Stupid duck question

[RUGER]

Hunted a watershed New Years morning.
About 75% of the watershed was froze up.
Oddly enough, the area of open water included the area (point) we normally hunt anyway.
Had a perfect wind for that spot as well.
Right at daylight we had 2 come in and land WITH the 15 mph wind, instead of into it.
While pondering why they would do that we started seeing several pretty large groups of birds in the area (20+ birds in each group) and our hopes were getting up pretty good.

Then they started coming in.
At the far end of the watershed.
Landing on the ice.

WHY would they do that????
I swear I just don't get it.

Ducks in the area, open water surrounded by ice and they land on the ice, as far from the open water as possible.
I hate duck hunting.

 

[TNGunsmoke]

Typical, we get outsmarted/out maneuvered by something with a brain the size of a peanut.

 

[scn]

There is no way to know, but they may have been local birds that have been shot at in the point area in the recent past. It doesn't take much for them to shy away.

 

[RUGER]

There is no way to know, but they may have been local birds that have been shot at in the point area in the recent past. It doesn't take much for them to shy away.

You are probably right.
In fact later that day I told Man that someone had been adding to the little makeshift ground blind that is there and it could be that they hunt there every day of the week or something and the birds know better.

If it ever thaws out, I got a plan for next time.

I am still surprised how they avoided the open water though, I didn't understand that.
They could have landed several hundred yards from our position and still hit water instead of ice.
Stupid birds. :rotf:

 

[Mike Belt]

Speaking of birds hitting the ice...
Not to sidetrack your post but when I lived in Illinois close to Scott Air Force Base one night during the winter the runways were wet and semi-frozen. The lighting made them look like a huge body of water. An entire flock of ducks hit the runway thinking it was. The next morning there were dead and crippled ducks everywhere.

 

[scn]

It's fun to watch them land on the ice. The first widgeon I ever killed I missed on the first shot as it hit and skidded and then got him on the second "rabbit" shot. In ETN, the ethics of only shooting them with their feet down coming into you usually gave way to shooting, period.

 

[woodyard]

Ruger, My partners in the goose pit / field deal years ago, before I got suckered in, had a field on the other side of the river. One winter they put out black plastic on the ground to resemble an area of water and had ducks all over it during one of the ice out spells. Killed a bunch.

Or at least that was what they told me!

 

[RUGER]

Ruger, My partners in the goose pit / field deal years ago, before I got suckered in, had a field on the other side of the river. One winter they put out black plastic on the ground to resemble an area of water and had ducks all over it during one of the ice out spells. Killed a bunch.

Or at least that was what they told me!

LOL I wouldn't doubt it.

 

[Sucarnochee]

I've seen them bunched together in ice years ago when we had Weather like this. My dad and I tried a couple sneak attacks on them lol. But to answer the question I would guess they stay Warmer maybe like that or the have been hunted. Who knows. Ducks have a mind of their own somedays.