The morning started early as I headed up toward
Farmington Bay for the opener of the duck hunt. I agreed to meet a friend who had arranged a hunting party of 5 others at the boat launch at 3:00 am in the morning. As we loaded the boats and made our way into the darkness the excitement more than overcame a sense of uneasiness about the unknown hunting spot with a group of individuals I had just met. We made our way through the shallow marsh by the light of a few dim head lamps and the spotlight of the occasional passing boat. After arriving at "the spot" we quickly set out a spread of 80 or so decoys and hid in the tall cattails while shooting time approached.
The first shot heard in the distance, though way too early, seemed to get the adrenaline pumping and the heart racing. As shooting time arrived, the sky was filled with Teal which closely resembled tiny little F-16's flying in tight formation then pealing off into evasive maneuvers as soon as the first shots were fired. I had hunted waterfowl before and taken a few birds but I had never anticipated the fast action that had evolved around us. I felt like a complete rooky as I missed one after another, all of which were flying just overhead at 50 miles an hour. After half a box of ammo and whole lot of frustration I finally connected with a perfectly timed shot. Once I broke my missing streak the birds seemed to come easy and everyone in the group became more and more patient letting the birds get ever closer to the decoys before opening up. At the end of the morning we collected more than 30 birds including 3 beautiful drake Mallards, 2 Gaddies and 2 Shovelers.
The clean-up and trip back is never as exciting as the one out but it was fun to be able to see the scenery that was previously hidden by the darkness. Surprisingly the water looked nothing like I had imagined on the way out. Reminding me of Pea Soup, the entire waterway was covered by a film of duckweed.
In the distance we watched thousands of ducks that found safety in numbers holding out in the middle of the unit.
After some quick pictures and some well deserved handshakes I was on my way back home. The whole way contemplating where I was going to hunt the following weekend.
I was welcomed home by some enthusiastic hugs and smiles. My boys were eager to see every picture and hear every story. I may have the best two hunting buddies a father can ask for, in a few more years.
A very dark colored Drake Mallard
