Surprise snowstorm brings Thanksgiving gift of waterfowl

by Lowell Washburn

Intermittent morning flurries had turned to steady snowfall by mid-day, and the weatherman was calling for additional accumulations of three to five inches.  It didn’t take a genius to determine that whatever waterfowl remained in the area would be in a panic.  Canada geese and mallard ducks would be looking for corn and were probably already staging an all out feeding frenzy.

It was Wednesday, Nov. 26 -- the day before Thanksgiving.  Winter had come early to northern Iowa and most lakes and marshes were already snow and ice covered.  By now, open water had become a very scarce commodity.  And although hundreds, and in some cases thousands, of birds were concentrated on the handful of air holes and river bends still open, there was no guarantee which way the hungry fowl would decide to fly.  Late season birds are used to seeing and feeding with large flocks.  Choosing the right spot to hunt them is always risky.  Once hunters have pooled their resources and put out a big spread of decoys they’re pretty much stuck with the choice.  Sunset comes early in late November, and the clock is always ticking on feeding birds.  Pick the wrong field and there’s no time to pick up and relocate.

I was pondering this very dilemma when the phone rang.  It was good news.  My friend Brandon Stark had located a windswept patch of corn stubble where birds were currently working.  Better yet, Stark wanted to put together an impromptu hunt.  The proposed ‘Thanksgiving Waterfowl Posse’ would also include my son Matt and fellow goose hunting enthusiast, Zach Scott.  Although birds were already on the move, there was still hope for some action if everyone moved quickly.

Loading the decoys and grabbing some whites, I was soon on my way.  Getting directions enroute, I arrived at the field in short order.  I was last on the scene, however, just in time to mess up a flock of Canadas that had begun to investigate what decoys the guys already had out.  I added my contribution to the spread; within minutes we’d placed over 100 goose decoys atop the deepening snow.

More birds soon appeared, and then more after that in what proved to be the beginning of a nonstop waterfowl show that would be the envy of any waterfowler -- anywhere.  It was as if our spread had become magnetic as line after line of geese, flock after flock of mallards, appeared out of the snow to converge on our field.

We’d have likely enjoyed quick and easy limits except for two things.  First of all, most of the flocks were huge which made it extremely difficult to get birds across the imaginary 15 yard line.  The issue was further complicated by the rising wind.  Blowing somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 mph, the breeze was giving large flocks of highly educated, late season honkers plenty of time to inspect our decoys.  Whenever a group would break off and attempt to come in, they would invariably be warned off by wiser birds.  But the afternoon was still young, and we figured the birds would become more serious and our decoys more believable as the day waned.

The theory proved correct and events took a definite turn for the better when a group of a dozen or more Canadas peeled away from a big flock and came sailing in.  We let them come all the way, with the birds finally touching down at the edge of the decoys.  The geese offered great close up viewing as they walked about, stretching their necks horizontally while murmuring back and forth to each other.

More geese continued to arrive out of the snow and we began to do a bit of shooting.  Although mallards arrived by the hundreds, the wind