Everyone must be already busy with holidays because at the foot of 64th street I'm pretty sure me and a buddy were the only ones who had a dandy day activity wise - not so much shooting wise.
This year I've made it a point to really concentrate on analysing weather and conditions before heading out - whereas before I was usually just going out whenever I had time. And so yesterday the rain storm, high winds, rising tide to noon and coldish temperatures made for a day where the birds were active and we had plenty of opportunity and for some shitty shooting and some escapees we should have limited out.
We started tromping in well before dawn feeling lucky we were the only ones parked. Of course marching in we scared up flights of ducks who had been loafing in the ponds well within sight of the dyke. Cheered by the good sign we marked out our positions along the waters edge and threw out a handful of dekes. Really we should have brought more but as it turns out even a handful were successful at bringing in an assortment of birds.
Possibly because we had scared them up before dawn there wasn't much action right at daybreak. Also the wind was slack at first and the horizon started clearing up. However, things started turning for the better due to a combination of factors. First the wind started picking up, the tide rose as expected and the skies darkened. Through the first couple hours scattered showers began stirring up birds on the horizon. Then the local raptor population began their patrols. Hawks, eagles began crossing the foreshore and began rousting up nervous ducks. From previous observation, once it is legal light the local flocks know to keep clear of the foreshore at the foot of 64th but with the timely intercession of raptors and - on one occasion this morning a helicopter - they will move and there is opportunity for them to head back to the foreshore again.
This started happening steadily throughout the morning. The rising tide pushed birds out from the bay, raptors and aircraft disturbed birds from protected areas and the more unwary of them started keying on our handful of decoys. Once we identified where they were more interested, my buddy and I consolidated the decoys and moved closer. As soon as we reset we started seeing singles, doubles and then larger groups giving our set up a look and then after a bit of waiting they began coming in for landings.
Both of us had plenty of crossing shots and while the birds didn't present the best because they were choosing to land on the other side of the decoys, not in the 'pocket' we had imagined, we had to do a bit of leading. But to be perfectly honest, I've yet to get the point of aim correct on a loaner gun I am shooting right now - an SBE3 - and I whiffed more than a couple times on decoying birds that should have been done deals. The Shotkam videos were sobering and slightly shameful. Better shooting too could have stoned three of our shot birds that shrugged off swatting shots and dove - never to surface again despite our attempts at finding them. I also passed up on a plethora of buffies who I let swim around the decoys as they would add life to the set up. My buddy did pop one as part of his take home.
In the end I called it just after noon and probably could have stayed the whole day and maybe scratched out a limit. However, wandering through the muck and getting super stuck one time made one of my wader boots spring a leak and when I stopped feeling my toes in the frozen leg I decided the hunt was over. In the end I brought back three (1 gw teal, mallard hen, wigeon hen) as did my buddy.
Other scouting notes: Pinnies and mallard are to be had if you are patient. There was also a high flying flock of a few dozen snowies. And we were buzzed by a lumbering flight of swans. No sign of Canadas.
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Originally Posted by 180grainer
