Feathered Food!

You do not have to live on the Mississippi “Flyway Highway” to experience great waterfowl hunting and some of the best table fare possibilities that any wild game species has to offer! In the area where I live, we have migratory ducks to hunt but in frustratingly small numbers and they tend to be very spread out across open water. It is for this reason that 90% of my waterfowl hunting is for the resident wood duck. Wood ducks are primarily residents of the areas they inhabit year round, although a small percentage of “snow birds” will migrate south during the winter. Throughout the Eastern half of the U.S., the West Coast of the U.S. and Mexico, and several areas of the Midwestern U.S. there are healthy and huntable populations of wood ducks. By the early part of the 20^th century, wood duck populations in the U.S. had been decimated and they had been virtually extirpated from most of their former range due to unregulated commercial hunting for their meat and for feathers used in ladies hats, as well as widespread habitat loss. After passage of the Migratory Bird Act, strict bag limits for sport hunters and habitat protections enabled the species to make a huge recovery. There are times I’ve been sitting in a deer stand and counted over 300 wood ducks swimming past or going to roost! One way I’ve decided to contribute to the conservation of the species I love hunting so much is to build and set nesting boxes on private land and with permission on the WMA’s and public lands. The nesting boxes are easy and inexpensive to build and set, provide protection from the elements and predators and make a very significant difference in wood duck populations, which means more hunting opportunities for all of us!

 To hunt wood ducks, it will pay off to do a little scouting before season. Decide what areas you want to hunt, and plan on mixing areas up periodically to avoid “wearing them out”. Look up the area on Google Earth to get an idea of water and terrain, and get out and physically scout for flooded timber, beaver ponds, small streams and creeks, and anywhere with standing water and lots of acorns and berries. Try to avoid areas that will be likely to flood for long periods because the wood ducks will be hard to locate if water is everywhere for miles around. If you’re out at sunrise or sunset, and there are ducks in the area you’re scouting, you’ll more than likely see plenty of them, and hear a distinctive whistle noise when they are getting near (they don’t “quack”). You’ll be well advised to invest in a pirogue or kayak for accessing flooded timber, creeks, and ponds, and for retrieving ducks if you do not have a dog to retrieve them. Neoprene waders are a must in my opinion, and your first 20 degree morning spent standing in freezing waist-deep water will make you appreciate them!

 Opinions on shotguns are borderline religious with many people, not so with me. Any gun you are good with should work. I prefer a pump action 12 gauge, in my case a Remington 870 with matte finish. It’s been my experience that the gun will be submerged in water, caked in mud, dropped, used for a paddle, and other forms of abuse. For this reason I prefer functional and utilitarian over pretty and trendy. The 3 ½ “ shell capability is nice if you can have it but expect to pay out of the rear end for your ammo if you use them. I shoot 3” shells and have no problems limiting out. If I ever become a legendary wingshot I’ll probably start using an over/under. Remember to have any repeater plugged to hold no more than two in the magazine and one in the chamber.

 One of this year’s hunts started out on a COLD morning leaving from my place about 4am for the trip to the swamp. The temperature readout in my truck was 21 degrees, and my waders were so stiff I thought they’d crack when I stuffed them behind the seat. My hunting partner was breaking out the heat packs an hour before we got to the WMA! The only one that was not bothered by the cold that morning was my dog, and he was the one guaranteed to get wet! We parked on the dirt road deep in the WMA we were hunting about 5:00am, marked the parking spot on our GPS, and began a ¾ mile hike to a large beaver pond near a clearcut I had located on the IPhone GPS map. We made it to the spot while still dark and each set up a blind about 200’ apart. Luckily, the water was flowing fast enough that it was not completely frozen over, which would not have been an ideal spot for a duck to land! The later it got, I wondered if I had picked a dud spot. At sunrise I had not seen or heard a duck. Then, about a half hour later I heard the distinctive whistle of wood ducks and six flew twenty feet over my head! I fired three shots and downed two, and heard my partner fire two shots. My two had fallen about 100’ behind me in tall thick underbrush and my partner had downed one in the water. Beauregard (my dog) retrieved the duck in the water and acted as though jumping in freezing water was fun and games. I pointed in the direction where my two had fallen and he took off sniffing the ground, when I heard more ducks coming our way. My partners’ gun went off three times and two ducks went down, then two separate ducks flew over me so fast I did not get a shot. Shortly afterwards a solo male flew over me and two shots later I put him down almost on top of Beau. Having limited out, we collected our ducks and began making our way back.

 Wood ducks are excellent table fare and can be prepared in many different ways. In attempting to use all wild or homegrown ingredients to the extent possible, there are still many great recipes. To clean the duck, simply pull the feathers from around the leg area and the breast, then run a sharp knife along the breast plate and cut off the breast meat on either side of it. I always cut the leg meat off as well. Some people cut the meat from the bone on the legs, but I always leave it because cooking with the bone is more flavorful. You’ll notice the meat is dark and generally lean and healthy. To illustrate how much healthier wild game is than, say, chicken from the grocery store, read the ingredients on a package of chicken breasts at the grocery store, then compare to what is in the duck meat you just harvested. Also, look at the amount of fat compared to your wild duck. This is one of the primary advantages to cooking with wild game, it does not poison your body!

 In regards to cooking duck, there are many recipes. One good way to cook wood duck involves more store-bought items than I like to use but it is simple and fast. Simply take two breast halves, season well with pepper and salt or Cajun seasoning, place a lump of cream cheese between them then wrap with bacon secured by a toothpick. Put on low heat on a gas or charcoal grill until done but DO NOT OVERCOOK! My favorite recipe for wood duck is duck gumbo, and it can use mostly wild and homegrown ingredients. Trust me, it is good and it will use all of the meat you are able to get off of the duck! I will put the recipe in the recipe forum next week so go check it out on June 22^nd!