The Great Outdoors 11-20-09

   Everybody has birds on their mind  on Thanksgiving Day. It is hard not to when a turkey in the oven is releasing appetizing aromas at a family’s Thanksgiving celebration.
  But resolute waterfowl hunters will not  be around to take in the smells because ducks, not turkeys, will have their attention Thursday, as Thanksgiving marks the annual opening day of Kentucky’s duck hunting season.
    While most of us dread the coming woes of winter, waterfowl hunters pray for it, as it means more birds. A hunter’s success depends heavily on local and national weather. Getting the season dates to line up with the peak flood of migrating birds is something of a crapshoot. So far, the odds do not look good.
    El Niño may provide a glitch in early season hunter’s plans. Warmer and wetter weather north of us has most birds sitting still for now. The delayed harvesting of crops, ducks’ key food sources, along with above average temperatures and plenty of water still in liquid state, will slow the early season action here in Kentucky. Most ducks will not leave the Club Med-like resorts until forced into action by the weather.
    This forecast will not keep diehard duck chasers out of the blind come opening day. The prospects of resident birds, a good population of wood ducks and teals, and even some migrating mallards that fly by the calendar will keep hunters busy.
    The old hand duck hunters know success is defined by mobility and willingness to adapt to waterfowl activity schedules when temperatures are above normal and waves of migrating flocks perch in the north.
    Clear skies, the predominant weather theme in November, often result in nocturnal feeding, reducing early morning activity. A midday hunt can make the difference between a disastrously boring failure and a shot-ringing success. But use caution: Afternoon hunts should be limited to a few times a week to avoid pressuring the few birds out of the area. During midday hunts, be selective with your shots and avoid firing at large groups.
    It is a blessing this season is split as an El Niño winter. This year’s open duck seasons are Thursday through Nov. 30 and Dec. 7 through Jan. 31. This means hunters will get to hunt a week later this season as opposed to last year’s uninterrupted 60-day season. The last week could be primetime for hunters.
    Knowledgeable duck hunter Kenneth Burgess, senior from Fancy Farm, Ky., said, “I’m glad that Kentucky issued the split season this year so we will get a shot at those late migrates that may be delayed by the effects of El Niño.”
    Despite the forecasts, hunters take these predictions with a grain of salt because nature has its way of turning the tables. But even if the forecast was grim, I think the stubborn waterfowl hunters would still be out there.
    Of all the different sects in the hunting community, I admire the unyielding nature of waterfowl hunters  most. Their season cuts into the cruelest weather of the year. Once the season begins, they become amphibious, wading sloughs, swamps, creeks and lakes.
    They spend ridiculous amounts of money on decoys, guns, ammo, calls and boats to better the odds of shooting a limit. Despite all this, they are often unsuccessful due to conditions beyond their control, but a duck descending to  their decoy is enough to feed the addiction.
    I am proficiently lacking in waterfowl knowledge, but if there is one thing I know about dedicated duck hunters like Burgess, he and others will be out there, favorable conditions or not, ready to shoot at whatever may come upon their calls and decoys, undiscriminating between resident and migrate birds or teals, woodies or mallards.
    I, on the other hand, prefer to wait until I get the call from Burgess that peak time is here before I take up any space in a blind. This is amateur of me, but it is necessary to shield myself from the addiction of participating in the borderline lunacy behavior of gritty waterfowlers.
    Contact Miller at steven.miller@murraystate.edu.