Why I Hunt
They used to call it the ‘Fabulous Hunting 40’! My grandparents owned 40 acres inside the borders of Lake Alice Federal Wildlife Refuge in the 60’s and 70’s. I am told by many it was Hunting Heaven. Dave Osborn, a Cando, ND native and former Minnesota Viking, used to hunt there and bring some of his football buddies.
The land was turned over to the Federal Government before I was born so I never got to experience it, but the stories from those days and the hunts I was brought on by my grandfather and father ignited a fire that burns more intensely every day.
I grew up on a farm, like many North Dakota kids. We were 9 miles from town, riding bike up and down main street with friends wasn’t an option. I always claimed I was going to ride my bike all the way to town just so I could be like the “town kids”. I never did reach that accomplishment. Oh Well, though I didn’t realize it at the time, I survived and became a better person for it.
I do wish I would have cherished more, the opportunities I had as a farm kid though. Wish I would have loved it more and desired the town life less. Oft times we only appreciate things and opportunities when they are past.
I truly believe we are in the later hours of the “good ole days” in North Dakota when it comes to hunting waterfowl. Things are stellar right now. This is the time to get out and enjoy our resources, I fear that sooner rather than later we are going to see a decline in the air.
I get out every chance I get, and I love bringing these two with when they don’t have activities.
The giggling blind, on Friday morning, was a thing of pure joy as we had hen mallards landing in our spread. My son kept shouting “Shoot em, shoot em” and we kept telling him and trying to explain to him that we didn’t want to shoot hens because they are the ones that have the babies.
Trying to Instill the Love of Waterfowl Hunting in the Future
We were able to entice many other ducks besides just hens and my little guys’ blood lust was thoroughly quenched. He was having the time of his life, and even my daughter was intrigued, especially by the woodies, and when I plucked feathers for projects with Grandma Nana, it hooked her even more.
My grandfather and father were the ones that turned me into a hunter. Demonstrated for me the right way to go about hunting, pitching hi-lex jugs out the back of the pick up box at 4 in the morning. It is my duty as a North Dakotan to pass that along to my kin. To try to instill in them the desire to pursue the bounty of North Dakota but to also do it in the right way.
The Ring of Fowl
Some of you may have seen my previous hunting posts. I have included the “Ring of Fowl” pictures before and will continue featuring them in later reports. I just love the look. It makes it much easier, later on, to tabulate the days take for record keeping.
Did I mention I love how the picture looks.
What’s a Good Day
Avoid the Skunk at all costs. No, I am not talking about the black and white furry odor spreader, I am speaking of the goose egg, the zero bird day. Everyone has them, everyone that has ever set up a decoy has had one of those days when the birds had a mind of their own, or the wind didn’t blow, or the Fowl gods were just not smiling upon us.
Do you count those days as failures though?
I don’t. I was still in the outdoors, I was still able to enjoy ‘God’s Country’ with friends. My favorite part of the waterfowl hunting experience isn’t the shooting. My favorite part of the day is the time before legal shooting time. That 10 to 20 minutes when all the decoys are set, the sound of whistling wings can be heard overhead, anticipation is still high. I get to experience that everyday that I am in the field, and that experience makes every hunting day a success.
The birds in the bag are icing on the cake.
We All Have Our Favorites
Everyone has their favorites: favorite food, favorite movie, favorite tv show….. Waterfowlers have their favorite bird. Most will say the Mallard, the Greenhead is usually king in the spread. We tell guests to not pull the trigger unless they see green.
I don’t necessarily follow my own advice. I like to look for the oddity, the duck that doesn’t belong. I like to have an array of species in the pictures at the end of the day.
Here is my favorite, The Baldpate, Anas americana, the American Wigeon. I love these ducks. The acrobats of the air. You can tell a flock of wigeon coming in by two characteristics, the flashing white belly and the mid-air death defying acrobatic show they put on as they are approaching the landing area and putting on the breaks.
Where we hunt in North Dakota there are basically only 2 ducks that display white bellies coming into our field decoys, this guy and the Wood Duck, coincidentally, my #2. This made the outing with my kids on Friday an even more enjoyable day, as we were able to bag a beauty drake Wigeon and 4 Woodies to boot.
Baldpate, the aerial acrobat
This is a memory of another Wigeon that caused quite a stir in our spread, called a Biller Duck, always on the lookout for the hybrids.
Take Time to Preserve the Memory
There was a time when after the hunt we just wanted to get the decoys stowed, get the truck on the road, and carry on with other activities of the day, mostly socializing with the hunting party and consumption of adult beverages. As I have grown older and discovered the errors of my ways, my impatience to end the day in the field has waned and my appreciation for the opportunity we have been awarded here in the Duck Factory has grown.
No longer am I in such a hurry to get out of the field. We now take time to preserve the day, to document whatever successes we experienced. Once you leave and are gone, the opportunity to do so is gone forever. I like to stage different pics:
the ‘Ring of Fowl’
the “Hall of Shame stupid face”,
the “Honker Guitar”
the “Bird Numbers”
I like to preserve the memory. Often times, I go back in the off season and peruse through the years of pictures and reminisce, think about the things we did wrong and the things we did right. Laugh a little, cry a little, just savoring the moments I have experienced with my passion/obsession.
The Angle Makes the Pic
I like to tinker with different angles and elevations on some of the pics. I also like to mess around with new ideas, if you have a favorite way in which you take pictures with your days catch or hunt, tell us about it; send us pictures and we will gladly feature you in future posts. We love to hear from others that share our passions and want to celebrate the bounty of the great outdoors.
Vikings Caps and Duck Tailgaiting!
I wish my daughter would have jumped in this one, but I love this pic, sporting the Vikings cap (5-0 Baby!!!!) and grinning from ear to ear with a tailgate full of fowl! A truly cherished day.
Good article Travis, Glad you are passing along the sport.