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| An old cork decoy tells a story of waterfowling heritage |
The wetlands of South Carolina continue to offer refuge for
visiting waterfowl just as they have done for centuries, and for a certain
flock of wingshooters nothing beats duck hunting. Pre-dawn rituals and
post-hunt fellowship are the kind of things that foment family relations and
cement friendships well past hunting seasons. It all comes together in a few
moments for sporting types when they hear the buzzing sound of whistling wings
dropping out of the sky and into the decoys.
Seasoned
waterfowlers know and understand that the duck season has already commenced
from Canada into the Northeast and the Midwest. Migratory waterfowl see hunting
pressure in Canada in September and then they experience a succession of
hunting season dates across individual states. The South Carolina duck season
will begin on November 22 and run for a week of holiday hunts during
Thanksgiving.
The
first flight of migratory ducks made it to the Lowcountry in late September and
early October when blue-winged teal arrived on a cool front. These ducks are
among the earliest to migrate but other ducks are steadily arriving every day,
and they will be looking for a place to feed and rest since they are
effectively ahead of the cascading duck season hunt dates.
These early birds are not the main
body of migrators that will remain ensconced in the northern states until they
become iced over and so inhospitable that they have no choice but to move on. Rather,
our November ducks are a piecemeal tapestry of waterfowl that can provide some
of the surest duck hunts of the entire season. Many species of ducks are
included in the mix including pintails, redheads and black ducks.
A couple of key factors are in play
in the Lowcountry, and specifically the formation and 25th Anniversary of the ACE Basin which contributes to the stabilization of wetlands habitat. Ducks Unlimited is a
national leader in wetlands conservation and in 2014 they named the ACE Basin
as the #13 Great Places to Hunt Waterfowl, citing a mixture of
freshwater and brackish marshes. They also cite both private historic rice
plantations and public state management areas contributing to one of the most
important areas in the south Atlantic Flyway.
To view the entire feature article in the newspaper click on Charleston Mercury.
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