Took the dog out this morning and had a decent shoot, even though none came in to my decoys.
I got one pretty Red-breasted Merganser drake and a hen Bufflehead. As usual, the Mallards were all dropping into a pond that is off-limits. I moved to a more exposed spot, closer to the pond, and got lucky that two bailed out to me before I left. I knocked both down which caused the rest to flush and I managed to get two more, all drakes.
As I was taking photos, two flew right over me, from behind, going back into the pond.
But then, as I packed up my decoys, they flushed out and came by me. I knew I hit one on the first shot as it shuddered, then my shell failed to eject. I glanced down to clear it and when i looked up the bird had just vanished. I think it went down in brush, but we spent over an hour trying to find it to no avail.
Any more hunts for me this year will be on the outer side of the island, maybe I can get a Harlequin yet.
