Pretty soon now---

Al Hansen

Al Hansen

Well-known member
Today is the day that I have been looking forward to since November 15th. On that day I had my last duck hunt. To say the least, I am excited about going on another duck hunt. This one will take place after breakfast. There is much to do around here now that we have a litter of 10 black pups that will be going in for their 6 week checkups tomorrow.

Lots is going on and has been for some time. On occasion, we have been fortunate when going to Bosque del Apache NWR. Not only that, but a week ago, my barber drove up to the house and said, "Get in, I need to show you something. Oh, get your camera, first." And off we went just one mile south of us and only 50 feet from the highway, I took this shot of a young Oryx. The population at the White Sands Missile Base has exploded and now these animals are beginning to spread out, increasing their territory. On the day I took this shot, one Oryx was spotted on the New Mexico State University campus in Las Cruces.

So right after breakfast, I hope to be on my way duck hunting. I'll try and get another hunt in before the season ends on this coming Sunday.
Al

About three days ago we had a young male Gambel's quail hit a window on the house. It was then that I decided to see if Rico still knew how to retrieve. He is now 7 months old.



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These pups are keeping me busy for sure.



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This shot I took on December 20th.



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Here are some pictures I took at Bosque del Apache a couple of days before Christmas.



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If you have ever read the "Three Little Pigs" to your kids, down here we read "The Three Little Javelinas".


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One of my favorite subjects to take pictures of would be this bull sprig.




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Here is the young Oryx that I took a picture of just one mile south of our home.


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The last picture is of Enchanted Desert Sunny Slovana. A Slovana is a sweet yellow pepper. By the way, Bev's granddaughter Katie and her husband, Brandon, stayed with us for 3 days just before Christmas. They named the pups of Belize's litter of 6 yellows. We happened to keep one of the girls to add to our kennel. If you ever watch the Blue Angels in action, Brandon flies in the 5th slot. He was talking about flying the Super Hornets in 2021.



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Good morning, Al~


Great tale and photos as always!


What's the back story on the White Sands Oryces? (sorry - I was a Latin student)


And, yes, a Bull Sprig is Elegance Itself - great portrait (now saved to my hard drive).


All the best,


SJS

 
Your keeping busy Al. I had no idea there were wild Orxy in the states. That's pretty cool. Great pics as always. Although they say Pintails come down the Mississippi River I've never seen one. We have the Blue Angels come to town every year for our little air show. I'll be watching a little closer now.
 
Hi Steve,
The Oryx (Gemsbok) was introduced into the White Sands Missile Base area back in 1969 to 1977. The Fish and Game dept. brought in 95 Oryx that came from the original animals that we got from the Kalahari region in Africa. They in turn were put into the Albuquerque Zoo where the youngsters raised became the animals relieased in the Chihauhaun High Desert region called the White Sands area of New Mexico. This animal thrived in their new habitat. This was a program of introducing exotic animals into our state.

From those folks who take elk and or also Oryx, most prefer the meat from the Oryx. This animal has no predator like those from Africa which must contend with the lion. I had the chance to visit with a professor from the Univeristy of Wisconsin, Stevens Point. He took a year's leave of absence to study the mountain lions from the area where Bev and I live (Rio Grande valley/Bosque del Apache NWR) He had found one kill of an Oryx by a mountain lion. To be honest I cannot remember if it was an old one or a youngster like that picture I took just a mile south of our home. This was on someone's property (where if they had looked out of their livingroom window they would have seen the Oryx that was right next to Hwy. 1. I got out of the van, took several pictures and got back into the van and left. The animals are now leaving the original range and venturing out. We will see what happens.

I have a former 4th grade student of mine that shot a 40 inch Oryx. My waterfowl biologist friend was the man who guided Brian on his hunt. Oh, by the way, he held out for only one reason, wanting to shoot a possible 40 incher. His dad had one on the wall that measured 39 1/2 inches.
 
Cute puppies as usual Al.

Hope that your hunt is a successful one when you get out after the ducks again. Great pintail shot!

Love the oryx. I don't have a great many "bucket list" large game animals that I want to shoot but oryx in NM is on that list! Not looking for a great huge trophy but a nice adult and I would be a happy happy girl!

Very nice pictures

Dani
 
I appreciate what you had to say, Ed. I forgot to mention that the Floridian range of mountains down by Deming, NM, holds the Ibex that were released. I know of hunters who were lucky enough to get tag to hunt them. This particular mountain range is brutal to hunt and if you score, you know when you finally get that animal out, that you put in one hell of a hunt.

One day I sure hope you shoot a drake pintail when you are set up on the Mississippi River. Good luck!
Al
 
I darn near forgot to tell you about my duck hunt. I was going to leave right after breakfast to go hunt. Well, my phone rang at 9AM and it was a guy looking for a black male. So we talked for a while and then I sent him some photos that he requested. While I was talking to him, Bev's phone rang and it was another possible customer looking for a black male. When I finished with my customer I talked with the 2nd one, who I already knew because they had purchased a chocolate female from us. He will get his black male from Cayenne's litter later this spring.

It was about 11:00AM when Chip and I pulled up to the Rio Grande. I took out 3 mallard decoys and tossed them out just far enough to look real but close enough that my retrieving stick could catch the string. We sat there for 2 1/2 hours and never saw a duck. I did not put my waders on because the river was flowing at 530cfs and rising. That is too fast for me and I do understand about fragility of older people. I have it also and most importantly I do respect the Rio Grande. I have had my fair share of experiences with it with some of them being scary enough not to mention to my wife!

I just checked the flow and at 6:15AM today, 1-23-20, it is flowing at 526cfs. That is still too high for me. So this year it seems that my duck hunting success all came from the last week of October when our season opened to November 15th when I shot the 5 gadwall. That makes me lucky and I am thankful for those opportunities.
Al

There are 10 pups ready to be fed. Much to do.

Oh, here is what Chip and I did before leaving to come home from that hunt. By the way, prior to him leaping off that 40 inch drop to the water, he had been wandering around out there for a long time. The water where I needed to get to was about knee deep which was too deep for me to trust myself. I still remember what the old timer told me about glacial streams in Alaska. He said, "Don't even think you can wade across it if it comes up to your knees." That became a bench mark for me when I hunted up there for eight years because he sure was right.



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Hi Dani,
Well, whenever that line item appears on you bucket list as the next thing to accomplish, I just want you to know that I wish you well. You will cherish that experience the rest of your life. Remember that no one can take those great memories from you.

I will send you a PM.

No ducks but yet it sure was fun to be back out after a 2 month spell of not hunting. Mostly just very busy. Glad you enjoyed the pictures.

Dani, I forgot to include this: http://www.wildlife.state.nm.us/download/education/conservation/wildlife-notes/mammals/oryx.pdf
Al

Here is one of the shots I did not crop. I got lucky when my focal dots did not touch the wire fence.

l
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