Duck Decoys

Waterfowl decoys of every type are scattered through our home.  The garage is home to several dozen operational decoys (mallards, Canada geese, snow geese, brant) and our house contains the antiques.  It is the old ones I’d like to talk about.

On top of an armoire sit four paper mache mallard decoys.  Who would have believed that these bits of wire and paper could have survived water and waves.  In a cabinet are a partial set of paper silhouettes – again, how on earth did they not fall apart in the wet weather (I know the paper was waxed, but still…).  On a shelf and on the mantle sit the most prized decoys of all – the handcarved wooden ones - a large canvassback, a swan, and several very old mallards and pintails.  These are my favorite.

A couple of the decoys have ’shot-pits’ in their sides, and I can only imagine the over-exhuberant young hunter trying to bag a low flying duck and blasting his own decoys instead! 

Here, in SouthWest BC, there is an extensive history around handmade decoys.  Two local carvers from the early 1900′s, played a significant role in waterfowling in Delta.  Harold Percival Bicknell (born 1897) carved his own decoys out of red cedar when the use of live decoys was banned.  Tru Haviland Oliver, a Ladner resident, carved more than 200 decoys a year for many years, with the earliest example of his work dating back to 1915.  Both of these men have their work on display in the Ladner Heritage Museum, and to own one of their decoys is to be the envy of duck hunters everywhere.

Now, of other things…

I cannot continue to post without mentioning the victory of Barack Obama during yesterday’s presidential election in the United States.  The impact was felt here, in Canada, and across the world.  Even during last night’s NHL hockey game, when the announcement of Obama’s win was flashed on the score board, there was celebration – the crowd was on its feet giving Obama a standing ovation. Incredible.  We are witnessing history, folks. 

This is not meant to be a political post, or a political blog, so I am not going into my personal views about politics, especially my views about the politics in our neighboring country.  But to bear witness to such a powerful moment was awe inspiring.

Benefits of Dog Walking

The dogs, Storm and Rigsy, have a significant role when Todd is out hunting.  Storm retrieves the ducks, and Rigsy points and flushes the upland birds.  Because they go out hunting all fall and winter, Todd spends the summer keeping them fit and able to do the job.  This means conditioning – lots of it.  

Living in coastal BC means we are never far away from the water.  Our community is surrounded by two arms of the Fraser River, and the Georgia Straight (a major body of water that leads to the Pacific Ocean).  One of our favorite places to walk the dogs is out in Boundary Bay.  When the tide is out, the sand stretches on forever. The dogs run, and run, and run.  Every now and then, we find treasures uncovered by the receding waters.  Other times, we find research artifacts, science experiments or lost belongings.

Several times now we have found bright orange cards placed in the ocean by the Washinton State Department of Agriculture, as part of a program labelled ’Spartina Research’.  It seems they are trying to understand how invasive marine plants spread in the waters off of BC and Washington, and there is a number on the card to call and report where you found it.

Once, when he was out by himself, Todd found a kite surfing board.  It looked brand new, and had contact info attached to it.  Todd called the number and ended up speaking to a very happy man who had lost the board the week before while out kite surfing in strong winds.  Todd was able to get the board back to him, and the man ’thanked’ him with a case of beer.  Now, THAT’S what I call a good reward!

Then, just recently, Todd found a bottle half buried in the sand.   Inside was a letter written by a Boy Scout Troop located up the Sunshine Coast, which is a long way from Boundary Bay.  There was a request to send an e-mail off to the troop and let them know where the bottle had been found – all as a part of their science experiment to study the tidal waters.  Todd then threw the bottle back into the ocean. This took several tries as Storm kept bringing the bottle back to Todd!

So, besides keeping us and the dogs healthy, walking out in the tidal flats keeps up with small surprises.

And so it begins

Duck season has officially started.  Todd has been out several times already, and the dogs are restless.  Gun cleaning kits, decoys and hunting gear litter the garage.  I regularly have the wits scared out of me by the sporadic blowing of various duck calls.  With new calls being added to the collection each year, the opportunity is always there for Todd to improve on his calling ability.  Sometimes the call reeds out in the driveway, other times in the livingroom, and other times while we are driving in the truck. Never do I get a warning, and I’m sure my husband thinks this is half the fun. 

