Post season Stuff

[DComeaux]

Dave, hadn't had a chance to read the FB message/link story but plan to when I can.

Okay

[DComeaux]

Blake and I drove down to the camp last night and made it to the blind this morning to throw out a little fertilizer. The growth is looking good and I hope the fertilizer gives it a good boost. The water was low, which I like, and we jumped a few scaup, blue wing, green wing, a shoveler or two, and we did see some larger divers that we didn't take the time to identify. I did video on the way out and back but the go-pro did not capture the birds, even though it was set on "narrow" view, which is supposed to have more zoom, so to speak.

I'll put a wooden stake frame next to the blind to support the needle grass and wrap it from the outside with rebar tie-wire to hold it in place. If all goes well I should have good length on the needle grass to make that work. I'll let the top 1 to 2 feet drape into or over the blind.

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[Rick]

No corn?

[Rick]

Don't mind the above, I'm just jealous of your marsh time, not to mention having a project that should improve your hunting. We're just now beginning to do ag land farm returns, and I'm still scratching my head over what else I might do to improve our lot at the mudhole.

[DComeaux]

HA! It felt good to be out there. I'm not sure if I'd feel good about a hunt where we could throw corn around the blind. It would no longer be hunting for me.

[Darren]

I think given this offseason your grass will be really strong all around the blind.

Sure are putting a lot of stock into hiding thoroughly from the alleged no birds that will be coming...........



just saying

[Rick]

If he'd tossed that corn that he didn't, he'd be covered up in imprinted dos gris next fall. But "noooo..."

[Ducaholic]

If he'd tossed that corn that he didn't, he'd be covered up in imprinted dos gris next fall. But "noooo..."

Lol...

[Ducaholic]

HA! It felt good to be out there. I'm not sure if I'd feel good about a hunt where we could throw corn around the blind. It would no longer be hunting for me.

You should attempt to grow a few stalks just so you can say you in the game...

[DComeaux]

Just going through the motions for a couple more years or so, or until it's no longer worth it, whichever comes first. I'm not planning on investing much more into duck hunting going forward until I see a positive change.

[DComeaux]

Between these and red fish, I'll stay busy in the winter when the ducks stop coming. This one had a bulge in the belly so I let her go. We didn't keep any on this trip.

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[Darren]

Nice one there! What waterway?

[DComeaux]

Lake Fausse Pointe.

[Darren]

Lake Fausse Pointe.

Perty perty

[Rick]

Now the next LA Sportsman cover header will read "Fausse Point HOT, HOT, HOT!"

[DComeaux]

Now the next LA Sportsman cover header will read "Fausse Point HOT, HOT, HOT!"

HA! That place is pounded every weekend by many, and every other it seems by tournaments. Just have to go off the beaten path.

[Darren]

Now the next LA Sportsman cover header will read "Fausse Point HOT, HOT, HOT!"

Was going to add that I've never actually been to Lake Fausse Point...........but I've also never duck hunted the Carolina's



"Dave C. said it's on fire!"

[DComeaux]

Never did I get such an up close look at a peckerwood at work.

[Rick]

Why God made hardware cloth.

[DComeaux]

In my happy place...The marsh.

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So is Ellie

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Both waiting for Duck Season.

[Rick]

Miss Ellie is showing more gray on that muzzle.

[Darren]

Great spot! How'd yall do this morning? Make a spring teal hunt?

[DComeaux]

Great spot! How'd yall do this morning? Make a spring teal hunt?

Lol... saw one late bw on the drive in yesterday evening.

[DComeaux]

Miss Ellie is showing more gray on that muzzle.

I have a strong feeling that this may be her last (2019) season at the blind. I'll see how things go during her warm up in september at home, and during the first split. I would like her to be healthy and happy in her remaining years. I need to find a pup, soon.

[Rick]

Curious how old she is now? (Odd to think that my "pup" is already 4.)

[DComeaux]

She'll be 10 in December. I may be able to have her company in the blind for another season or two, I hope.

[Rick]

Hope so, too.

[DComeaux]

I think i've found my duck blind face masks. Which should I use?

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[Rick]

Depends on if it snows.

[DComeaux]

News Release

For Immediate Release
May 20, 2019

Contact: Trey Iles
Public Information
LDWF
(225) 765-5115
riles@wlf.la.gov


LDWF Conducting Three Waterfowl Telemetry Projects to Gain Better Understanding of Species Movements and Habitat Use




LDWF's Paul Link captures a white-fronted goose for tagging.

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May 20, 2019 – Research is a key component in the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) management of the Bayou State’s natural resources. To that end, LDWF’s Waterfowl Section is currently conducting three telemetry projects aimed at better understanding life habits and routines of three species important to Louisiana hunters.

“The data gathered are invaluable in monitoring nesting birds, determining pathways of potential disease spread and identifying habitats in need of protection or management to enhance populations,’’ LDWF Waterfowl Program Manager Larry Reynolds said. “They may also help us to manage hunting activity to improve harvest opportunity while protecting populations.’’

The species targeted in the three telemetry projects are mottled ducks, blue-winged teal and white-fronted geese, or speckle bellies. LDWF is providing funding and staff, in addition to coordinating with other partners on these projects.

These projects use cutting-edge technology with solar powered GPS/GSM transmitters. The units collect GPS coordinates, motion and environmental data, which is transmitted via cell-phone towers to researchers, allowing them to determine the birds’ precise location, activity, flight speed, direction and altitude.

“These new telemetry units allow researchers to determine what specific habitats birds use during certain times of the day and different seasons of the year, such as breeding vs. molting vs. wintering or hunting vs. non-hunting, and throughout their fall and spring migrations,’’ Reynolds said. “They allow us to see how long marked birds spend in different geographic regions or different habitat types and how and when they move between them.’’

In the mottled duck project, LDWF has partnered with Dr. Kevin Ringelman of LSU, tagging 65 ducks in 2017 and another 57 in 2018 with 31 currently providing data. The primary goal is to explore the nesting ecology of mottled ducks. Substantial data, more than 100,000 locations thus far, is collected on movements and habitat use during the entire annual cycle.

Paul Link, LDWF’s North American Waterfowl Management Plan Coordinator, is coordinating the white-fronted goose project. It began in 2015 with contributions from private donors to purchase transmitters and assist with capture.

Since then, Link has put transmitters on 95 white-fronts in Louisiana, with 44 of those currently providing data. The primary goal is to determine use of habitats by white-fronts in Louisiana and look at status and trends of those habitats over the last 30 years for potential explanation of the changing winter distribution of this species.
Like the mottled duck project, data collected will be used to study many other aspects of white-fronted goose ecology throughout their annual cycle.

Link is also leading the blue-winged teal project, where LDWF has partnered with the USGS Missouri Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, several Louisiana Delta Waterfowl Chapters, Ducks Unlimited, Ducks Unlimited Canada, the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Foundation and private donors to place transmitters on birds in Louisiana and Saskatchewan.

Thus far this year, 10 units have been placed on spring-migrating blue-winged teal in Louisiana in conjunction with on-going avian flu research. Additional teal will be captured and fitted in the breeding grounds this year by cooperating partners.

For more information on these projects, contact Larry Reynolds at lreynolds@wlf.la.gov or 225-765-0456, or Paul Link at plink@wlf.la.gov or 225-765-2358 .

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is charged with managing and protecting Louisiana’s abundant natural resources. For more information, visit us at http://www.wlf.la.gov. To receive recreational or commercial fishing email and text alerts, signup at http://www.wlf.la.gov/signup.