DoubleUp
Well-known member
Here where I live in coastal NC, we have a lot of duck clubs. Some are freshwater and some saltwater. The freshwater impoundments plant corn and then flood it in the fall. In the spring they drain the ponds to replant and also raise a crop of local mallards to supplement the wild birds. These impoundments go from a few acres to some with hundreds of acres and they are a mecca to coyotes with crippled and lost birds during the winter and a big supply of rats and mice in the spring as well as the mallards. We have three separate clubs that we do control work for during the spring. This was last night's hunt. My partner was doing the shooting, but I did film part of it with my monocular and riflescope. He apparently hit a cornstalk on his first shot but made a nice recovery on a straightaway running shot.
It was a pleasant night and cool enough to keep the mosquitoes at bay which are usually terrible around these impoundments. We saw lots of ducks high overhead just after sunset which were apparently headed to the river or sound to roost. I was surprised that so many ducks remained in the middle of April. I didn't film any of them however, but they were pretty to watch as the sky faded into darkness and the coyotes began to move. My partner was watching another coyote, to our west which started barking at us. His challenge howl back brought out the first male from the north. A little eastern cottontail brought him on in. The other two were DRT's where they stood.
It was a pleasant night and cool enough to keep the mosquitoes at bay which are usually terrible around these impoundments. We saw lots of ducks high overhead just after sunset which were apparently headed to the river or sound to roost. I was surprised that so many ducks remained in the middle of April. I didn't film any of them however, but they were pretty to watch as the sky faded into darkness and the coyotes began to move. My partner was watching another coyote, to our west which started barking at us. His challenge howl back brought out the first male from the north. A little eastern cottontail brought him on in. The other two were DRT's where they stood.
