- Details
- Category: Waterfowl
- Published: Monday, 16 September 2024 04:55
- Written by Greg
Fall Birds - Birds did Fall...Part II
Finally it was time to pursue the very vocal sandhill crane. This year the four of us were finally successful in obtaining a permit after several unsuccessful years of applying. The two times we went scouting for cranes we found them either loafing on private property or flying to and from those locations. Undeterred, we decided upon a location where we thought we could draw cranes toward us as they flew to those nearby fields.
Found cranes flying that we'd hope to traffic toward us
On opening morning my sons and I set up decoys in the vicinity of where we had seen cranes flying while scouting. It was disappointing that my grandson would miss out on the morning hunt but at least he’d be able to join us for the afternoon outing. That morning we only had two instances where cranes came close. The first time was when a pair of cranes flew straight toward our decoy spread but changed course at the last second and skirted us by 100 yards. The good news was that they didn’t appear to see us as they didn’t flare; our hide must have been sufficient. Time passed without any crane activity until finally we again heard the calling of cranes in the distance. Unfortunately Carson had wandered off in search of a better hunting spot when Dallas and I spotted a pair of cranes on the horizon -- they were headed our way.
Layout blinds brushed in with alfalfa
We hunkered down low in our blinds and waited. It wasn’t long before the cranes were near the edge of our spread, then much to our delight they tipped their wings and circled into our decoy spread. At 40 yards we lifted our shotguns -- Dallas tracked the bird on the right while I focused on the left crane. The shot was called and seconds later we watched the two cranes fall! Unfortunately for Carson and Daxton, those two encounters would be our last for the weekend.
Got both cranes that came into decoys Quite the talons on these birds
The following Saturday was an exact repeat of the previous Sunday, zero crane activity. In the afternoon we changed it up when we decided to go scout for birds. After scouring fields for a couple of hours, we finally located a good number of cranes in an alfalfa field, private property of course. It took quite some time to locate the property owner but once we did, we received permission to hunt! Very late that afternoon we decided to move in for a closer look in order to make a game plan for morning. We didn’t want to bump the birds but thought we could hang out near the fringe in hopes of getting a passing shot if they happened to fly past on their way to roost. It almost worked when Carson sneaked close by floating in his decoy sled along the waterway and got a less than ideal shot as the cranes vacated the field just before the sun dipped below the horizon, but a shot nonetheless. With only one day left in the very short two weekend season, we did have a plan for morning.
Sketchy trying to keep balance in his sled Paddled close and got a shot
Before first light we had our blinds brushed in with high hopes that cranes would return to the alfalfa. During the first hour we saw plenty of cranes in the air but none were coming to our field. We believed patience was the key, so we sat. Finally we heard a sandhill crane chattering in the distance – it was a lone bird soaring directly at us! In no time the slow rhythmic wing beats brought the fast moving crane close. At 35 yards the shot was called but Daxton missed so Carson quickly followed up and dumped the bird! As one can imagine, my grandson was very disappointed, we did our best to encourage him by looking at all things positive given the situation. Sitting in our blinds for what seemed like an eternity, our patience finally paid off. Barely an hour had passed when another solo crane was headed in our direction. The anticipation was building for all of us as there wouldn’t be a backup shooter and shot opportunities were winding down on this last day -- it looked to be Daxton’s moment of truth. The crane continued on a direct course, it was now close enough that it couldn’t veer off without presenting a shot. The giant bird seemed closer that it really was, “wait…wait for it…wait…ok shoot” I whispered. Daxton instantly burst from his blind and took careful aim. At the pop of his 20 gauge the BOSS shotshell 3/5 shot-combo toppled the mature red-foreheaded sandhill crane! Just like that we had tagged out on Mother Nature’s “ribeye of the sky”!
7+ ft. wingspan! Boys all tagged out