As for what to do with all the ducks and geese that end up in our freezer?  Well, considering Todd is the only one in the family who loves to eat duck meat, we have been on the search for recipes that make the waterfowl more appealing to the finicky tastes of the rest of the family.  Here is a recipe Todd found on one of his hunting shows several years ago.  We cannot remember which show this was from – this is a great recipe (too bad we can’t take credit for it!)

Marintated Duck Wraps

• 1 lb duck breast, cut into thin strips
• 1/3 cup rye whiskey
• 1/2 cup apricot jam or marmalade
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp ground black pepper
• 1 sweet red pepper, cut into thin strips
• 1 bunch green onions, cut into 2″ pieces
• 1 lb bacon

1. Mix the whiskey, oil, jam, and pepper together, add the duck breast, cover and marinate overnight
2. Place a piece of duck with a piece of sweet red pepper and a piece of green onion, wrap with one piece of bacon and secure with a toothpick.  The duck breast, pepper and onion will stick out both ends – don’t worry!
3. Grill on the top rack of the BBQ for 10-15 minutes until the duck is cooked through. 

This recipe turns the duck into candy, and is delicious.  I usually cannot bear the rich taste of wild duck, but this recipe is a keeper.

Enjoy!

If anyone else has a recipe for duck they would like to share, we would welcome it.

Feeding the Ducks

Every season, Todd and I load up the kids and make the short trip to the Reifel Bird Sanctuary, located on Westham Island, just south of Vancouver, BC.  To quote the sanctuary’s website, it is “one of Canada’s top bird-watching sites in the heart of the Fraser River estuary”, and it really is something to see. 

So, a couple of weeks ago, with a 20lb bag of feed in the truck, we headed off to see the ducks.  The kids get a kick out of the incredible tame resident birds, and delight in watching the wild ones cackle as they swim in circles just out of reach.  When we went, it was sunny and warm, and there were not many ducks around.

The photo is from one of our winter trips (a couple of years ago), and it shows how surrounded you can get.  You have to be careful where you step!  In addition to the mallards, there are several coots in the mix, trying to get at the feed.  Coots are funny little waterfowl that resemble ducks, with their feet being one of their most distinguishing features (see below).

 For more information, or to visit the Reifel Bird Sanctuary, please check out their website at www.reifelbirdsanctuary.com

Preparation

Two months ago, Todd was rooting around in the storage area above our garage, where everything seasonal is kept out from under foot.  Seeing as how the high temperatures were breaking all sorts of records, I figured Todd was in the throes of heat exhaustion as he bumped around among the Christmas decorations and Halloween constumes.  

Now, you have to understand this storage space isn’t as caverous as it sounds.  Jammed between the joices and rafters, there is just enough room for a six foot tall man, as long as he stays hunched over with his head tucked and his knees up around his ears.  Decorations do battle with hockey gear and a snowboard.  My boxes of books take up the space beside rarely used bakeware.  There’s parts to the pond I ‘un-installed’ over the summer, snuggled up against other assorted stuff.

So when I was about to climb up the ladder and see if he was okay, Todd called down and asked me to catch something.  Good thing my reflexes were still functioning, because I got my hands up just in time.  A dusty decoy, rigging and all, came sailing out of the dark square at the top of the ladder.

“Already?” I asked myself.  It was still summer.

An hour later, and all of Todd’s decoys were spread around the garage, covering every available surface.  Mallards, and Canada’s and Snowies.  A few brant were sprinkled around like pepper.  Weights in a five gallon pail had what looked to be miles of cord coiled around it like a snake.

And, of course, there was Todd, standing in the middle of his flock with cobwebs in his hair and a big grin on his face.

Over the next few weeks, Todd rigged lines, touched up decoys and repaired his waders.  He mooned over the various hunting catalogues, and finally bought a new shotgun.  He started what I call ‘dog training camp’, getting Storm ready for the season. 

Now, Todd’s ready.  Tomorrow is the first day of fall.