In fall turkey hunting, a common and effective tactic is to rush a flock of birds in order to deliberately scatter them. The idea is to quickly set up where they were, and then start to call them back to their former location, which is now the site of your ambush.
Believe it or not, this tactic is just as effective on waterfowl, especially after the morning flights have ceased and birds have settled down to loaf for the day.
Find the birds
The reason it works is because you are setting up in a place where waterfowl obviously want to be, primarily because of food. Migration, after all, requires a lot of fuel, so ducks will naturally concentrate where food is abundant. It might be cranberries, acorns, aquatic bugs or vegetation, or any other nutrition that the species in question favours. If it is plentiful, the birds take advantage of it.
They will be less likely to do so, however, if the location doesn’t offer a measure of security too.
Ideally, they want to feed in a place where they are less likely to be disturbed by predators, human and otherwise. For if they are undisturbed, they can conserve energy for the long flight too.
That’s why we see flights of birds pitching into potholes deep in the marsh, or into flooded timber, isolated ponds, straight stretches on creeks or rivers, and back bays where sneaking up on them is difficult.
These places offer food and security, which is why the ducks there are reluctant to leave and eager to return. They are also ideal locations to break up a flock.
When opportunity knocks
Don’t get me wrong; I typically don’t go out intending to break up a flock of ducks. It just happens when I’m jump shooting during the midday. I do my level best to sneak within gun range of these concentrations of ducks to get the proverbial bird or birds in the hand.
The problem in places like this is that birds benefit from safety in numbers. There are a lot of eyes and ears to contend with and the ducks often see or hear you coming, long before you ever get within range. As a result, the flock will often take off and scatter before you ever have a good shooting opportunity. That’s a good thing, if you play it right.
They’ll be back
After a flock has spooked and scattered, set up quickly at the spot. If you have a few decoys with you (I always carry about half a dozen when jump shooting from a canoe) quickly throw them out.
Then conceal yourself and get ready.
Sometimes flocks reassemble quickly. In fact, I have shot birds that flushed, circled wide a few times and then pitched in or did low fly-bys, even as I was placing decoys. If it doesn’t happen that quickly and you didn’t spook them with a Hail Mary shot, you’ll find the birds will often return in small groups over the next little while. Calls, such as a feeding chuckle, can also help convince those recently displaced birds, who are often airborne for awhile, that it is safe.
This tactic has redeemed many a waterfowling day for me. In a good spot, this tactic can produce fast and furious shooting.
When ducks are flushed out of a honeyhole like this, they want to return to the food, safety of the location, and security of the flock. I guess breaking up is hard to do.
Originally published in the August 2023 issue of Ontario OUT of DOORS
I have tried this tactic with little success. The ponds and marshes that Iregularily hunt during the day are little traveled or shot but by me. I hunt with a Lab retriever with me s retrieving in the middle of a swamp is never an issue.
Gerry, [email protected]