Somewhere amidst "Surefire Decoy Strategies," "Must-Have Gear for 2010" and "Calling Tips from the Pros," the collective preseason waterfowl preview annually forgets a critical point: In the blind, as in show biz, it's not what you know, it's who you know.
Like Tinsel Town, waterfowling, from the marsh or the field, is an act. It needs a script (plan). Assemble a cast (hunters). Obtain shots via the right location (scouting). The stage must be set (decoys). Apply makeup (optional). And "Action!"
The script was a work in progress, though I did start the draft when I mentioned to Pheasants Forever co-worker / STRIB Club Outdoors blogger Andrew Vavra that I wasn't coming back from Minnesota's early goose hunting weekend opener without a neck-banded honker. I have no idea if biologists neck-band Canada geese, and I'd never shot a banded bird period, but making such preposterous statements is quickly becoming my calling card.
And God knows I can't call anything else! Which is why I make up the supporting cast in "Weekend at Band Camp," surrounded by three stars – my brother, Sean, and friends Cody Enger of Alexandria and Donnie Kundel of Duluth. My bro has a knack for laying out a spread even too-thin Hollywood couldn't resist, Cody is nicknamed "The Gander Commander" for good reason and Donnie practiced his goose calling so much in his Minneapolis house last year that his neighbors honestly thought he and his roommates had a flock of pet geese. Good thespians all, slaves to their craft.
The action started rolling, and after Saturday's goose egg, it looked like the credits may roll early on this weekend cut. But good art and good hunts can take time. The crew changed locations, and on Sunday the scenes were memorable with 10 geese in the bag. Final footage was shot Labor Day morning, and that project earned the group four more big birds.
One of those final Canadas sported a piece of jewelry around its left foot, unwittingly becoming a central figure in this story's killer ending. I'll cherish that band like an Oscar, and my friends that made it happen like the Academy. You like me. You really like me.
About Waterfowl Bands
Prized by waterfowl hunters, bands provide even more significance. Each band carries a phone number and a distinct ID number for that bird. Hunters are asked, after harvesting a banded bird, to call the number and report some information, including the date and location of the take. Biologists analyze banding data to track waterfowl populations and determine hunting regulation development. I, like other hunters who successfully harvest a banded bird, will receive a certificate in the mail with my name and a quick detail "life history" on the bird.
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