Crows

 

There were crows in the jackpine tops this morning

yelling their presence for anyone to hear 

There were other crows higher up racing

down the frozen wind

The little live trapped mouse scampered across the snow and then onto a spruce bough

after it's release

product of an age softened heart

I yelled back at the crows and they fled

and a rough-legged hawk pushing eagle size

Soared in expanding circles higher above the whole of the thing

 Beautifuly expressed depression.........

Mid duck season.....

 October 28, 2021

 

A few thoughts on the current duck season

1) So far I have hunted once - opening day from 5:30 pm till sunset. No shots but more wood ducks that I may have ever seen at the refuge. Few hunters

2) Duck reports are either bad or appear to be lies. Reality here is that there are really no ducks to be found (my snobbishness, in that I don't kill Wood ducks)

3) Weekly scouting of refuge since opener has been the same each week. No ducks, a few swans and a few giant honkers. Both open and closed areas have no ducks. no coots either.

4) Usually at this point in time, even in poor years there a fair number (some hundreds to a few thousand) of ducks in the rice and/or rafting on the big water with a mix of divers and mallards. As of today, there are virtually no ducks or coots. One can also tell from the number of hunting parties and the number of eagles that there are no birds around. One party hunting on the whole of the open portion of the refuge and a total of four eagles. The bird watching count was dismal.

 

1 blue jay

2 unidentified song birds

3 gulls

6 grebes

10 mallards

6 unidentified diver ducks

43 trumpeter swans

1 marsh hawk

4 eagles

6 crows

2 ravens

 

If I had any say in changing the current duck hunting regulations, I would suggest:

eliminate teal season

eliminate youth hunt

eliminate early goose season

eliminate spinning wing decoys

opener should be the first Saturday of October - noon start time

guided hunts not allowed

maximum number of guns over one decoy set - 5

one mistake hen mallard allowed, other wise drakes only 

possession limit equal to twice the daily limit 

 

Have been reading the daily Ducks Unlimited message board/reports posts (for Minnesota). There appears to be at least two distinct types of people who post - a) those that give a report from the field that is mostly negative on the number of birds, postulates why, and offers fixes, and b) those who call group a, whiners and other derogatory names and accuse them of being lazy hunters who don't do enough scouting. Interesting how one can see the political thinking even in a duck chat....

Skunked on the Snow Crust Moon

 

 

Daytime highs above freezing by late afternoon.

Three days running

Creating conditions to name another moon

Anishinaabeg tradition

Onaabani-giizis

the snow crust moon.

 

This warm weather has got me on the ice

Fishing. Crappies and bluegills to fry

Perhaps a pike

always hopeful for the big pull

and no ice to clear from my holes

at least until the moon rises

dropping the day for the crust to form

Two hours of sunset effort

produces not a single bite

But then 

two coyotes yap and yap again

as if unsure to howl

And three swans with daylight riding their backs

honk and buzz overhead

heading east into the snow crust moon.

Tomorrow's morning rounds will indeed be crusty

new crunch underfoot

new season approaching

winter waning

angle increasing

 

 

Onward

 

OK.

Can I get over it now

Forget about politics for awhile

And just go back to being regular Cooo Cooo ?

Perhaps the sun will shine again soon.

Here's a little song list for inauguration day. Not too light. Turn it up. LOUD

Wind of change                Scorpions 

Do you feel like I do        Peter Frampton  (live)    

Rocky Mountain Way     Joe Walsh     

Procession                        Moody Blues      

Wearing the inside out        Floyd      

                                            

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

        

 

 

High Noon

 

The tilt on the whirl at Zenith

Otters on the edge

 

I first saw them in late August. Three young otters playing and splashing in the shallows around the edge of the old beaver lodge, near the lake edge, near the ground water seep. Stalking them for a photo opportunity resulted in a quick disappearance each and every time. I wasn't sure they would stay, as there are several lakes within a mile of here and one just over a 300 yard divide. But they persisted and were a pleasant encounter for us, every few days. By September there were two. I like to imagine that they were two sisters and a brother, the male striking out on his own as the weather got cooler and he matured beyond hanging around with the family. Maybe though, number three fell victim to the vagaries of the predatory segment of the local environs. Its a tough place around here, with eagles, loons, coyote, bob cat, and the odd but always possible grey brother. Fortunately, the local trapper has grown up and moved to the big city.

As the dogs and I encountered the otters on our lakeside walks, they would always be well away from any attempt at a photo, teasing and taunting the boys at some safe distance from shore. Eventually they began to use the dock as a sunning, eating and marking platform, leaving fish bits and loads of poop for the finding. Otter shit is powerful stuff to a dog, especially the rolling bit !! Try as I might, I could never get a picture, even with trail camera attempts. They would use the dock whenever I would remove the SD card for download. I started calling them the Murphy twins.

Now with freeze-up closing in, we find them at the edge of the ice, and the game continues - Otters periscoping and bronx cheering the dogs - Dogs woofing and alerting the Otters that they see them and best be ware. Perhaps they will spend the winter in the now abandoned beaver lodge or in some yet undiscovered bank den. Perhaps they can graze down the sunfish population at least a little. Perhaps there will be an otter slide down the steep bank above the seep. That would be cool.