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