Wildfowl_-_September_2019

triggera winterflightisn’thappen-
inginlateJuly.Attimes,a placeI’m
scoutingwillbeloadedwithteal,
onlytoloseallitsinhabitantsona 9
mph northwindand65 degrees.
They’retougherto pinpoint,
too.It’seasytodrivepastorwalk
throughyourhuntingspotandnot
seeevenlargenumbersoftealhid-
deninbetweenandunderneath
a wallofmoist-soilhabitat.Their
dailywindowofactivityfallsalmost
exclusivelyatsunriseandsunset,and
theydon’tusuallymakepredictable
tripstofeedlikemallards.Oncea
groupoftealfindanareawithfood
andcover,they’lloftenstayputuntil
weatherorpressureinterferes.

BACK 40 BARNBURNER

It hadbeentough.Thekindof start
totheseasonI reallywasn’thop-
ingfor.Openingmorningwasfun,
andourgroupoffourkilledjusta
fewshyofour24-birdlimitonthe
McCauleyfarm,butsincethen,it
hadbeendead.Withnexttozero
action,theoccasionalsipofcoffee
hadturnedintothehighlightofthe
nextfewmornings.
Althoughtealcanbeextremely
finicky,especiallywhenpressured,
it washardtoimaginethey’dflown
thecoopcompletelyafteronly
onemorning.Morelikely,they’d
foundsomeplaceoutofthewaythat
wasn’tbeinghunted,andsimplysat
tight.Whilethistheorymadesense,
checkingeverywaterholeinduck
countryis easiersaidthandone.The
restoftheweek,wesplitupinto
groupsoftwoandbeganhunting
differenttractshopingtofindeven
a smallcongregationofspeeders.
Noluck.
Aftersixdaysofemptyskiesand
swattingmosquitos,thewhiteflag
wasabouttomakeanappearance.
Waitingforthenextpushofbirds
seemedlikea muchbetterplanthan
re peatedlystrikingoutlooking.The
la st morningof thehunt,we elected
tomakea half-heartedattemptat
a littlewetlandneartheMcCauley
duckcamp.Theplanwassimple:If
weseeanyearly,we’llhunt.If we
don’t,we’renotwastingourtime.As
theRangerrolledtowardthefarm,
I hadzerohopesofplacingevena

Once a group of teal find

an area with food and cover,

they’ll often stay put until

weather or pressure interferes.

blue angels

64 WILDFOWL Magazine | September 2019 wildfowlmag.com