They Came, Flew over and Kept on Going

It is over.  As fast as it started, the snow goose migration only lasts two to three weeks.  You have to get it done right away when they come through.  I checked the waterfowl survey at Squaw Creek Refuge near Mound City, MO, and they are now down to two thousand snow geese.  Ten days ago there were two million.

                 

Following the previous day of good success,  it was back to the blind.  This time there were two other club members with me.  All of us had high hopes of a successful shoot.  Migration numbers were down by 75%.  However, we were still seeing birds, but not in the great quantities that we had seen before.  Most of the flocks were high fliers riding on a south wind. 

The same process worked on this day that had worked before.  Wait until you see some low fliers, turn on the speakers, and hope for a bird or two to drop out of the flock.  It usually happens.  First they all began to sail.  Then the V broke up.  Thirty seconds later it reformed.  Then one to five broke from the flock and locked up into the wind.  They dropped fast right into the floater decoys.  Shots were at 15 to 30 yards, so success was high.

The top picture is looking north along the walkway to the blind.  The blind faces to the right of the picture which is east.  It is buried in the ground and surrounded by decoys.  The second picture is looking east out of the blind. The floaters can be seen on the lake.  There are 20 acres of water in front and 20 acres behind.  The club put out 650 decoys.

I started hunting around 8:30 AM and by noon there was a decent mess of birds to be divided up.  I picked up a few and headed for home.  This was a very successful four days of hunting.  We did not get into the big flocks which lock up and spiral into the setup, but singles and pairs made for good shooting.

Snow goose numbers just keep expanding.  The birds we harvested were young and probably from last year's hatch.  Smaller than a Canada but bigger than a Mallard, they taste exactly the same.  It is always a welcome treat for family and friends to dine on Snow Goose.

Now to shift gears to something that will help us all this summer when the pesky mosquito makes its appearance.  This information was sent to me by Ron Ross, President of the National Association of Citizen Journalists.  Per the information supplied to Ron, spraying Listerine mouth wash on your deck and the grass will keep the mosquitos away.  I intend to use this at home and especially when I go fishing in the evening.  It is always the same problem.  You slap on the Deet, smell terrible, and still swat the bugs.  This may be the answer.  I intend to start fishing just as soon as we get a little warmer weather and conditions settle down.  If anyone tries the Listerine, please let me know how it works for you.  I will be posting results when I try it out.

Good hunting, good fishing and good luck.  Hank                                        
http://www.outdoorswithhank.com/ 

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