Wildfowl April/May 2024

WELL, THAT WAS A CLOSE ONE. Just when it looked like warm weather had all but killed the past duck season, the fall flight erupted in shotgun fire across the timber bottoms and rice fields and in the flyways north to south. A bit of saving grace, but we would sure rather have seen a steady trickle of migrators, not an all-at-once flurry at the bitter cold end. Just prior to that, news of the coming polar vortex had us dancing around with joy in hope of birds. Sure enough, field reports rolled in—the great duck highways in the sky had lit up, and people everywhere were piling up birds. Videos popped up of guys driving boats in at night and mallards fluttering everywhere along the dikes like Monarch butterflies.…

IN 1985, RENOWNED WILDLIFE ARTIST David A. Maass and art publishing giant Wild Wings conspired to release a print entitled “Low Ceiling—Snows and Blues.” Situated in a forgotten ag field with plenty of puddles and leftover stalks, the eerie setting was nothing more than a foggy morning trip to the buffet table for a group of hungry snow geese migrating somewhere in the North American flyways. And while the image could easily bring thoughts of the northern U.S. or southern Canada, it could be in the rice field, rag-spread country of fabled Eagle Lake, Texas, a spot that was for many years, the Mecca for goose hunters looking for a wintertime fix on light geese and maybe an eagle-headed trophy blue for the wall. Maass was inspired by the flyway’s…

HEN ACT INTRODUCED IN CONGRESS Legislation introduced in Congress could have a sizable impact on duck nesting success. Known as H.R. 6854, the Habitat Enhancement, or “HEN Act,” by three U.S. House members (Rep. Michelle Fischbach, R-Minnesota, Rep. Mike Thompson, D-California, and Rep. Douglas LaMalfa, R-California) would aid duck production by funding hen houses in the prairie pothole region of the northern U.S. along with nesting and brood habitat in California. “The science of breeding ducks has shown that nest success is often far below desired levels in the prairies and brood habitat is limiting production in California,” said Dr. Scott Petrie, CEO of Delta Waterfowl. “This legislation will create a funding stream to address those challenges head on.” PRESIDENT SIGNS DUCK STAMP MODERNIZATION ACT Duck hunters got an early…

❶ BAND: 1286-62206HUNTER: Michael Hudak, Jacksonville, NCSPECIES: Northern Pintail (F)BANDED: 8/11/2023, Fort Yukon, Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, AlaskaRECOVERED: 1/13/2024, Kenton, TN 3,029 mile LONG-DISTANCE -CHAMP- ❷ BAND: 1094-65939HUNTER: Jeff Holmes, Resaca, GASPECIES: Green winged teal (F)BANDED: 8/24/2022, Pine house, Saskatchewan CanadaRECOVERED: 1/26/2024, Resaca, GA ❸ BANDS: 1208-92051, 1158-42623, and 1028-82849HUNTER: George Roelens, Amherstburg, OntarioSPECIES: Canada geese (F,M,M)BANDED: NUNAVUT, CANADA on 7/27/2014, 7/27/2018, and 7/21/2007 (Flyway veteran)RECOVERED: 9/16/2022, 11/13/2022, and 11/13/2022 on the same farm in Goderich, Ontario Flyway Veteran ❹ BAND: 1276-04996HUNTER: Daniel Lopez, Miami, FLSPECIES: Ring Neck (F)BANDED: 4/15/2023, Walsingham, CanadaRECOVERED: 12/24/2024, Palm Beach County, FL ❺ BAND: 2257-78064HUNTER: Ryan Foster, Liverpool, Nova ScotiaSPECIES: American Black Duck (F)BANDED: 9/14/2023 Codroy Valley, NewfoundlandRECOVERED: 12/21/2024 Lake Rossignal, Nova Scotia ❻ BAND: 1298-24773HUNTER: Jason Beaule, Lewiston, MaineSPECIES: Canada goose (F)BANDED: 7/29/2022, Cumberland, Rhode…

ZUGUNRUHE IS A GERMAN WORD meaning “migratory restlessness”. As daylight hours wane, a bird’s internal clock triggers an innate urge to move. Sometimes that avian angst occurs too soon, resulting in what are referred to as “molt migrators”—birds that leave their nesting grounds for traditional sites where old feathers are replaced with fresh ones for the upcoming migration. Sometimes those early urgings send birds in unlikely directions. For many years Jim Shaver, his son Jay, brothers Dave and Rodger, and friend George Colegrave have made an early migration of their own to spend the third wee o k of September waterfowl hunting in Manitoba’s Big Grass Marsh, Ducks Unlimited’s very first wetland restoration project also known as Duck Factory #1. “We hunt from layout blinds in wheat or barley stubble…

FOR MANY WATERFOWLERS, in regard to flavor, gadwalls are right up there with mallards and wood ducks. Also, like mallards and wood ducks, gadwalls benefit from a thorough pluck, as a good deal of the flavor resides in that skin. Keeping the skin on also helps prevent the duck from drying out when cooking. When it comes to roasting a wild duck whole, I don’t recommend anything larger than a mallard if you’re wanting to have both crisp skin and medium-rare breasts. Even with mallards, and the techniques shared here, you may need to add the legs and/or wings back to the oven for a bit longer to fully cook, as legs and wings are best served closer to 190 F after collagen has broken down somewhat and the meat…