… and the skies were black with waterfowl.

Shooting time for waterfowl is a half hour before sunrise. The predawn sky was peppered with the silhouettes of numerous flocks of ducks and geese. Still too far for a clean shot, but it was just a matter of time before they came within range.

I have a small booklet called Ducks at a Distance. Practically all species of waterfowl are shown in various silhouettes so you can train yourself to identify them not only from a distance, but also in the low light of dawn. Typical flock patterns for all the species are also drawn so you can tell from far off what is heading your way.

Identifying them in a book is one thing, but when you have flocks of ducks skimming the treetops or buzzing low along the water, it takes some time to get used to what ducks are near. Even my untrained eye could make out the patterns of wood ducks, pintails, the different teals and the larger flocks of mallards. Of course the distinctive V’s of Canada Geese drifted high over head. A little longer and they would be confidently skimming the tops of our decoy spread.

Dale Bowman had got a blind on the Kankakee River and for the first day of waterfowl hunting in the Central Zone, he invited me and Steve Palmisano along to make a dent in the ever increasing numbers of birds that were now getting closer to our decoys and blind. The hour before shooting time was spent preparing the area around the blind. Steve and Dale had expertly laid out the decoys in the shallow run of water off the tip of the island. Though my experience hunting for these birds is limited, 14 years of wading rivers and observing how both the water and the birds behave allowed me to make some adjustments in the decoy spread. You don’t need to know how to hunt them to know how they relate to the water.

Once satisfied with the spread, we retreated a few steps onto shore to the comforts of the blind. It was solidly built in order to withstand just about anything mother nature could throw at it. Solid walls to block the wind. A sloping roof to shed rain and snow, yet with plenty of open space in front to allow for a clear field of vision and shooting. A bench was set just far enough back to keep you out of inclement weather, but it was easy to stand and shoot when needed. A shelf ran across the front of the blind in order to hold extra shells for quick reloading. It also served well to hold our steaming cups of coffee poured from insulated containers. Notches were cut into the shelf to help hold shotguns at the ready.

On the outside the blind had been concealed by using the grasses, reeds and saplings from the surrounding area. The blind blended gently into its surroundings, there was no way wary waterfowl would be tipped off by our presence.

I kept my eye on the lightening sky.

My vantage point gave me a view all the way down the river, but the brush directly in front of me concealed me well.

The silhouettes of birds kept increasing dramatically while Steve’s expert calling skills kept turning birds toward our decoys. Ducks and geese were both gaining an interest in the flocks of decoys spread out in front of us.

With each passing flock I would glance over at Dale and Steve. They were as excited as kids and would actually start trembling in anticipation. For some reason I don’t get affected that way. While hunting I get strangely calm. No nervousness whatsoever. It’s not till after a bird or squirrel or rabbit is shot that I then get the shakes.

More birds circled overhead at Steve’s beckoning call. A lot of lookers initially, but then one large flock of geese decided to start drifting in for a landing. Wings banked to dump air and legs were straightened to take the impact of goose on water. I felt a nudge in my side. I lifted my gun and started picking out my target. I felt a sharp poke in my ribs.

“Are you going to shut off that damn clock?”

“Hunh, what the hell you talking about?”

“Shut off the damn alarm clock!”

Oh.

My arm shot out instinctively to just the right length and slammed the clock into silence. I stared at the ceiling in complete disbelief that I had been dreaming that whole scenario. I swear I could smell the water and the damp land surrounding the blind. I could hear the water rushing over the rocks in the shallow water. I saw the predawn sky, I know I did.

I crawled out of bed, my brain in desperate need of it’s morning coffee. It was over an hour ride down to the Kankakee to meet up with Dale and Steve. At least I knew I wasn’t dreaming that part.

For the most part, once on the river my dream wasn’t that far off from reality. The first hour was spent setting up the decoys just like the dream. They looked good when we were done with them. The blind blended perfectly into the surrounding area from the use of the adjoining grasses for concealment. Things were just like I dreamt.

Except for the part about the blind being steps from the river. It was quite a few steps. I recall conversation coming up a few times about the possibility of moving it closer to the water. But then the pros and cons were weighed. Rain raising the river was the biggest concern and the river carrying away the blind came in a close second.

Except for the part about the sturdiness of the blind, which was a far cry from my dream. Picture a piece of 4 foot by 8 foot piece of wood for the floor. A frame made up of 2 by 2’s for the front and back walls. The frames covered in netting and the surrounding grasses lashed to the netting.

No roof, no bench, no convenient shelf running along the front. We had been warned to bring something to sit on. It did look good though, if primitive. We were lucky to have a beautiful morning, not too cold, not a lot of wind, clear skies. I kept imagining sitting here in December. A cold wind blowing through walls, sleet pounding down on your head and collecting on the floor of the blind.

You really have to want to hunt waterfowl bad to endure those conditions in this blind. Which could be good.

I guess the part about the flocks of birds all over the river never materialized either. We did see a few ducks and had some geese slow down to give the decoys a look. But they didn’t add up to much and not a single shot was taken all morning. Somehow we all missed one lone diving duck that suddenly appeared among the decoys. At one point some ducks landed on a far shore and one seemed to make a bee line for our spread, then disappeared.

We did fool a deer. The glare of the sun on the river was pretty intense and none of us noticed the deer till he was practically standing amid the decoys.

The deer kept looking around like he knew something wasn’t right, but he couldn’t figure it out.

Then he bent down to smell a decoy, practically jumped straight up out of the water and bolted across the river back to the island where he came from. I guess he figured out something wasn’t right.

The highlight of the morning was the conversation, along with some hard boiled beet red eggs Dale had brought along. Beet red because the hard boiled eggs had been marinated in vinegar and beet juice. They didn’t last long once offered up for eating. Funny how these little things become highlights of the day when the birds aren’t moving.

This first hunting trip out to the blind for the season seemed to turn into a scouting trip for future hunts. Dale and Steve had plans to make it out here numerous times in the next couple of months. Talk was made on how to better conceal the blind. How to better set up the decoys both in the water and on land. And I know they were both thinking about moving the blind closer to the water. As long as it didn’t rain.

The last time I hunted on the Kankakee River was almost 7 years earlier. Got a goose. But something was bothering me. The swarms of birds I expected to see never materialized. From my hunt 7 years earlier I recall a similar disappointment. Yet on the Fox River birds are everywhere. There are blinds that can be reached with a relatively easy walk. Some not so easy. All are within a 10 minute drive from my house. One blind, if I felt up to it, I could walk to from my house.

Maybe it’s just my familiarity with the Fox. Maybe there’s something else about the Fox that attracts so many more birds. Maybe my own scouting is called for. I can build a blind like Dales in no time flat. Maybe even sit in it in mid December. I’ve endured worse conditions and survived. I could do it again. Maybe.