Al Hansen
Well-known member
Well, yesterday was a good one for me. I got home from cutting firewood, then proceeded to the refuge to take pictures of geese and cranes. When I had finished I decided to go over and a see Jose' for a while. As I turned onto the road going to his house I had to cross over a low flow ditch. I looked to my north and instantly saw ducks. From what I saw, at least 40 or more. I found a good place to park the truck and decided to leave Habi in because she has never hunted this area with me and also I needed to sneak up on them and Habi is still just a pup if you know what I am talking about.
I raised up over a large bush and they saw me. The eyes of the gadwall spotted me in an instant and they were up and out of there. First shot took down a drake gadwall, the second shot found another drake gaddie trying to get out of the ditch, and my last shot was a touch behind the third drake and I put down a hen.
I quickly got back to the truck, grabbed my camera and let Habi out of the truck. She knew it was time for her to go to work. I was so proud of her. The embankment is impossible for a person to negotiate so Habi had to resort to 4 wheel drive!
On this second bird, Habi had to use her nose to find it because it was just winged. This young girl knew exactly what to do and she found it. It is amazing how much retrieving prowess is packed into this little gal of mine. In this series you will see her coming up and out of the ditch and was it ever a struggle for Habi.
Unfortunately, I couldn't capture her 3rd retrieve. With the three birds we went back to the truck and headed for my friend's home once again. As I crossed over the ditch, I looked back to the north just as a small group of ducks landed about another 200 yards to the north of where I shot my first three ducks. Well, this was a no brainer and I drove back to the spot where I parked my truck the first time, got out with the camera around my neck, Habi at my side, and 3 shells in the gun. Habi handled everything just fine until I flushed the birds. First down was a drake gadwall, then I put a perfect hole in the sky on my second shot, and ended up taking what I thought was a hen spoonbill however after holding it, found out that it was a juvenile drake just beginning to change over.
This time I watched her drop the bird to get a different grip on it before she attempted to get out of the ditch.
The spoonie was head shot for sure as I watched it in the water. Habi made quick work of this last retrieve.
We got back to the truck and just as I started it, the phone rang. It was Jose'. "Hey, Al, you should see the mallards funneling into the corn field across from my house," he said. I then said, "I'll be there in a couple of minutes." He was right, there were hundreds of mallards and a smattering of pintails flying into this picked cornfield. Unfortunately, the land owner does not grant permission to hunt. I then asked Jose' if I could use his hose to spray off Habi from all that muck that she had just been in. "Hey, what have you two been up to?" he asked. I just pointed to the back end of the truck box where the ducks were.
Al
I raised up over a large bush and they saw me. The eyes of the gadwall spotted me in an instant and they were up and out of there. First shot took down a drake gadwall, the second shot found another drake gaddie trying to get out of the ditch, and my last shot was a touch behind the third drake and I put down a hen.
I quickly got back to the truck, grabbed my camera and let Habi out of the truck. She knew it was time for her to go to work. I was so proud of her. The embankment is impossible for a person to negotiate so Habi had to resort to 4 wheel drive!
On this second bird, Habi had to use her nose to find it because it was just winged. This young girl knew exactly what to do and she found it. It is amazing how much retrieving prowess is packed into this little gal of mine. In this series you will see her coming up and out of the ditch and was it ever a struggle for Habi.
Unfortunately, I couldn't capture her 3rd retrieve. With the three birds we went back to the truck and headed for my friend's home once again. As I crossed over the ditch, I looked back to the north just as a small group of ducks landed about another 200 yards to the north of where I shot my first three ducks. Well, this was a no brainer and I drove back to the spot where I parked my truck the first time, got out with the camera around my neck, Habi at my side, and 3 shells in the gun. Habi handled everything just fine until I flushed the birds. First down was a drake gadwall, then I put a perfect hole in the sky on my second shot, and ended up taking what I thought was a hen spoonbill however after holding it, found out that it was a juvenile drake just beginning to change over.
This time I watched her drop the bird to get a different grip on it before she attempted to get out of the ditch.
The spoonie was head shot for sure as I watched it in the water. Habi made quick work of this last retrieve.
We got back to the truck and just as I started it, the phone rang. It was Jose'. "Hey, Al, you should see the mallards funneling into the corn field across from my house," he said. I then said, "I'll be there in a couple of minutes." He was right, there were hundreds of mallards and a smattering of pintails flying into this picked cornfield. Unfortunately, the land owner does not grant permission to hunt. I then asked Jose' if I could use his hose to spray off Habi from all that muck that she had just been in. "Hey, what have you two been up to?" he asked. I just pointed to the back end of the truck box where the ducks were.
Al
