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SLOW START TO WATERFOWL
SEASON
By: Ron Wilson
November 25, 2007.... The waterfowl
season so far has been very unusual to say the least All the hunters
that I
have talked to don’t understand what mother nature is doing.
The season started off fair with mostly
local birds being harvested, mallards, gads, teal, and the old standby
spoonies.
Then a couple weeks into the season here
comes lots of Sprig, Widgeon and then a few snows and White Front
geese. These birds usually don’t show up until December at the earliest.
I figured the reason for the early
arrival was the opener at the Merced Wildlife Refugee, but hardly a shot
was fired and very few birds were seen according to some of the hunters
that hunted that area the weekend before
Thanksgiving.
I don’t know what's going on, but if I
had a guess, I think it’s the lack of water up north. By that I mean
Sacramento and the rice fields. The birds came down to
Sacramento and not finding the usual flooded rice fields came on
down to the central valley looking for food and water. I know that the
birds coming in light and quickly are dipping down for long drinks of
water. I noticed this with the Sprig and Widgeon that lit out of
shooting range.
Whatever the case may be were not looking
a gift horse in the mouth as the season for my gang has been great
so far with 10 birds or more most days for us with just one skunked day
in the books.
With a little weather from Mother Nature
who knows what the season will bring for us in the next couple months.
It could be a very good year for us in the grasslands in Central
California so far we have killed more ducks this year than we did the
whole season last year. |
