Politics vs. Prairies

Well, I've been working for Ducks Unlimited for about a month now up in the Prairie Pothole Region of North Dakota, and I have to say it has been one of the greatest experiences of my life. I have never seen so many ducks in my life, and with so many different species it is mind boggling. There is so much water due to a wet year and the later storms that occurred, giving our ducks and geese a chance to step back up on the population growth ladder, thus allowing us to hopefully have better bag limits (or ensure the same ones we had before)and perhaps put some species back on the limits that were previously off, such as our beloved canvasback, the king of ducks. I have seen quite a few canvasback pairs out here and it is truly a special moment when you catch those drakes out in the open, cinnamon and black and white glimmering in the sunlight.
I have also seen some things that have been a revelation as to the perilous circumstances that our waterfowl are in. This year the CRP (Crop Reserves Program) went off, thanks to the new Farm Bill. This means that land that was once set apart as conservation plots and waterfowl/upland game habitat is now going to be open to tilling, discing, and any other development the farmers see fit to implement. Not only this, but many of the wetlands that occur on private land are being developed as close to the edge as the plow can go. This leaves our waterfowl without the critical nesting habitat--cover, nest material, and shelter--that they need to successfully reproduce and ensure maximal brood survival. The WPA's (Waterfowl Production Areas, purchased by your Duck Stamp Dollars--proof that duck hunters are truly the saviors of waterfowl)and state/refuge land are the only remaining areas that cannot be touched, and WPA's are not as numerous as the land owned by farmers and cattlemen. I have seen pintails nesting in grass that was barely 4 centimeters tall, and some nests that were basically in the open. I am no environmentalist or radicalist, but I am a waterfowler and I do believe in conservation--the practice of wisely using our natural resources and ensuring adequate production of those resources. We almost lost a good portion of our ducks, and this time the dark clouds of population decline are looming again, this time in the form of politics and money. Hard times have come, and it looks like even the wildlife are suffering.
Of course people need corn, wheat, soybeans, and ethanol and wind energy. But do we need it at the expense of our passion and what we know is right?
Waterfowl need priaires. Duck hunters need ducks. Therefore duck hunters need prairies as well. So, it looks like there are common needs. Support DU, Delta Waterfowl, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Buy duck stamps each year, even if you don't hunt (you get free access to wildlife refuges with it all season long. Go duck hunting and take a kid with you. Keep up to date with NAWCA updates. Visit national waterfowl refuges and WMA's. Go duck watching or birdwatching at wetlands. If you are a farmer, set aside some land to help provide nesting habitat and give back to the waterfowl you enjoy so much. Humans have the unique power to give and take life, but we cannot create it or bring it back. Help save the Duck Factory and ensure that our waterfowl flourish and can be enjoyed by our children and theirs for generations to come. It is worth the money and the effort.

Waterfowlers and the Economy

Hey there, folks. I'm sure we all know that we are in hard times with the economy and all. Hard times simply mean a time to make men better than they already are and to improve their character.
This info should definitely cheer you up, especially if you are a waterfowler. The report for the year 2006 showed that waterfowlers spent over $900 million on gear and hunting expenses, generating more than $2.3 BILLION in total economic output for 2006. Guys, this is monumental. Look at all the good that we do for our country's economy. Ever like to hear a government agency big-wig compliment you? Well, listen to this. The Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said this about us: “Waterfowlers, like many other sportsmen, have a proven track record in their contributions to the U.S. economy, and that’s certainly something to take comfort in during these tough economic times. ...hunters are critical partners – in part through their purchase of Federal Duck Stamps and a tax on firearms and ammunition that supports habitat conservation – for our efforts to conserve wildlife and wetlands for future generations.”
The annual hunting and fishing report said that waterfowl hunters tend to be younger, have higher educational achievements, and are more affluent compared to all hunters. This would be true somewhat since decoys cost an arm and a leg, haha.
So, while politicians are out there spending like crazy, it's good to know that we are actually doing something to help, haha.
So, want to help bring the economy back to order? Go hunt ducks! It helps conserve wetlands and waterfowl, and it helps boost the economy. Ever thought that busting some greenheads could ever do so much? Well, it does. So keep on the good work fellas!

