Hunting Washington Forum
Other Hunting => Waterfowl => Topic started by: Stein on October 21, 2015, 02:43:19 PM
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Well, here is my attempt at some of the dumbest questions ever asked. I'm learning waterfowling myself as I don't really know anyone that does it.
1. If I look at a WDFW property that is a field with no water around and it doesn't flood, does that mean it is primarily a goose spot or will ducks land on fields during the day on a regular basis?
2. I read the regulations several times and noticed that there are limits on the amount of certain species and sex, but no ducks I saw were "don't shoot." Same for geese except the Brant which seems to require a separate permit and only huntable in January 9-24. There also look to be dusky geese, but the probably aren't in my area? If I hunt in Skagit/Snohomish/Whatcom, is there any waterfowl that may come into my decoys that are totally off limits (other than brant geese)? My plan was to shoot one or two at a time and then figure out what they were. When I got to a limit of something (2 hen mallards for example), I would either quit or be 100% sure I wasn't shooting another one. Does this sound like a decent plan?
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1. Ducks and Geese will use fields. I don't know know if the field you are looking at if either do but that is why you go scouting.
2. It's a horrible plan. You should never shoot and then ask questions later. Get a book for waterfowl identification and then let the birds land, look through the book, find the bird and properly identify it and then shoot. Will you let a lot of ducks fly in and out of your spread, yes but do you know how many illegal species you will shoot? 0. There are a lot of cormorants and grebes that are shot every year because people don't know what they are shooting. When I first started I would guess what the duck was flying, let it land then look it up. You get pretty quick and figuring ducks out once you see them a couple times. They all look pretty different in flight once you get the hang of it.
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1. Ducks will use the fields. Water doesn't need to be present, if you have left over crops. A good example is a harvested spud field. When the northerns show up, you will see them all over the spud fields, along with swans, Canadian's and snows in some locations.
2. There are birds you can't shoot. Read the regs, use common sense and don't blast it, unless you can ID it. If you can only ID birds that are shot, you need to spend more time in the field and do some studying of the various birds.
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Great, thanks for the help. Sounds like I'll scout out the fields and then use the land, ID and shoot method for now.
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Great, thanks for the help. Sounds like I'll scout out the fields and then use the land, ID and shoot method for now.
Honestly by your 2nd or 3rd hunt you will be ID'ing birds in the air. You learn pretty quickly. If you have a local park by maybe stop by lunch and watch birds flying around or even on the water. Every little bit of time you spend watching will help you in the long run. Good luck on the season :tup: