Hot Diggity Dog I Got Drawn

I got drawn for a Tundra Swan Permit. I can hardly wait.

NCWRC has posted the draw results.

The Art of Calling Geese

This evening I got to watch a master goose caller call a small flock of geese right in. I suspect this caller couldn’t win any of those fancy calling contests but it was a delight to watch and listen as he called. I saw him sitting there all by himself which is a bit unusual and he appeared to be sound asleep with his head resting on his back. I observed him for a number of minutes as I worked my way closer to him trying not to disturb his nap. All of a sudden he popped up wide awake and alert at first I was afraid that I had encroached on him too much and disturbed him but that was only a fleeting thought as he began to call.

I soon heard the small flock calling back to him but the trees hid them from my view. As they cleared over
the trees and began to circle I wondered if they would drop in or if my presence would keep them away. He kept calling and they kept responding and circling and finally one of them could not help and it began to drop towards him. The flow of air through the wings sounded like the wind on a sailboat jib as the goose flew over my head and dropped right in.

A few more came in and the rest followed. What a beautiful sight as they splashed the water when the landed. At first I thought they had a couple of snow geese with them but it appears they are domestic geese gone wild.

I marveled at the ability of a lone goose to call a flock a trick I’ve attempted to do myself a time or two without much luck. I too will never win one of those calling contest but I did see that one can call the flock in if you’re persistent. Get out and experience nature you can learn some valuable lessons as well as relax and rejuvenate your soul.

Attention Duck Hunters NCWRC Issues Waterfowl Impoundment Reports

The NCWRC has issued an updated report on public waterfowl impoundments across the state that duck hunters will find helpful when planning hunting trips this coming season. Dry conditions in parts of the state as well as repair and improvements on some impoundments will impact hunting conditions. Some of these locations are a limited draw hunt so please check out the Permit Hunt section of the NCWRC website formally referred to as “special hunts” for more information on how to get a permit.
Here is the information on the upcoming season including dates and bag limits for waterfowl.

Public Urged To Comment On Waterfowl Season

Once again the NCWRC is urging people to submit online comments about the waterfowl season. Public meetings were suspended last year because of poor participation.

Regular waterfowl seasons begin in late September and include various seasons for ducks, Canada geese, snow geese, brant and tundra swans.

Beginning this week, citizens can comment on proposed dates for the seasons, by going to www.ncwildlife.org and clicking on “Regular Waterfowl Season Comments.” Comments on the proposed season dates will be accepted until Aug. 16.
Public-input meetings have traditionally been held to receive comments on waterfowl seasons. However, attendance at these meetings had declined over time and public input was minimal at most locations. As a cost-savings measure and to allow for a relatively easy means for statewide citizen input, the agency developed an online comment system, first used last year.

Here is a direct link to the public comment section. Waterfowl hunting in North Carolina is pretty popular hopefully some of us duck hunters will give them some feedback on the proposals.

Early Migratory Bird Season and Bag Limit is Set

NCWRC has announced the upcoming early season as well as the web less season. Goose hunters should be pleased because the bag limit has been raised to 15 a day for the month of September. This is an effort to control our sky rocketing residential goose population that are causing significant problems across the state. Unfortunately these birds have become adapt to staying in areas like parks and golf courses where they can’t be hunted.

The 2009-10 seasons for webless migratory game birds and waterfowl early seasons are:
• Dove: Sept. 5 – Oct 10; Nov. 23 – Nov. 28; and Dec. 19 – Jan. 15; daily bag of 15 and possession limit of 30
• King and clapper rails: Sept. 5 – Nov. 13; daily bag of 15 and possession limit of 30
• Sora and Virginia rails: Sept. 5 – Nov. 13; daily bag of 25 and possession limit of 25
• Gallinule and moorhens: Sept. 5 – Nov. 13; daily bag of 15 and possession limit of 30
• Woodcock: Jan 1 – Jan. 30; daily bag of 3 and possession limit of 6
• Common snipe: Nov. 13 – Feb. 27; daily bag of 8 and possession limit of 16
• Canada goose: Sept. 1 – 30 (statewide); daily bag of 15 and possession limit of 30
• September teal season: Sept. 12-30 (East of U.S. 17 only); daily bag of 4 and possession limit of 8. Species include green-winged, blue-winged and cinnamon teal.

The rest of the upcoming waterfowl season will be set up next month after the state gets the federal guidelines . For more information on Migratory Bird Hunting in NC checkout NCWRC website

NCWRC Wants To Hear Your Comments On Early Waterfowl and Webless Migratory Bird Seasons

The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission is inviting citizens to provide input on the early waterfowl and webless migratory game bird hunting seasons. This includes seasons for doves, woodcock, rails and snipe and various other birds.

Some real important proposals this year including the use of electronic calls & unplugged guns for early goose season. They no longer have public meetings on these proposals so it is important that you get your input in by submitting comments on line. Here is a link to the site.

On The Road For Snows

Our Crew I’m in the back then L to R NCState, Pickle, Billy, & Hawkeye

Travel half way across the country with 4 other guys and you know there has to be some stories. I’ve had a few ask me about my trip and I’ll admit I’ve been slack.
We left North Carolina headed for Mound City Missouri the center of the snow goose spring migration. We traveled together in a van towing a trailer of dogs for the hunt. The ride was really not bad given that we all don’t see each other much but we love to hunt.

I had never been to St. Louis so it was exciting to catch a glimpse of the arch as we rolled through.

