May Article from Charlie - Prime Time

[Glenn]

HammerTimeâ

“Prime Time”

Once again we find ourselves in the middle of what we usually call the off season. At least it’s off season as far as the duck hunting goes in the United States and Canada, but off season or not, this is a crucial time period for all waterfowl hunters.

I’m as guilty as the next person and when I’m not worrying about decoys, clients or scouting for the next hunt, it’s easy to forget all about the ducks and geese and leave everything up to Delta Waterfowl or Ducks Unlimited. The problem is, it’s just not that easy. All the private organizations working for waterfowl in North America can’t do it without the helping hand of Mother Nature.

I received an E-mail last week from Tim Frantz. Tim owns and operates the Coteau Lodge in Goodrich, North Dakota. If you watch Waterfowler TV on The Outdoor Channel you’ve probably seen one of the shows we’ve filmed at his place, which is located right in the heart of the pothole region of the duck factory. In my opinion, the Coteau Plateau region of North Dakota is a vital link in the duck hatch for both the Mississippi and Central Flyways. The good news, Tim said they had been receiving reasonably good rainfall so far this year and combined with the late snow fall this winter, nesting conditions are looking good in his area.

Another recent E-mail from Wisconsin seemed to indicate nesting conditions in their area looked good as well, but still yet … we have to give big consideration to what’s going on in Canada. Even with all the ducks hatched in the various locations throughout the United States, Canada’s nesting conditions will probably be the determining factor as to what the United States Fish and Wildlife Services authorizes for this season’s framework. From what I understand, Canada could still use some help, but hoping or praying for some additional rain in Canada doesn’t mean that we have to ignore the ducks and geese all together. In fact, this is a real good time to take some extra time and turn the off season into “Prime Time.”

Following a recent speaking engagement in Wisconsin, I had the opportuntiy to spend some time visiting with a few of the local duck hunters. One of the guys was a police officer in one of the larger cities in the area and I found it interesting that at times he took his lunch to the local park pond and ate while watching and listening to the ducks. He went on to explain how he had changed or modified some of his calling techniques and how much he felt he had learned just from watching the mallards at the park. Which brings me to my point.

Right now Jackie (my wife) and I are visiting friends in South Carolina and the place we are staying happens to have a few small ponds with a lot of mallards and a pair of swans. As we went for coffee this morning we spotted two different ducks nesting and a swan is sitting as well. Seldom have I ever had a chance to watch swans before and never have I seen one sitting on a nest full of eggs. For that matter, Arkansas doesn’t have much of a resident flock as far as ducks go, so I really enjoy watching all the birds work on their nest while sitting on the eggs. Jackie went to the room and brought her camera down for a couple of photos and we laughed about how easily entertained we were.

Think about, I’ve been fortunate to have been involved with the commercial end of the waterfowl industry for almost thirty years now. No telling how many ducks and geese I’ve shot and it would be interesting to know how many had been bagged through our operation over the years, but we’re still able to enjoy something as simple as watching the ducks and swans in a park pond. I guess that’s why I identified with the police officer from Wisconsin so much. Even with all my experiences, there’s still so much I have to learn and who better to have as a teacher than the birds themselves.

When you look at it from that perspective, this might be the “Prime Time” to take your wife, kids or grandkids down to the park. Take a few minutes and listen to the ducks. Take a call and some snacks along. What better time to teach a youngster about the birds and both the kids and the ducks can share the snacks, while you listen to real feeding chatter. Most importantly, you will have a unique opportuntiy to enjoy some quality time with your family and may even get them interested in the sport itself. Then again, you might get lucky and pick up a few pointers that could help you out this fall.

Charles “HammerTime” Snapp

www.arkansaswaterfowl.com or snapp1@sbcglobal.net