Rogue Bay
WKR
I don’t have any good field photos but here are a few of my trophy birds. Photo 1 is a big gander Tule white-fronted goose, the only one I’ve shot. This was a hunt specifically for this species, and one of my twin daughters was with me. One of my fondest memories. It was more big game style, as far as spotting and making a play on them. On the last day of the season it came together and I shot this bird out of a flock of a dozen that were flushed by another hunter and came right over me.
Photo 2 is my one and only Black Brant. A friend and I hunted on a Northern California bay and it had been sloooow. We got snubbed by a couple singles and watched a couple other small flocks work decoy spreads further up bay. About the time I came to terms with getting skunked, this flock came winging into our spread. The didn’t fully commit, but were within range. We should have limited but they balled up and we were afraid of accidentally killing more than our limit. When they finally started to separate they were actually past our spread and then I fell apart and shot horribly. My friend and I each killed one.
I’ve shot a lot of wood ducks, but this drake was an absolute giant by wood duck standards and had perfect plumage. My dad and I were hunting up on slough of a major southern Oregon river on a calm, blue bird day. It had been painfully slow so mid-day we pushed the canoe up against the bank, into the brush, to take a break and eat lunch. No decoys. Ever the optimist, I sat in the front of the canoe with my shotgun across my lap. Out of nowhere I hear a rush of wings and look up to see a huge flock of wood ducks almost on top of us. I tossed my tapioca, shouldered my gun, picked a drake and folded two with my first shot. I dumped another drake on my second shot then they were gone. When we picked up my birds I was astonished how impressive this one drake was. He dwarfed the other woodies and had flawless plumage. I’d never seen a crest on a wood duck like that.
Edit: added stories.
Photo 2 is my one and only Black Brant. A friend and I hunted on a Northern California bay and it had been sloooow. We got snubbed by a couple singles and watched a couple other small flocks work decoy spreads further up bay. About the time I came to terms with getting skunked, this flock came winging into our spread. The didn’t fully commit, but were within range. We should have limited but they balled up and we were afraid of accidentally killing more than our limit. When they finally started to separate they were actually past our spread and then I fell apart and shot horribly. My friend and I each killed one.
I’ve shot a lot of wood ducks, but this drake was an absolute giant by wood duck standards and had perfect plumage. My dad and I were hunting up on slough of a major southern Oregon river on a calm, blue bird day. It had been painfully slow so mid-day we pushed the canoe up against the bank, into the brush, to take a break and eat lunch. No decoys. Ever the optimist, I sat in the front of the canoe with my shotgun across my lap. Out of nowhere I hear a rush of wings and look up to see a huge flock of wood ducks almost on top of us. I tossed my tapioca, shouldered my gun, picked a drake and folded two with my first shot. I dumped another drake on my second shot then they were gone. When we picked up my birds I was astonished how impressive this one drake was. He dwarfed the other woodies and had flawless plumage. I’d never seen a crest on a wood duck like that.
Edit: added stories.
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