Cabela’s in Kansas City was great, some had to get supplies for this trip while others don’t need much of an excuse to shop at Cabela’s . One of the guys who had been to this Cabela’s before insisted we had to eat lunch there because they made wild game sandwiches. Had many of us thought about the rest of the week and all the sandwiches we would consume we may have opted for something else.

The weather had to be the big story of this trip; days before we got there the temperatures were in the 70’s but a front arrived about the same time we did. The first day of the hunt the high for the day was 56’ with one important note that it happened at midnight. A few of our group missed that part so as the temperature continued to drop throughout the day the lack of cold weather gear really began to take a toll. The 40’s and rain in the morning was replaced by the mid 20’s spitting snow and a steady 30 gusting to 40 mph wind. The wind chill had to be the hardest thing to deal with especially after getting wet earlier in the day. I was one who had watched the weather closely and I was pretty prepared for what we faced that day.

The hunting the first day was not the best but we had a lot of opportunities that we didn’t capitalize on. Unlike Canada geese that seem to come in a bit lower the snows come in high and just drop. When the day ended we had a number of birds but we knew we should have had a lot more.
The second day was a lot colder the corn field went from being a muddy mess to frozen tundra. The weather in Missouri was cold but just to the north in the Dakota’s the rain we got was snow up there. They had blizzard conditions which was now forcing the migrating geese that had already traveled through Missouri and north into the Dakotas to reverse the migration and fly back south to find food. We saw a lot of birds many headed south and a pretty good day of hunting. The wind was not as bad but it blew steady all day. The day ended and we had a better pile of birds then the first day but we still knew our shooting had not been the best letting many of the decoying birds to escape.
The final day of our hunt was a spectacular one. The sky was filled with flock after flock of bird all morning and that was only a small taste of what the afternoon held for us. The final afternoon was one of those hunts I think all of us will remember forever. We killed some birds but even more spectacular was the migration flight we witnessed that day. The weather had really piled the birds up in the area many of the locals told us that they thought there was record number of birds resting in the area. That afternoon the birds began flying about 3:30 and from then on there was almost never a time that you couldn’t see birds in the air.

There were a number of times that afternoon when we had the white tornado over our heads as 5 or 6 hundred birds circled our decoys. That was a sight to see and one I’ll not soon forget. Late in the afternoon we just laid our guns down and soaked the whole scene in as we laid there in the blind and the flocks flew by.
While we didn’t kill as many birds we had thought we would we did all right and brought back a cooler of birds. There are a number of other stories and laughs we shared that week that maybe I’ll share in the future. We had a great trip and one we’ll not soon forget.

Back From Snow Goose Hunt

I’m sure some have been wondering where I’ve been. I and 4 of my friends traveled to Missouri to catch the spring migration of snow geese and we had a blast. I had hoped to be able to blog some from the road but that didn’t work out like I had hoped. I’ll get the stories of the trip up along with some additional photos.
-Moose-

Mallards In Flight

On the way home from work today I stopped at a local lake and shot some photos. These green heads pitched in while I was there.

Tundra Swan Hunt In Washington County

North Carolina has a fairly unique hunting opportunity in that Tundra Swan winter in the eastern part of the state. Tundra Swan tags are given out by lottery draw and not usually to difficult to obtain however this year I was unsuccessful in the lottery. The popularity of this hunt has grown but you still have about a 70% chance of getting drawn for one of the 5000 tags the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission issues each year.

With no tag I still tagged along with my camera in tote to experience the annual event with my friends. Once again we were hunting with Mike and Connie from Conman’s Guide Service and Billy from Avery Creek Retrievers provided the dogs for the hunt.

At daybreak on Monday the fog was thick and we knew it would be a tough hunt, tundra swan unlike most waterfowl fly better on bluebird type days. The threat of winter weather hitting the state latter that day put some added pressure. The decoy spread was in a wheat field with the hunters hiding in a field ditch in a blind. The ditch had a fair amount of water so I was glad to have chest waders on as the water and the mud was over my knees.

It was after 9am before we saw the first swan, it was a lone swan that dropped out of the fog silently and landed in the decoy spread before anyone knew it. Having a life bird walking and feeding around the hundreds of decoys is not to bad because it adds a little movement to the set up. Shortly after the lone birds arrival the action picked up as flocks of swans began to get up off the lake and fly. By noon time we had 13 birds on the ground and a lot of happy hunters.

I’m Back From Washington

Washington County North Carolina that is… This past weekend is our annual Tundra Swan hunt but I unfortunately did not get drawn for a tag this year. I still went to photograph the event and see everyone. I’ll post some stories from the weekend along with some of the photos I took. Today in Raleigh we are having a major snowstorm ( about 3 or 4 inches by the time it is all done) so that is also throwing a monkey wrench into my daily routine. Hopefully this evening I’ll get some posts up.

Miracle On The Hudson?

Breaking news out of New York where US Air flight 1549 en route to North Carolina crashed into the Hudson River. Earlier reports are that everyone has survived, the crew must have done a miraculous job along with the first responders.

Initial reports are that the jet hit a flock of geese. Bird strikes are extremely dangerous especially when sucked into the engines knocking them out. This is what appears to happen to Flight 1549 taking out both of the engines.

Geese are a real problem with many areas becoming over populated with them. Methods of controlling them are; using dogs or noise makers to disrupt them, altering the area to make it less attractive, and hunting. Geese are smart and will quickly adjust to what ever methods you try to use against them.

I guess when you look at a situation like this it makes the plans by the Navy to build an OLF in the wintering grounds of swans and geese seem even more ridiculous. That’s another soapbox I won’t get on right now.

Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone who was on the flight as well as New York’s Emergency Services as they continue operations on the Hudson River.

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