Boy & Bird
The morning was clear, calm, and unseasonably cold. What Charlie had mistaken for fog, was actually steam rising from off the lake. Tucked in our boat in small niche of rice and water lilies, the birds sliced through the predawn light, mere shadows and phantoms, made real by the air thundering through their beating wings.
Shortly after day break I had managed to connect with a lone hen Mallard. While Charlie was only able to watch, his excitement and happiness was palpable, setting the tone for our morning hunt. “Can you believe it Daddy, we already have a bird!”
A short time later, a hen Wood Duck flew in from the east and landed with a crash in our bay, coasting to the outer edge of our decoy spread. Instinctively, I tightened my grip on the Beretta braced against my shoulder. Moose, no stranger to the rustle of wings on the water, let out a soft whine and sat up quickly to survey our spread.
As I reached out a hand to calm our eager retriever, Charlie leaned in and with hushed excited tone asked, “Daddy, can I get this one?” My little boy has been patient all season, and his anticipation for his first bird has grown a little more with every outing. Today was no different, and the opportunity before him could not be any better, “Sure, thing buddy, he is all yours.”
In my experience Wood Ducks are notoriously difficult to decoy, and I have learned first hand that when they realize they have landed amongst imposters, they will not stick around for very long. Time was not on our side.
I drew my gun on the bird as a precaution while Charlie slowly stood to take aim. It is amazing how time can virtually stand still in situations like this. I sat there watching, waiting, hoping that my little boy would shoot true.
Our hen surveyed her surroundings, making small, gentle circles in the rice. Then, just as quickly as she had landed, she burst from the water retreating to the skies. She quickly gained speed and altitude, reaching the edge of our niche just as Charlie’s 20 gauge erupted beside me.
With his quarry hit square, she buckled and plummeted lifelessly from the sky. Carried forward by her own momentum she crashed with splash just out of sight.
Charlie has been by my side for many years, watching, waiting, hoping to be a duck hunter. Today, just like his Daddy 15 years before him, Charlie brought home is first hen Woodie and in doing so, came home a duck hunter.
