The Tundras of North Carolina

benp

Well-known member
The tundra swan visit me every year in the fields near my house but normally never in the field right behind my house. So this year I asked permission from the father-in-law to put a dyke in the ditch to flood the field out some. With the dry year the field sat with no water for a couple months, but we have finally had enough rain to flood the field out and the tundras have been enjoying it the last few days. They are only about 300-350 yards behind my back window and are a joy to watch and listen to. Photos are with my phone through the binoculars.

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I did not pull one this year. I had one last year but we had issues with my house which required us to move out for almost a year and in the process misplace the permit and didn't find it until after season was out.
 
Dani, there are pretty easy to get, I know a lot of people that get them about 75% of the time. I have applied 3 times and got one 2/3. It also goes by preference points where if you don't draw this year then you have a better chance next year but can be confusing when dealing with party's. This year they issued 4,895

Link to the preference point system:
https://www.ncwildlife.org/Portals/0/License/Documents/Permit%20Hunts/How-the-Preference-Points-System-Works.pdf?ver=pwLOGTaSFCN4AnpER9MzDA%3d%3d
 

You can thank Bob Hester, and many others from NC, and other states.

Petitions were given and sent out. Lots of waterfowlers responded, and the Tundra Swan season was opened in the Atlantic Flyway. States such as PA declined, as did others.

They are a grand bird and your area is pretty much Tundra Swan central this time of year.

Over the years I have had permits, but never touched the trigger. Thought I could do it, but cannot, so no longer apply.


Looks as if yer gonna get some moisture soon, and a taste of winter.

Enjoy the show while the birds are still there.


Best regards
Vince
 
I studied them around Mattamuskeet NWR in 1983-85. Spent many nights in Swan Quarter. Ben where do you live?

Vince, you are correct with Bob Hester's influence but there was also broader interest. I should dig out some old slides to tell that story.
 
Vince,
I enjoy having them around every year, although this year they came late with the mild winter we had early.

I am ready for the moisture to come. Have all the gear ready for hunting tomorrow since the coast guard base will shut down and then hopefully on Saturday after the snow I will track some rabbits.
 
Brad,
I am north of lake Mattamuskeet near Elizabeth City.

Please find those slides, would be very cool to see some history that my generation does not know.
 
Brad,

You were there the years that I hunted down there. Lots of Tundra Swans and Pintails.

Western PA has a major Tundra Swan migration corridor, and I've watched them since the 1950's.

Broader interest for sure. Have also had permits for states out west.


When I saw and heard Trumpeter Swans for the first time. I dropped to my knees...

Nothin' like being where the birds are, no matter how far the drive.
 
First of all, Benjamin, it is good to hear that you finally got some much needed moisture.

Seeing those Tundra swans and then knowing that all of this action was so close to your home makes you and your family the lucky ones. What would an adult male weigh? Their necks sure look to be pretty long.

Loved hearing how you took those pictures. Pretty darn cool.
Allan
 
Vince, they are a very strongly flavored bird, not greasy/fishy, but best grill and served medium rare. The other approach I have tried is to roll them in int 1" cubes in Italiani bread crumbs, chill, and then brown them in peanut oil to serve with doctored 'Frattelli Italian sauce and pecorino Romano
 

RL,

Thanks, that is what I have been told by friends that did shoot them. The young grey birds I'm told taste better.

The breast and the rest has gotta be a whole lotta muscle, to get a bird that size in the air, and keep it there for long flights. Not to mention their long lifespan.

I like your recipe, especially the pecorino Romano. My favorite Italian cheese. [smile]



Ben is indeed blessed to have the birds so close. His work paid off.



Best regards
Vince
 
Well haven't really received any snow yet but went out this morning and passed on a bunch of mallards landing in the decoys waiting for some pintails that I saw and got this nice sprig. Taken with a 20 gauge #4 2 3/4" shells

And I am very fortunate to live here where the great swan winters. As far as size and weight I'm not really sure, I do know the one I have shot when I carried out by his feet his bill was touching the ground.

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Hi Ben,
Congratulations on that gorgeous bull sprig. There is no doubt about it, when you decided to let the mallards pass for an opportunity at a pintail. Way to go! That is a proud hunting moment especially when you factor in your 20 guage 2 3/4" shell. Bravo!
Allan
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Bob,
That's a fine looking swan decoy. I agree on the confidence decoy, whenever I hunt the river I either have swan or Canada geese decoys near the widgeon decoys.
 
Yes Al,
The 20 has proven itself many times. I have plenty of buddies that shoot the 3.5" magnums and have the bruises to prove it, but other than goose or diver hunting they seldom outperform to 20.

This is where the sprig currently sits, ready for the wire wheel to get the fat off and a good washing then onto a mount. Just undecided on what pose I'll do.


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The first swan season in NC was in 1984. My MS project was to study swans in and around Mattamuskeet NWR. I had access to the entire refuge and boy there were a lot of swans and pintails on the refuge. There was also a lot of lead poisoning from the years of hunting with lead shot. For those of you who don't know the history of Mattuskeet, its the largest natural lake in North Carolina. It was historically a tremendous goose and duck hunting area with a unique history. Around the turn of the century (1900) speculators attempted to drain and farm the lake. They built a big pumping plant and miles of drainage canal. The soils are all peat and the bottom of the lake was below sea level so they pumped and pumped but could never keep it dry enough to farm. Eventually they sold it to the FWS as a refuge. The old pumping plant was turned into a lodge. The chimney had an observation platform built on top and a spiral staircase constructed inside. I've heard stories that it was an exclusive lodge in its day. Canada goose hunting was fabulous according to the history books. But the hunting pressure and change in agriculture further north favored geese that didn't fly to Mattuskeet and Canada goose hunting almost disappeared. But it remained and likely still is a great area for ducks and swans. There was a lot of land clearing going on in the 1970s and 1980s. Huge farms were being carved out of the swamplands all around coastal NC. These were huge industrial farms like 10,000 acres or larger, they just bulldozed the forest into windrows and dug drainage ditches every 100 yards.. Soybeans and winter wheat were the primary crops on the peat over sand soils of these big farms. Sometime in the mid to late 1970s and early 1980s the swans began to feed on these crops and the farmers complained about damage to winter wheat. My study was designed to look at what the swans were eating, when they were eating it and how their body conditions changed over winter. I'll try to get some of my old slides digitized and show you what things were like. I can tell you that since the swans had not been legally hunted since 1918 they decoyed easily. What I also thought was interested is that every grandma in Swanquarter would tell me about their recipe for swan. They all said the gray ones were better table fare, but none of them said they were any stronger tasting than Canade geese. The adults migrate to NC from as far away as the North Slope of Alaska so I can imagine that after a few trips they would be pretty tough once cooked. I have shot and eaten a few others in the western states and I thought they were tasty but there was a lot of meat on them.
 
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Brad, the story of Mattamuskeet and the overall New Holland venture is truly amazing. Just driving 5 miles along Outfall Canal I am always impressed with the magnitude of that engineering project especially knowing that eventually the project was a flop/failure. The scars that were left on the landscape in other portions of Hyde County are also quite impressive. There are places there where I cannot understand why the land was ditched and apparently drained at one time, although now these areas are full of water with not much food of any type for wintering waterfowl. The good news is that hunting these abandoned areas can feel like you are at the end of the earth--although not a good place to hunt solo and have some kind of emergency. I wonder how much better the waterfowl hunting would be if these areas had been left as natural marshland. Thanks for your insight into the more recent history of that area.
 
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