I had an pleasant and interesting conversation this afternoon with a non-hunter. I was driving by a mill pond in an affluent North Shore community when I saw an older woman watching the ducks with binoculars. I asked her if she had seen the eurasion widgeon that was on the pond last week, and she was very excited to hear about it. I described the duck and she said she saw it last week but had no idea what it was. We got to talking about the different duck species that visited the pond (american widgeon, gadwalls, shovelers, woodies, teal, ringnecks, mallards and black ducks), and I told her where she could find some different species in the local area (goldeneye, scoter, old squaw, canvas backs, brant, coot, snow geese). I helped her identify the gadwalls light quacking and the widgeon whistles, and she was very happy to learn so much about the birds shed been enjoying watching fill into the pond this season. Then she asked me how I knew so much about all the ducks and where to find them, and when. . . So I told her, its because Im a duck hunter and I hunt the local bays. Her face soured a bit, and she had to asked how I could kill these beautiful birds which we both obviously enjoyed watching? I explained that I enjoy watching the birds all season, and enjoy the chance to harvest some of them, often hunting for specific species in specific areas. Then she recovered, and asked a few more questions of me. Did I eat the birds? Was I concerned about their declining numbers? to name a couple. I explained about my famous fowl chili and let her know that ducks are not in a decline. I explained how waterfowlers buy a duck stamp every year, and how this helps fund the govt agencies which take annual duck population surveys which they use to adjust our bag limits annually. She was very interested to hear about these conservation measures. It turned out, that she lives on one of the bays where I hunt, and has been unappreciative of the early morning wake up calls during the season. She explained that she has had crippled birds left on her property and observed duck hunters not even attempting to retrieve downed birds left to float. I explained that those are unfortunately, the un-ethical hunters that give us all a bad name. Cripples will happen to the best of us, but wanton waste is unlawful and unethical. So is skybusting birds barely in range which wounds but does not outright kill more often than not. I also explained the laws re: waterfowling (distances to homes, seasons, shooting hours, blinds and how shot loads travel). (So now youre asking yourselves, what the hell does this have to do with LI deer hunting?) Then the conversation turned to the burgeoning deer population in her area. Surprisingly, she was receptive to hunting for deer as a control. She was concerned for them over-populating and dying of starvation. She was also upset by the damage they cause. I informed her about the new 150 rule and how it can allow hunting in many areas it was prohibited in prior to this year. She expressed that she was very concerned about wounded animals traveling from one property and dying on another. I explained that was a concern, for even a well placed shot, but that if she could gather the support of a few of her neighbors, or even her HOA, that ethical hunters could help with the deer population in her area. I was very surprised to see her consider the idea and say shes going to take it to her HOA board. It would be interesting to see support for hunting expand in this community.
Posted on: Thu, 13 Nov 2014 00:24:28 +0000
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