Halloween Migration

I was giving my 19-month old son a bottle early in the morning of Halloween and heard snow geese migrating on a 20 mile per hour north wind. It seems like there is always a migration of snow geese around Halloween in southeast Kansas. That north wind is still blowing 20-30 miles per hour today so I would guess more birds willl be on the wing.

Youth Hunt 2006

Following is a column that appeared in The Morning Sun in Pittsburg, Kansas, on Saturday, October 28, about my youth hunt with Keaton Brown of Frontenac, Kansas.

Passing the Torch

When I was 12 years old a family friend invited me on my first duck hunt. Eyebrows began to raise. The men in my family, from Great Grandpa on down to Dad, were dyed-in-the-wool quail hunters. My mother braced herself for the worst and reminded me that, should I shoot a duck, I had better plan on Grandma cooking it, as it wasn’t coming near the roast beef in her refrigerator.

Last week, Destry Brown, superintendent of schools at Frontenac, sat underneath a stuffed wood duck in my office at Greenbush, surrounded by my smattering of duck hunting photos and memorabelia, and asked if I would be interested in taking his son, Keaton, duck hunting during the Youth Waterfowl Season.
I told him it would be my pleasure. I meant it.

The mission of this special two-day season open, prior to the start of the regular waterfowl season, is to introduce youth to the sport and lifestyle of waterfowl hunting.

I heard the voice of the family friend in my head — the one who introduced hunting to me — and he was telling me, “It’s your turn.”

Now, let me tell you, a hunting guide I am not. Fact is one of my hunting partners likes to hunt with me because he rarely has any game to have to clean at the end of the day.

For those of you who are not duck hunters, know that the insanity of duck hunting can be summarized as this: One awakens in the cold, predawn darkness to travel miles to a mud hole, only to stand in 35-degree water watching a floating flock of plastic ducks in hopes of luring non-plastic ducks into shotgun range, while a 30-mile-per-hour north wind drives rain or snow down the back of your neck.
But I love it. And I want to pass it on.

As I arrived at the Brown residence at 5:40 a.m. Sunday, I saw a mass of camouflage clothing, a sack of duck decoys, and a smiling face. Within the first five minutes of our commute, it was apparent that this young man was well spoken, polite, and held a budding passion for the sights, sounds, and experiences of duck hunting.

We finally arrived at a small pond in the middle of a cattle pasture, then waded through the muck to strategically place our decoys. Keaton loaded his youth model shotgun as we both checked and re-checked our watches to countdown the minutes until legal shooting time.

Keaton signaled me of a great blue heron that landed only a few yards behind us. We speculated that it was in search of an early breakfast of fish from the chilly pond water. It might help our chances; herons are “confidence decoys,” meaning they give confidence to ducks considering landing because herons by nature are skittish to out-of-the-ordinary noises or movement.

In the next second, I caught sight of a small flock of ducks cresting the pond dam. I barely had time to signal Keaton before they began to alight among our decoys. He rose and shot, bringing down one bird. My eager Labrador made her first retrieve of this waterfowl season, bringing to hand Keaton’s first wood duck.

During the next two hours we enjoyed a beautiful Kansas sunrise with a few more ducks passing here and there. A flock of Canada geese glided into our decoys completely unaware of the human eyes glaring back at them. We watched as a red tailed hawk floated effortlessly over the grass in search of its morning meal.

The details of our morning harvest comprise one single paragraph of this story. That is because, as most duck hunters know, the passion lies not in the tally of the harvest, but rather in the memories created by the intangible experiences of an autumn morning spent in the outdoors.

I think only now can I begin to understand the true meaning of the word “mentor,” because I had one. I hope I learned what I needed from him, because now I it’s my turn to be one not only to young hunters like Keaton but to my two sons in a few years. The torch has been passed.

First Migration of 2006

I heard white fronted geese migrating in the early morning of Thursday, October 12. Southeast Kansas is still in need of rain but the forecast has rain chances in the next 10 days. They are still pumping water at the Neosho Wildlife Area and the hunting pools as well as the refuge pool are filling...slowly. A good runoff rain would sure help.