Ducks in the desert

[rcdinaz]

Went out duck hunting since I am not a lucky late tag holder!

 

It has been a tough year not a lot of ducks. These were from Roosevelt yesterday. My first Pintail drake and it is a really good looking one.

[rcdinaz]

One more of the small haul....

 

Top row are spoonies and the bottom 2 are pintails. All but one decoyed pretty well nothing else really took much of a look at the decoys.

[elpepe25]

awesome deal,

 

do you see a lot of pinnies?

 

they were a rarity when i used to duck hunt

[tjhunt2]

Thanks for sharing. Not quite sure if I'm going to make it out yet this year. Nice looking birds.

 

TJ

[rcdinaz]

I probably see them once a season on average. I have seen a few big flocks up on the rim and on the San Carlos Res but they are rare. We get a little of everything in AZ but not a lot of anything except spoonies, ruddies, and coots.

 

TJ I wouldnt beat yourself up too bad the migration has been pitiful the last couple of years. 3-4 years ago we got spoiled with a bunch of ducks due to some serious ice and snow storms in the NW but this year it stayed warm for so long the ducks never seemed to really show up in numbers.

[Vixen]

Man the shovelers were thick last year. This year has been really slow. With the water dropping it isnt helpin much

[Coues&Bass]

Always wanted a pintail for the wall.

[rcdinaz]

That was at the top of my list as well! I have to hold off to see if I shoot a toad coues in Mexico but will have a pintail mount done. I may do a replica, farm raised bird, which I did with a bluewing teal. It is not the same bird but they have perfect plumage as opposed holes and missing feathers. My buddy actually picked up the pintail and started ringing its neck. So it has a bit of road rash on one side (you can see it if you zoom the pic), but it was an awesome mature bird with a pretty good sprig.

[C.Shoemaker]

Any good recipes?

[rcdinaz]

we pretty much stick to poppers or kabobs. We soak them in a brine or milk and then cut into small pcs and put them in bbq sauce. After that we roll them in a little bacon and grill them on skewers or toothpicks. They disappear like candy. We add a bit of cheese or a pepper sometimes as well.

 

This summer I am going to try and learn to do smoked meats, everyone says that is a great way to do duck.