A group of honkers that flew by as we were covering blinds in the fall.
A day we did well with the greenheads.
Overcast day after the close of the regular season.
Snow geese feeding on a winter wheat field during the regular season. More likely layovers rather than return migration.
A day simply too nice for good waterfowl hunting.
Sneaking up one some on the water after the season before draining the wetlands in preparation for spring planting.
As seen when draining the wetlands at the end of the season.
Those once a season days when it all went perfect. Done before the sun fully rose above the horizon. This picture reflects the morning sun off their feathers while the dog was making the last double blind.
Snows and blues coming into our setup wave after wave after wave. | 
Pintails moving through.
A photo taken of a potential wetland we were scouting during the spring white goose season. Although the farm appears to be a waterfowl mega, there is more to its long term potential than first appearance. Fall migrations are different than late winter or spring migrations. Research into the fall flight patterns will have a large impact on our decision to consider this property for lease. Also note, if a hunter was jumping this flock, which is a common method during the spring season, that the majority of the birds in the foreground are white-fronted geese, which are not legal during the spring white goose season.
Late season layover snow geese feeding in a field.
As a father with two sons one calls, one shoots and one takes pictures alternating through the morning. A good picture of the some of the Mallards we were hunting.
High flying Pintails directly above the blind.
A mixed late season flock of mallard, gadwall and bluewinged teal rising from one of our managed wetlands in Missouri. Every year, we do our best to drain as many of the marshes as possible to keep the oak trees alive to feed for the ducks in the fall.
Birds show all too well how nature has shortchanged the females with beauty.
Gadwalls
Canadas
The Midwest duck of choice "Mallard Drake" | 
The beauty of pond duck hunting is the variety of species that work the ponds and lakes. One day it's all divers and the next might be pintail or an assortment of other puddle ducks.
Two Pintails working the marsh after we had our limit. They were not really interested in our decoys or calls. It seemed we were just in the right place at the right time.
A day the snows showed us only their tails.
Some days shows us just how hard duck hunting can be when they can be seen and not shot.
Some specks and snows on one of our wetlands during the late season.
Cold overcast day when the ducks were moving fast to feed both early and late.
Put up several waves of ducks while out checking water levels during the early part of the season. The ducks were not in the least bit educated as we were walking about with dog in the open in the afternoon and the ducks returned to water as soon as we begun to leave.
A combination of late season mallard, pintail and gadwall flushing from one our wetlands.
For all types of hunting it's all about habitat with food,
cover and water the main ingredients. |
