteworthy. I think I recall a couple recent years where you noted robins were absent maybe throughout the whole winter??

Robins we're always a pleasant sign for me. It told me the ducks were either here or on the way. Though it hasn't translated into much over the last decade or so, It still gives me that spark of hope.

You figured out anything in terms of hunting Remi?