Home Forums Birds & Dogs Waterfowl Fun day hunting divers and spoonbills!

Couldn't score any geese today, but did very well on divers and spoonbills from the canoe. There were three of us hunting, but my buddy's dad found out too late that his gun was non-functional and wouldn't fire. So, we took turns letting him share one of our guns and he managed to kill a couple of birds before I left. Total bird count when I rolled at 9:30 AM (grrr...wife's freaking job cutting me short AGAIN) was 11 birds on two guns - 7 ruddy ducks and 4 shovelers:



It was hard work getting out in a man-powered vessel today, as the thick stuff below locked up much of the water, even in this big lake; it was 2"+ in many places:



My 3 year-old gets a kick out of it when I bring home birds. She always wants to "pet them" when I lay them out for dressing...heh. Here she is with my half of the pull:

Ruddy's are my favorite ducks to sit and watch in the summer. Ducks in a clown suit. Show off kings of the marsh. Spoonies get less credit than they deserve. Well brined they are good eating and reliable to the decoys.

I know nothing about 3 year olds, especially little girls. This is a fact though. She is cute as a button. A little young for cold weather hunting but has she shared the blind with Dad yet?

BullGoose -

No, she hasn't shared a blind with me just yet. The one advantage of moving to Las Vegas is that the warmed weather should entice Mom out to keep an eye on our little one during the early season, something she won't readily do right now. Once she's willing to do that, the little one will be able to come. It's all a maturity/listening skills check before I take her out with me solo as her safety is my #1 priority when she finally does join me.

She is a cutey. That's funny, my 3 yr old girl loves it when I bring home birds, too. I can't cut them in the field, bringing home meat just won't do. I do the dirty work in the garage, and invariably my daughter will pick up a bird and take it in for Mom to see, and is always met with delight! I shot a green wing teal a couple of weeks ago that I barely was able to clean--she had decided it was her pet and was carrying the darn thing around with her.

I've been taking mine along with me on nice days (above 30 deg here is pretty nice). Bring lots of snacks, lower your expectations for actually getting birds by ALOT, and be prepared to leave early. Sounds like fun, right? Well it is. I got "your the best dad in the world" last time, and "I'm having a great time" just about 5 minutes before "my feet are cold I want to go home now." I have waders for her made from Oaki (I think), only ones I could find. I put ear plugs in for her with a sock cap over, and we practice listening at home and practice some of the scenario before going out. More like play, but it does give her preparation and understanding of what to expect, as well as practice at listening.