Wildfowl_-_September_2019

managedwetlands,floodedagfields,
oropportunisticfloodwater.
We’dhada decentseasontothat
point,huntingprimarilyweekends
and anyother timewe weren’t
trappedinSalisburyHighSchool.
Birdnumberswereaboveaverage,
andweweregettingsomeshoot-
ingeachmorning.Myround-about
routehomefromfootballpractice
tookmeacrosstheriver,andtomy
surprise,a hugegroupoftealripped
ac rosstheskyandaroundthebend.
Nowthiswasn’ta bigriver,butit
wasbigenough,thoughI’dnever
noticedtealusingit before.AsI sat
onthebridge,surveyingthesky,
anotherbunchcrossedandheaded
inthesamedirection.I droveonbut
couldn’tstopthinkingaboutwhat
kindoffunit wouldbetoshootblue
bunchesovermovingwater.
Thenextmorning,I hunteda
trustywetlandnearby.Therewasn’t
muchaction,andallthewhileI ques-

myselfit wasprobablya fluke,but

couldn’tresist.Youthfulexcitement

gotthebestofme,andI calledLane

Springer,a regularfallcompanion,

andmadea planfortheafternoon.

The waterwas shallow. We

sliddownthebankcarefulnotto

tearourwadersonthesnagsand

sticksprotrudingfromthedirtand

sand.Neitherofushada boat,so

weelectedtowalkjustovera mile

upstreamtosetup.Withdecoys

overoneshoulderandspinnersand

coupledwithourneoprenewaders

quicklymadeuswishthey’dripped

afterall.

Abouta quarterofthewayintothe

hike,wewerebothregrettingour

decision.Witheachstepweseem-

inglysunkfurtherintotheriver’s

bottom,makingthenextonesmore

difficult.Afteralmost 40 minutes,

andanexcessofsweat,wefounda

spotthatworked.Althoughthere

wasnosignofourbirds,thiswas

theareaI’dseenthem,andsome

With decoys over one shoulder

and spinners and guns in

another, we made our way.

68 WILDFOWL Magazine | September 2019 wildfowlmag.com

blue angels

© Scott Moody