Duck Hunt In Hell

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Duck Hunt In Hell 

Been a long winter here, record cold and snow, got 4 inches / 10 cm of snow on the "Blood Moon", this years first full moon of Spring, but let's go back to September of 2013.

Here's a duck hunt video filmed on the hottest September 10th in recorded history.  96 degrees is now the current record for this day. The temperature in the Bayous of Lasalle Fish and Wildlife Area had to be +100 with 100% humidity and no wind.

The ditch I had to canoe was a mile and a half mud hole, beaver dams and food stores blocked the ditch every 30 yards, forcing me to get out and drag the canoe across knee deep muck. When this ditch is at normal fall water levels I can canoe the mile+ to the Waterfowl Resting Area in 15 min, on this day it took every bit of 2 hours. One thing for sure, I love me some duck hunting.

This video is a little long, about 25 minutes, so grab a snack, your favorite beverage and a smoke( if its ok with mama), and get a laugh with this duck hunting fool on his "Duck Hunt In Hell".

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Fall Photo Round-Up

Another year has passed me by, only got out a couple times to enjoy the call of the wild. No luck at all with my duck hunting and managed only a few photos from my limited outdoor adventures.  So I'll share what I have.

During this season of duck hunting, I saw more Pileated Woodpeckers than ducks. I've been hunting flooded timber for more than ten years and seeing this species of woodpecker but this is the first year that I have been able to get a photo of one. 

Sometimes the treasure you seek is not the treasure you find.

Pileated Woodpecker

Pileated Woodpecker 2

Pileated Woodpecker 3

Pileated Woodpecker 4

These Mallard dekes are two of several that I carved almost 15 years ago, made from light brown cork and basswood heads they have with-stood years of abuse.

Hand-Carved Cork Working Decoys

This morning the clouds moved in and made the sun look like the full moon.

Dark-Sun

I have a weakness for the morning sun 's reflection in still water.

Double-Sun

Each and every plants fight an on going battle for their place in the sun.

Allusion of Chaos

Magenta sky at the break of day.

Sun-Rise over the Decoys

The heavens bleed after a good day of duck hunting.

The Sky Turned a Blood-Red

 The moon appeared to rise so far to the north and early on this afternoon that I actually thought there was a problem with the Universe, LOL.

Bayou Moon

Pileated Woodpecker

I saw an article and film earlier today.  The film was of the Imperial Woodpecker. The article also mentioned the Cornell Uni. search to find the Ivory-billed Woodpecker in the impenetrable swamps of Arkansas. These were extremely large birds and they were dependent on the old growth forest. Loss of  habitat caused both bird's extinction. 

Pileated Woodpecker hunts for insects

Well, during a duck hunt in an impenetrable swamp in Indiana, the silence of the flooded timber was shattered by the laughing call of a pair of very large woodpeckers.  Wish I could say  I saw an Imperial or Ivory-billed but I can't , they're extinct. The bird I did see is now the largest of the woodpeckers in North America.  One of the bigger birds to be seen, it was a Pileated Woodpecker.

Big bird makes a big hole

About the size of a Mallard. Body and wing feathers are black and white,  its head is topped with a crest of red feathers. They are an impressive bird. A three inch bill is used to chip away wood in their hunt for insects.  The holes made in the trees are large, in a matter of a minute or two, this bird's hole was a six inch square and four inches deep. 

Many species of ducks nest in woodpecker holes

Many animals benefit from the work of the woodpeckers, other birds find grubs in trees that have been chipped open by the Pileated Woodpecker and many other animals expand the woodpeckers holes and use them for nesting hollows.

Black wing fringe, Pileated Woodpecker(Dryocopus pileatus)

Yea, this picture is grossly over-exposed but I like it. It's a good example of the identifying feather pattern of the Pileated Woodpecker. The black fringe on the flight feathers is characteristic of the Pileated.  The Imperial and Ivory-billed  wings are white fringed.  

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No Place Like the Bayou

A couple/3 weeks ago, after Ranger Dangers yearly vet visit, we headed down to
Lasalle Fish and Wildlife Area for a walk and a swim in the Bayou. If we're lucky there will be a few migrating waterfowl using the bayous, resting before they continue their flight to Canada and all points north, east and west.

Ranger's on the lead, the cameras are packed, and we're ready to hit the dirt running. Before I go any further, I must warn you that this time of year, March thru May is Turkey season. Hunters are in the woods hoping to bag Big Tom Gobbler. So before you start stomping around at a Fish an Wildlife Area, go to the Headquarters and ask about their restrictions and rules at that property. If there are turkey hunters in the woods, I would not enter. Give the hunters the woods, the seasons only about a month in most states.


Three Little Turtles
















Three little turtles,
in the afternoon sun,
this is their message.
Don't worry ,
everything is going to be all right.

Sunning on a log are three Painted Turtles (Chrysemys picta) . These pics are taken mid to late April, still fairly cold. Low temps at night may fall to the mid 20's, day time highs may reach 50 degrees. But as the sun rises higher in the sky each day, the sunrays warm the plants, logs and mud in and under the cold water. Turtles being cold-blooded, spend the winter hibernating in leaves and mud under the water so they don't freeze. The warm sunlight wakes the turtles from their sleep. On a sunny day the turtles will congregate on a toasty log, soaking up the spring sunshine.


Big Old Tom Gobbler




















What on earth is this! This is what the hunters are after, a 20 lb Tom turkey. The Eastern Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) are a native bird, but the turkeys we see now were reintroduced to most of their original range because the original turkey population was exterminated from most of the Eastern United States.

This bird has a "beard" consisting of modified feathers that stick out from the breast. His beard is about 9 inches (230 mm) in length, about average. I know, hard to see this turkey in the straw, well click on the picture and you'll see an enlargement. Maybe you can make out the beard, it hangs from the front of his breast.


Can a 20 lb Turkey Really Fly?
















You betcha! Here's a couple pictures that demonstrate that a Wild Turkey is a strong flier.
If they see you coming they'll hold still and be virtually invisible,
get to close they will flush(jump up into the air) and fly away at full speed. It will scare the bejebees out of you!


















Seeing a large flock of Wild Turkeys flying through a dense oak woods is an amazing sight.

The Baker Unit, Lasalle Fish & Wildlife Area

We're facing north, looking over a flooded corn field. This is a part of the Baker Unit. Corn will be planted at this site (if the ground ever dries). The corn will provide food and cover for the migrating waterfowl next fall and winter. In this unit there are three duck hunting blinds. Hunter get up in the middle of the night, just to stand in line, way before daylight. Hoping to be lucky enough to get the opportunity to duck hunt the Baker Unit.