Trophy Ducks

I shot my first drake widgeon and first drake bufflehead this past weekend. I ended up hunting by myself on Saturday as Tim and family had to finish up their Christmas shopping. I got to the hunting area way early. As I stepped into the field I turned off all my flashlights and listened for the sounds of waterfowl. Right away I could hear the mallards, widgeon and geese. Then I had to decide where I will hunt. It was foggy that morning and since I'm alone, I opted to hunt the close spot which was facing north.

It was an east wind which meant that birds would be landing right in front of me. I quietly set my decoys and used my light discretely. I had an hour to kill and ended up napping in the blind as I waited for shooting time. That hour or so wait allowed everything to settle back into status quo. I could see ducks swimming into my decoys and by the time it's legal to shoot, I had picked out the largest duck swimming.

I learned a lot hunting alone. Since I was alone I had to be patient and to shoot only ducks that I could retrieve. That meant they had to be really close. I mainly used my whistle and that seemed to work with the widgeon. I called very sparingly. Concealment also paid off. I tried to stay still and took full advantage of my camo gear. Those ducks didn't see me and as a result 7 of them joined me in the blind.