2024-2025 Preseason

[Rick]

My blind, #3, is ready as I can make it, given the givens, and Call and I were there before LST this morning for his final dress rehearsal before tomorrow's opener. Watched scads of squealers drop in well out in the body and tolled a few of the closer groups, which he's come to show little interest in. Though that's going to change when they start being retrieving ops. Little else came by, except one very high bunch of unidentified big ducks that swung around and dropped a lot of altitude for the loudest every-hen-on-the-marsh hail I could muster with my Singleton cutdown - before heading back on course, still unidentified.

Went back to the camp at 7:30, found everyone was in the marsh, so went back out and found, mostly blue-wing, teal were starting to show in BIG bunches. Our blind saw its share, too, though most were headed for the heart of the marsh: think Byron and Neil both had video of scads landing, with the "problem" being which bunches to video.

Guessing they may have been birds bumped by rice field hunters prepping blinds and that we'll see that show much earlier tomorrow.

Good luck to all.

[Deltaman]

Hope it is a banner opener in your new home Rick!!!!!

[Duck Engr]

Opener eve, the most optimistic day of the season!

[Rick]

Thanks. I'm looking forward to seeing more of where and how the birds work that corner of the marsh - and, of course, our pond.

But most of all, I've fingers and toes crossed for how it will go with Call. He's become pretty calm with birds in his face, but may explode when the guns go off and they start falling...

[Rick]

Been back in our CR marsh starting second split prep the past two mornings and pretty sure we've the SWLA black-belly market just about completely cornered by now. Seeing a very few mallards pop along the trails, but most new "real ducks" are teal. 'Course, they're easier to distinguish from the clouds of squealers than big ducks...

[Rick]

View from the blind this morning:

[PorkChop]

“So much for hanking”. Hahaha. My kids are reading and when you did that all their heads turned my way haha

[Duck Engr]

Nice way to start a morning!

[Rick]

Nice way to start a morning!

Sure was. Wish the phone's camera had done a better job of picking up on all of the birds out there (extra credit for IDing the species hollering at the outset), instead of focusing on the canes I'd just added in hopes their pale tassels will help hide pale faces. Not a lot of neater places to greet a sunrise.

Also took care of last minute chores like turning on the solar powered lights that help old eyes safely out of the boat and into the blind. (Though I had a fellow last split who stepped up onto the dog stand, did a near 360 and asked, "Where do I go now.") And Call and I even made a few passes to reopen an old shortcut between my blind and Byron's, just in case, then cleaned the boat. So I'm fresh out of excuses to be in the marsh again before tomorrow's second split opener. But will still make a pass by the camp to insure there's nothing left to help out with this morning,

Meanwhile, I'm going a little crazy and wondering if/hoping that anxiety is what put Call his morning meal...

[SpinnerMan]

extra credit for IDing the species hollering at the outset

Nice video. Sounded like a limpkin. We have a lot of them in the area we stay in Florida. They like eating the snails that live there.

[DComeaux]

extra credit for IDing the species hollering at the outset

Nice video. Sounded like a limpkin. We have a lot of them in the area we stay in Florida. They like eating the snails that live there.

I had heard that limpkin as well.

[Rick]

Been back in the marsh the past two mornings prepping for our last split, which begins Saturday, and can't say I've seen much of anything for big ducks. Probably more teal, maybe more spoons, but if there are more big ducks, I've not seen them for the ever increasing squeallers.

Did, however, take my calls this morning, and tried the cutdown on a probable mottled or mallard way the hey and gone out over "the body" (refuge area), and was tickled to turn and toll what turned out to be a greenhead. That is until it occurred to me that I'd just educated one we're apt to need later.

[Deltaman]

Rick, are the Blackbellies aggressive towards other ducks? Could they be protecting their feeding areas and pushing the big ducks out of the area, or have the big ducks simply not come down yet? You have your finger on the pulse most every day of the season, and I am curious what your take on the lack of big ducks might be. I rode across our causeway last Saturday, and didn't even see any coots, much less ducks

[SpinnerMan]

I don't know how snow effects ducks, but this is killing us for geese. There's almost no snow. We have tons of mallards around. They usually fly later so not seeing any in the morning wasn't a big shock.

[Rick]

Rick, are the Blackbellies aggressive towards other ducks? Could they be protecting their feeding areas and pushing the big ducks out of the area, or have the big ducks simply not come down yet? You have your finger on the pulse most every day of the season, and I am curious what your take on the lack of big ducks might be. I rode across our causeway last Saturday, and didn't even see any coots, much less ducks

Wasn't too many years back that we'd watch big swarms of pintails drop from twinkler altitude to join the squealers swarming the marsh, so I know they can be, or were, a powerful attractant. At least initially. And they don't compete with other ducks for much of our loafing space, as they'd much rather stand than swim. But while they show up each morning gorged with rice, many if not most like to do their standing around in shallow areas with curly indigo/northern joint vetch, most all ducks seem to feed on, so there may be some competition there.

In the main, however, "our" birds simply aren't making it down here in the numbers we once knew. Pretty sure DComeaux hoards all of the robins that still make the trip, as I've yet to see one in my night crawler rich yard this year. And the great swarms of red-wing black birds that were once a plague have been replaced by grackles. Lots of stuff going on out there besides heated ponds and flooded corn.

But you may be pleased to know that I have, in fact, noted a poule d'eau/coot uptick following the weather to our north.

[DComeaux]

Rick, are the Blackbellies aggressive towards other ducks? Could they be protecting their feeding areas and pushing the big ducks out of the area, or have the big ducks simply not come down yet? You have your finger on the pulse most every day of the season, and I am curious what your take on the lack of big ducks might be. I rode across our causeway last Saturday, and didn't even see any coots, much less ducks

Wasn't too many years back that we'd watch big swarms of pintails drop from twinkler altitude to join the squealers swarming the marsh, so I know they can be, or were, a powerful attractant. At least initially. And they don't compete with other ducks for much of our loafing space, as they'd much rather stand than swim. But while they show up each morning gorged with rice, many if not most like to do their standing around in shallow areas with curly indigo/northern joint vetch, most all ducks seem to feed on, so there may be some competition there.

In the main, however, "our" birds simply aren't making it down here in the numbers we once knew. Pretty sure DComeaux hoards all of the robins that still make the trip, as I've yet to see one in my night crawler rich yard this year. And the great swarms of red-wing black birds that were once a plague have been replaced by grackles. Lots of stuff going on out there besides heated ponds and flooded corn.

But you may be pleased to know that I have, in fact, noted a poule d'eau/coot uptick following the weather to our north.

I do know the robins made it as far south as Tennessee.

[jrock75]

No doubt that there is way more going on here than heated DU corn impoundments. Wish this wayward group of hunters would see this and not try to shoot ourselves in the foot with shorter seasons and smaller limits that are not going to "fix" anything.

[DComeaux]

No doubt that there is way more going on here than heated DU corn impoundments. Wish this wayward group of hunters would see this and not try to shoot ourselves in the foot with shorter seasons and smaller limits that are not going to "fix" anything.

I think we've already had an amputation with complications.