Newspapers / The Shore Line (Pine … / March 1, 2019, edition 1 / Page 16
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By Richard Seale Light at the end of the tunnel As I have written in the past, a hunt for tundra swans has become a January tradition of ours. Of course, you need to apply for a permit and be one of the hunters drawn to be issued a permit. We had several hunter groups (only five people can be in a group) that applied. This is a fun hunt, and we encourage that groups consist of fathers, mothers and children (boys and girls). My son, Roger, sets up the field to hunt with permission from the landowner and provides the decoys. This year our groups got lucky and all were chosen. Five adults and 10 children participated in the hunt, more than we have ever taken into the field. We do not charge for this hunt, and we do have a safety talk and remind the participants of the verbal commands that will be called out. It is usually a 600- or 700-yard walk to the hunting site, toting guns and decoys—and it is very nice to have several 14- to 17-year-olds in the party. The day was warm, sunny and dry, so lying along the edge of a drainage ditch in a large field was better than some years. The swans did not start flying until 10 a.m. on this day, and not many flew low enough to become targets. As a result, the harvest was modest, but all had a good time. Hearing the hooting and whistling of flocks of swans still far off and unseen is ■ V ' V* t i Lauren Seale with a tundra swan bagged during the annual hunt —Photo by Roger Seale exciting. Anticipation builds as the sounds get louder. Then, suddenly, the flock is swinging toward the decoys and dropping their legs and cupping their wings to lose altitude. We call out gentle reminders such as, “Don’t move” and “Don’t look up.” The trick is to peek sideways and behind some cover, but not “flash” your face upward. Camouflage face covers and face paint help, too. If the flight comes in close and low enough, Roger calls out, “Take ’em,” or if not in range, “Don’t shoot.” On the “take ’em” call, the hunters spring into action and swing their shotguns onto the swans in their assigned shooting area. These movements on the ground would cause the birds to flah and, as the guns fired, the birds would speed up and climb away. If any birds were down, the hunter who brought it down had to retrieve it and put a punched-out date big orange adhesive tag around the bird’s leg. Hunters with filled tags could stay in the field, but moved away from the group, giving more room to the folks still hunting. Only one swan per permit is allowed, and tags are not transferable. This year, after many years of trying, I think I finally have learned how to prepare and cook a swan that is good to eat. The warm days in early February got my fishing wishes up and running. I looked up the 15-day forecast for the rest of February and was pleased to see it showed 16 The Shoreline I Inarch 2019 temperatures running from nighttime lows of the mid-40s to daytime highs in the 50s and 60s until just about month’s end. Venturing out into the ocean to wrecks and rocks with some good bottom fishing rigs and a supply of cross-cut squid chunks seemed a good possibility for putting some nice black sea bass on the table, as well as some other bottom fish. And, of course, going to the Gulf Stream can often provide yellow- fin tuna and wahoo rewards. Inshore, the speckled trout get more active as the water temperatures climb into the 50s—but baits and lures still need to be fished very slowly. The first week of February held some exciting views for us. A rather bedraggled but large osprey came to the McNeill Inlet platform several days, feeding on what looked like a dead cormorant. One morning, while I was watching this show through a telescope on which I had just increased the power so I was seeing just osprey, the bird suddenly raised its wings and quickly launched off the platform. A mature bald eagle zoomed onto the platform just as the osprey took off. I actually had both birds in the scope at the same instant. What will come of all this we do not know, but at least there is an osprey that knows about the platform. We hope a nesting pair soon starts bringing new nesting sticks onto the platform. Remember that we all need to keep pets and ourselves a safe distance from the osprey platform so as not to spook the birds. The young osprey that last year perished for some unknown reason is under permit at the taxidermist in Washington, NC. It is scheduled to become a main entrance attraction at the NC Estuarium there. I will keep all informed when it is put on display. So, yes, there are several lights at the end of this winter’s tunnel. I • - kA i- 1 A bald eagle on the McNeill Inlet platform —Photo by Linda Seale -ft The COUNTRY CLUB of the CRYSTAL COAST ...where frieniLs eonneei ' ^ 252-726-1034 (ext. #12) 1 crystalcoastcc.com 152 Oakleaf Drive | Pine Knoll Shores | NC I 28512
The Shore Line (Pine Knoll Shores, N.C.)
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March 1, 2019, edition 1
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