2008-2009 Waterfowl Season

Below is a brief recap of our duck hunts during the 2008-2009 season.

11/8/2008:  Today marked the opening day of the 2008-2009 season.  It was only 56 degrees as we entered the impoundments this morning, slightly overcast, and it rained for the first 20 minutes of the hunt.  We only hunted one of the six impoundments today because several are not quite full (October was a fairly dry month).  There were a total of 28 members and guests who hunted this morning.  The shooting was fast for the first 1 1/2 hours, but slow for the remainder of the hunt.  We harvested a total of 78 birds this morning; mostly mallards, with a few wood ducks, and one teal. 

11/15/2008:  This afternoon marked our first afternoon hunt of the season.  It was unseasonably warm today; almost 70 degrees as we entered the impoundments.  There was a fair amount of shooting early as birds were flushed off the impoundments, but slowed as sunset arrived.  As always, it was a spectacular view to watch all the ducks arrive after shooting hours!  There were a total of 25 hunters today, harvesting 72 birds.

11/19/2008:  Today was one of the few mid-week hunts of the season.  It was a morning hunt and was unseasonable cold today, only 23 degrees.  Despite the cold weather there was not any ice on the impoundments.  The hunting was average, with most of the shooting concentrated at the south end of the large impoundment.  There were a total of 11 hunters today, harvesting 40 birds.

11/22/2008:  This morning was again very cold.  It was only 16 degrees as we gathered to hunt!  This was by far one of the best hunts we have had in years.  We saw a large number of wild birds that have recently migrated in.  We hunted 4 different impoundments this morning.   There were a total of 31 hunters today, harvesting 126 birds.

11/29/2008:  It was not as cold this morning, it was only in the lower 50's when we entered the impoundments.  We hunted 3 different impoundments this morning.   The shooting was average on the Big Impoundment, and still very good on our Greentree Impoundments.  There were a total of 24 hunters today, harvesting 71 birds.

12/13/2008:   Today was the first hunt after a two week break in the season.  It was good to allow the impoundments to rest for awhile.  We hunted 4 different impoundments this morning.   The hunting was good on the Big Impoundment, but quite slower on the Greentree, only taking 3 ducks this morning.  There were a total of 26 hunters today, harvesting 73 birds.

12/20/2008:  The weather was mild again this morning.  We hunted 3 different impoundments this morning.   We had a large crowd of 36 hunters today, harvesting 81 birds.

12/27/2008:  The hunting was slower today with a few blinds getting very little shooting.  The birds were concentrated in the northern portion of our Big Impoundment.  We hunted 3 different impoundments this morning.   We had a large crowd of 38 hunters today, harvesting 68 birds.

1/3/2009:  The hunting was slow again today.  We hunted 4 different impoundments this morning.   We had a large crowd of 42 hunters today, harvesting 73 birds.

1/10/2009:  Today was our 7th Annual Shucks N' Ducks oyster roast and duck hunt.  This is by far one of my favorite events.  The oyster roast was at lunch and we served up over 700 oysters, a low country boil, along with numerous sides.  We gathered at 2:30 for the afternoon duck hunt.  We had a large crowd of 45 hunters today, typical for this event.  It was the best hunt of the season, harvesting 156 birds.

1/17/2009:    Following a very big hunt last weekend for the oyster roast, the hunting was slower today .  The birds were concentrated in the northern portion of our Big Impoundment.  We hunted 3 different impoundments this morning.   We had 23 hunters today, harvesting 66 birds.

1/20/2009:    Today was one of only a few afternoon hunts this season.  We had a small crowd of only 15 hunters today, harvesting 54 birds.

1/24/2009:    Today marks the last day of the regular waterfowl season and we hunted both morning and afternoon.  The weather was mild this morning; it was only 45 degrees as we gathered at the shed.  The shooting was great in the morning, buy somewhat slow in the afternoon.  We had 34 hunters today, harvesting 118 birds in the morning and 56 birds in the afternoon.

Listed below are the dates that we have hunted our waterfowl impoundments, the number of hunters who participated, and the number of birds harvested.

Date                        No. Hunters            No. Birds Harvested

11/8/2008                     28                                       73  

11/15/2008                   25                                       72

11/19/2008                   11                                       40

11/22/2008                   31                                      126         

11/28/2008                   24                                        71

12/13/2008                   26                                        73

12/20/2008                   36                                        81

12/27/2008                   38                                        68

 1/3/2009                       41                                        73      

1/10/2009                     45                                       156    

1/17/2009                     23                                         66

1/20/2009                     15                                         54

1/24/2009                     34                                       174         

                                                                                  1127 Total