Hello Sandy Creek.TV,
The last couple months since the waterfowl season has closed, we have been reminiscing about some of the great times in the field with great pile pictures and good company. However, as outdoorsmen and conservationists, some of the most memorable days are those where our gun barrel stays cold with our eyes to the sky anticipating the next shot. This story comes from the historic Missouri Waterfowl Management Area located off of the Mississippi River: Ted Shanks.
December 15, 2022
Three friends wake up and hit the road before 3:00 am to travel to this historic waterfowl migration spot. The weeks leading up to Christmas of the 2022 season, did not hold the weather the three friends were hoping for. With cold fronts pushing through during the weeks prior to Christmas break, the group had low hopes of seeing many new un-pressured ducks on the refuge. After two days of not being able to draw in during the morning lottery at an overcrowded refuge, the three friends had little expectations of staying north much longer. With reports in other parts of the fly way being exceptional, the plan was if we do not draw we load the trucks up and continue south.
A warm southern wind and dozens upon dozens of fellow hunters met us while walking into the check station that morning, our hopes were low enough to be laughing at the fact we could have been sleeping right now. Our morning changed when we saw that we had finally drawn a number that would allow us to hunt that morning! The excitement of hunting an impoundment close to the river surrounded by corn fields surely woke us up more than any amount of caffeine could.
Upon arriving at the blind, the crew hastily set up a smaller than usual decoy spread for a mid season hunt. In lieu of hunting a refuge that gets hunted everyday of season with no rest, we decided to call lightly and try to let the birds work us. First light comes around on this warm high cloud coverage day and nothing out of the ordinary occurs: high flying ducks bouncing between private land and refuge area, surrounding hunters competition calling and not many shots between all parties.
As nine o'clock closely approached, the three friends were getting restless in their sunken concrete box blind. With not firing a shot all morning or having a bird give any interest in our small spread, a change in the game plan was about to happen. Three dozen mixed duck decoys were sitting in the truck not being used, so the group decided to stretch their legs and retrieve the extra decoys in hopes the late morning would change. By the time the decoys were set and extra brush was added to the tops of the blind, the morning changed completely.
The mild south wind pushing at our backs all morning suddenly became substantially stronger minutes after sitting down in the blind for the second half of the morning. And then came the ducks.
Seemingly out of nowhere, low flying, river cruising mallards became visible, following the strong southerly wind, a reverse migration event of a lifetime was about to take place. The friends were fortunate enough to shoot their first duck of the morning with the first group of mallards that passed by the blind. Only getting one shot at a beautiful mallard drake out of the thousands that flew by in the matter of fifteen minutes, the group decided to stick out the slow day and hope for some more opportunities. With only two hours left allowed to hunt, hopes were running dry, until a high group of speckled belly geese rang in our ear. Heading north. Seconds later, more ducks were spotted on the horizon following those geese. Similar to the first group, these low flying mallards were following the Mississippi looking for a colder spot to land. Two mallard drakes deemed our spread worthy enough to land and two more birds were added to our bag for the day. While our last shots had been taken, the next three hours were filled with a constant flow of reverse migration ducks.
The opportunity to watch hundreds of thousands of ducks and geese fly to the north in the middle of December is an opportunity not many hunters or bird enthusiasts get to see. For three hours the three friends sat in their box blind in awe at the amount of waterfowl that flew nearly two miles away, flowing the river. It was surely a sight to see and be a part of the hundreds of thousand birds following a migration path chosen before human interaction. While packing up the spread and walking back to the truck, the birds were still flying. Making it hard to leave such a spectacle of nature happening in front of our own eyes.
Back at the check station, we ran into a Missouri game warden and asked her if she had seen the ducks flying near our blind. To which she told us she was working some pumps on that side of the refuge and she had estimated in an hour window she saw roughly 90,000 ducks had passed through the refuge. Imagining what that meant for us that watched three plus hours of ducks flying in that capacity, we just witnessed a migration event people dream about. Although our numbers that morning were nothing above the average harvest count of the refuge that day, the memory of that warm December morning will forever be in those three friends' heads.
The Sandy Creek.TV family thanks you for reading another incredible story from one of our many hunting trips. Although some days are filled with many laughs and lots of shooting; some of the most unforgettable days are spent with those same friends watching the species we adore the most. We thank the Missouri Department of Conservation and the countless hunters around the country that contribute to the conservation and preservation of these animals.