Tempus fugit. I think what those words mean is — Time Flies When You’re Huntin’ Ducks.
I’m sitting in a duck blind right now, enjoying some leftover grilled teal while watching as some live ones swim about. It seems hard to believe that it is already the last day of this year’s special, sixteen-day Iowa teal hunt.
For most of us, the season has been a roller coaster mix of feast and famine. Most of the famine occurred during the season’s first week or so when North Iowa’s stronghold wetlands held sparse numbers of teal.
This was especially disheartening considering that regional water levels and habitat conditions are ideal. Plenty of water, plenty of food, but few ducks, which for hunters resulted in lower-than-normal bags.
But the situation began to rapidly improve on September 7 and 8 as the migration suddenly began to pick up steam. On one of my favorite shallow marshes, blue-wing numbers jumped from a literal count of zero ducks to over 170 by September 8. By September 9, the little marsh was holding more than 260 teal. A larger nearby wetland held more than 800 blue-wings.
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It didn’t take a genius to determine that blue-winged teal were on the move. It was also obvious that, despite abundant aquatic food sources, the speeding ducks didn’t plan to linger. As the migration continued to rapidly pass through Iowa, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries reported that around 265,000 blue-wings had recently arrived on the state’s coastal wetlands.
As teal continued their southward migration, success for Iowa hunters showed an overall — and sometimes dramatic — improvement from September 10 through the season’s September 16 conclusion. As if saving the best for last, the season’s final day provided a dramatic finale to what has been a somewhat mediocre season.
Season Finale: On September 16, the overnight rainfall ended at around first light. The wind was southeast at 7 mph; the temperature was a pleasant 54 degrees. Walking to a somewhat remote wetland, I was happy to discover a handful of teal sitting on the one-acre pond.
Although covered by a mere three or four inches of water, the bed of the pothole is carpeted with a thriving crop of sago pondweed. For migrating blue-wings, the tiny marsh is a food rich oasis of aquatic plant life, snails, and a wide assortment of additional invertebrate taste treats.
Wading into the pond, I began tossing out my teal decoys and was amazed when some of the real thing began landing around me – some birds splashing down as close as six or seven paces. Even more amazing was the fact that the ducks didn’t seem to know what I was. A display of mild caution was the extent of their alarm. It was obvious that these were ‘new birds’ — migrators that had not been exposed to hunting pressure. As I continued to wade around pitching decoys, the naïve birds had finally had enough and took wing.
Returning to the shoreline I fashioned a makeshift blind from a lush stand of three-square river bulrush. The skies were clearing, and when sunrise shooting time arrived, the first bird in was a single blue-wing which I managed to collect.
There was a brief lull, and then it began. Blue-winged teal began pouring from the sky like I hadn’t seen all season. Meanwhile, as the sun peaked over the horizon to the east, a dramatic full-color, full-arch rainbow was forming against the dark southwestern cloud bank.
Many of the blue-wings were approaching from beneath rainbow’s colorful arch. Framed within the bow, the incoming flocks presented a scene of indescribable beauty. In more than six decades of duck hunting, I’ve never seen anything to compare.
The teal kept flying, arriving in groups of all sizes, the largest containing up to 18 or 20 birds. Business was brisk and, in less than ten minutes, I had downed my six-duck limit. The skies remained partially clear, the sun was shining down, and it had begun to rain again. A typical display of bizarre Iowa weather.
Finishing my leftover teal breast, it was time to pick up decoys and head for home. Ducks were still flying and a few even landed as I gathered the decoys. Teal had been landing in the spread when I set up, and teal were still splashing in as I picked up. It had indeed been a day to remember.
Time flies when you’re huntin’ ducks.
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