Students’ first duck hunt
Vidal Guerra stepped off the dock after his first duck hunt and loudly asked, “How do you join this hunting club?” His excitement was contagious. He told the group of other hunters that a duck landed in the spread, and he was shaking so bad that he got duck fever and couldn’t shoot.
In partnership with the Delta Waterfowl R3 program, Lone Star Outdoor News Foundation rounded up nine wildlife students from Texas A&M University- Kingsville and introduced them to duck hunting at the historic Port Bay Club in Rockport.
The students ranged from freshmen interested in wildlife degrees to graduate students studying specialized projects. They all arrived around lunchtime on Monday afternoon eager to experience something new. Aidan Flores, Delta Waterfowl R3 Coordinator, had camo jackets, waders, shotguns and ammo to outfit the students for their hunt. A few weeks before the trip, they had gone out with their professor, Bart Ballard, on a skeet shoot to get comfortable with shotguns. The group met for a safety debriefing and then threw on their waders and headed out for an early afternoon hunt.
A few of the students, Grace Sagebiel, Donavan Cottrell and Logan Liesman, had some hunting experience, but none had been able to get on the water to duck hunt. They were excited to figure out what it was all about. Kendall Bancroft was eager to see some of the ducks she studies in the wild.
The group took off on “The Launch” as the wind picked up, but the rain had finally let up for the day. It seemed very “ducky,” as Flores and some of the guides mentioned that should make for a promising hunt. As the Port Bay guides picked up each pair to go to their designated blind, they all wished each other luck and there were plenty of smiles.
During the hunt, the students had several opportunities to see and shoot various species of ducks, and redheads and bluebills were harvested. Hailey Pulido said they had a group of 20 redheads decoy and she shot two drake redheads in one shot — her first birds.
Returning later in the evening, the boat was filled with giggles. Everyone had a story to tell and wanted to hear about each others’ experiences. The chatter continued throughout dinner and the rest of the night. Those that didn’t get an opportunity at a duck said, “Today was just practice, we will be ready for tomorrow.”
The next morning came early with a 4:30 a.m. wakeup bell, but the group was ready and excited. The morning was a little slower than the previous afternoon, so a few groups headed back in early. Once everyone got back to the dock, they all investigated the various types of ducks that were brought back.
Then it was time to take them to the “picking house” for a lesson on cleaning ducks in preparation to take home.
Liesman is planning on making Peking duck and wanted to pluck one of his birds.
As the group was saying goodbye, many were excited to return home to share their stories and begin looking for their next opportunity to duck hunt again.
To learn more about the Lone Star Outdoor News Foundation, visit lsonews.com/lson-foundation and for more information on the Delta Waterfowl University Program, deltawaterfowl.org/deltas-universityhunting- program.
