Woodrows in the fog and rain

Ducks Unlimited and S.C. wood ducks

This is what a foggy beaver swamp woodie shoot looks like 

Notice the fog in the background

Cleaned wood ducks ready for the kitchen

If there is something about Mary - the memorable comedy motion picture - then there is something about hunting wood ducks that is just as memorable! With temperatures in the 70's during this last week of duck season, and the drought in full effect, it was finally time for waterfowlers to harvest some of those wood ducks that they had been keeping a check on. Hunting in a beaver swamp in a thick fog one morning, a great blue heron came in to land on the hummock of land I was standing on, resulting in a close encounter with the LARGE wading bird. After the heron flew off into the swamp and fog, we began to hear the squeal of wood ducks filtering into the flooded timber. Plenty of wood ducks offered some great wingshooting for the three guns that were in position, and a trusted black lab named Josie made all of the necessary retrieves. That morning the wood ducks were coming into the swamp at daybreak, but a different type of hunt came the following day when a rainy morning offered an opportunity to shoot wood ducks as they were leaving an upland pond they were roosting in. If it had been clear weather, the woodies would have left out before legal shooting time, but that was not the case this day as two guns gave the passing woodies a few salutes on the way to picking up a limit. Both hunts provided great fellowship and a chance to enjoy the Lowcountry Outdoors, even with the potential of the hunt being over after three shots. Thank You Mr. Wood Duck - we can always count on you!

To view past blog entries about wood duck hunting click here.