Wild Rice and Duck Potato

anthony m coons sr

Well-known member
This week I'll be taking a crew of young and old out to plant some waterfowl food. This year a bunch of the nurseries I deal with were sold out quick. I'm hoping that's a good sign. I have been doing this for more years then I can remember. Building wood duck boxes and mallard nest and planting food. I know you guys do some of the same things. We do make a different's, I have seen it with my own eyes. Ducks and geese feasting on food we planted. It makes you feel good inside. DU and Delta Waterfowl do a super job. But the little guys like us do are part also. I'm proud of that and I will keep doing it until I can't do it anymore. The food we plant feeds so many other animals and fish. Gives them great homes with plenty of cover to be safe. The Waterfowl hunter would do almost anything to help his way of life. Giving back to nature is our way of asking God to keep the birds coming for future generations.
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Tried to find wild rice seed a while back myself with no luck, all sold out. We,ve been inundated with rain in my area for the last month. Just hopeing the good stand of BY grass I had going in sons impound doesn,t get drowned out. On a good note the doves that nest around my house are nesting for the second time this season after their first batch has fledged. Fresh water pond on a salt bay island I maintain has produced at least one brood of mallards this spring which is directly related to the high amount of rain we,ve experienced. Normally that pond would be drying up but it has maintained about 2' of water all spring. Mother nature gives a little and takes a little, up to us to adapt!
 
Great Example Anthony. I've thought of doing work like that, but where I hunt it is all spartina due to the salt levels. Not much else is suitable.
 
Bob

Thank you my friend, I have been doing this for many years. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Today was a good day. Took my oldest son out to plant and then his family planted after we came off the River. Thank you for the kind words.
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Anthony do you have any problems with resident geese cleaning out your wild rice plantings? Had a couple areas around edges of cove where my big river blind is that in past had good stands of wild rice. Geese, both residents and migratory roost on these bars steadly now and have about decimated the rice bed.
 
Capt

Swans root out everything they eat. Years ago they hurt the wetlands here bad. I really don't know why they left. You see one or two once in a while. But nothing like in the past. There are State's that have season on some swans. I use to just case them out. And Know! I never shot one. But I did run threw a big flock of them in the fog one time. It was snowing white feathers for a while. But none died. I have seen swans chase ducks and geese right out of a food bed. But to answer your question I think jet skies and kayaks and pro bass fishermen are part of the reason for Swans leaving our area. Also ducks and geese. Our Bays are never left alone anymore. Nesting is out almost all together in the bays around here. Sorry I couldn't help Capt.
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We,ll get quite a few here in Worcester county towards end of season . Years ago when I did a lot of layout field hunting I actually made 3 full size swan silos to place around me when Canada goose hunting that helped break up my outline. This was prior to the days of the present commercial field layout blind. Found out very quickly those big fellas like to decoy! Beautiful birds coming in feet down. Over on the Cheasapeke theres an introduced species of swan that they,ve actually been shakein eggs on to stop the proliferation. No season for us in Md. but I believe Virginia and N. Carolina have one. Snow geese are what does the main pulling up of feeding areas here. They can wreck a winter wheat planting if not run off.
 
Roy

I know what your saying, I was hunting once in a boat blind when a flock of Swans came in. Their wing beats are so cool sounding. Like a jet coming in. You would need a strong dog to pick up one of those bird.
If you could limit out on swans you have a bunch of meat for a long time.
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