Some tips for adding rasp to your call

It's the perfect predicament: you have a great duck call but you watch all these RNT guys putting out the nastiest, gargliest calls you've ever heard. Well, here's a tip. You can have that on your call, too. If you have a call that is kind of a loaner or you want to get a tester to experiment on, that would be a good thing to do. I use the Haydel DR-85 mallard call, my first duck call. It's a great call for under 25 bucks and is small and handy to use on the fly. What I did was take the toneboard (the surface where the reeds touch the call, kinda looks like a huge tongue) and took a file to the surface, making a few cuts on it diagonally. You may want to try thick-grained sandpaper. Don't be too harsh on it. Start out gently and try more and more grit until you like the sound of it. Tuning duck calls is all a baby steps kind of thing. Also, you may want to try cutting the top reed shorter to get more of a "sorta single" sound that Buck Gardner puts out of his calls. Do this gradually as well, since even the smallest change can make a big change in sound. Cut it by small small small degrees until you like the sound, then bend the reed tips to about a 45 degree angle or less. This will add a more nasally sound by bending the reeds. By sanding the surface of the toneboard it will add a good amount of rasp and rattle to the sound of your call. However, it will also make it go lower pitched, so if you like the current pitch of your call, you might not want to do this. If you bend the reeds downward, you screwed up because it will only deaden the call and it will jam. Call reeds are pretty plastic (literally) in how you can bend them and then bend them back to their original shape unless a tool has done a permanent bend on them. But these tips may help you add some rasp to your call and improve that ducky, nasally, gnarly gargly sound that we all hear out in the marsh. I did it with a 20 dollar duck call. Surely you can do it with yours. Give it a try!

New Zink call will BLOW YOUR MIND

I just tried for the umpteenth time the newest addition to the Zink duck call collection: the PH-2 Double Magnum. This thing is one word: DUCK. It can go low and man it can put out some good sound. Put some more air in it and it sounds like an old gnarly hen. It doesn't have the rattle of an RNT, but this call has guts to it. It stays true to Zink's claim of TRUE DUCK. It features a double reed design with a smaller bore on the insert which is shaped to fit that hand just right. the mouthpiece is easy to get used to. Feels like a Haydel in its shape. The reeds are a bit narrower at the tips and the very tips are bent upwards to add rasp to them. Apparently the call doesn't stick according to Zink's website. Go to youtube and check it out some time. Like the title says, it'll blow your mind, man. For a demo of this call, go to this URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAi4oJdWBUE Enjoy!

End-of-season Report

Hey there all you duck hunters. Let's get started on some talk. Right now it's the off-season for ducks, and I'm sure most if not all of us are tired and weary already from waiting for the next season to start. Hunting numbers went down this year from last year but with a lot of ducks in the skies, just none that came down in time. 7.7 million mallards were estimated as of the 2008 count, a goodly number indeed. Canvasbacks are only numbered at around 485 thousand, so looks like there needs to be more work done to help our kingly friend come back to his throne as the king of ducks. I killed about 8 ducks this season, 1 drake greenwing, 1 drake gadwall, one hen mallard and five greenheads. I hope to get more next season. I got most of my ducks in Southern Illinois over Christmas break, and the teal, gadwall and hen mallard were shot here in Utah. The season was, needless to say, less than what I had expected and was pretty submarginal for my second duck season since I too am still relatively new to waterfowling. My Dad is an old waterfowler who has seen and hunted lots of the well-known North American species of ducks and geese, and he always imparts tips to me and I to him as we hunt and as we chat on the phone during the season and in the off-season. My first duck call was a Haydel, one of the best calls I ever owned. Now I hang it along with a new call by Tim Grounds on my lanyard, along with pintail, gadwall, teal, and goose calls. I have learned to appreciate the species we have and look forward to hunting them and seeing them in their natural element once again.
So, what do we do now that duck season is over? Some turkey hunt, some fish, I dos schoolwork, haha. I go out to the places I hunted during the season and do some scouting and photography while the birds are migrating through, honing in on my identification skills and paying attention to flight patterns, calls, behavior, and habits of the birds--I'm a wildlife bio in training, by the way, so this is a bit out of the ordinary for most waterfowlers I would think. I recently obtained a job with Ducks Unlimited doing duck research in the Duck Factory up north in the Dakotas so that'll be cool if it all works out right. So, if your decoys are looking a little scruffy, paint em up and get you some good, dull-colored paint for bodies and some nice sheen for go on those greenheads, teal, wigeons, and anything else that has a colorful sheen to it like the back of ringnecks, which I own 6 fine GHG decoys of. Fine-tune your duck calling skills and listen to the ducks as they come through the area and listen to what they say and do and when they say what they say. Learn about bird placement patterns and start thinking about good decoy setups for next year. Also, something else that helps is to do something that helps you forget the season is over, but doing touch-up work and preparing for next season is a must. Start finding good land to hunt as well. Another good thing to do is to practice shooting, because none of us like skybusters. Learn to shoot well and teach yourself to shoot working birds once they have committed or are in close range--DO NOT SKYBUST.
Well, Let's hope this summer is a good wet one and that we get some good water and some early cold fronts. Let us all hope that the scaup and cans start coming back more and above all, have a good off-season. Back with more soon! Happy Hunting!