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We have gotten a number of requests lately by visitors and readers of recent
articles about some of the photos on the site, and what "hunting with the last
of the hunter-carvers" is really like. This page offers a glimpse into
life 'out back' with Vince. All photos on this site were taken by Vince,
his family, or writers/photographers that joined the hunt one day. Each
photo will feature an explanation by Vince or his family and provide insight
into his life, work, and love of the outdoors. It should give those who
are looking for it a more intimate understanding of Vince, his work and time on
the meadow.
Please email any special requests or questions and we'll see what we can do... enjoy! Click to Enlarge - Back to Return
01/05/2006 - Buffleheads and Birds of a Feather. This time of year, towards the end of the season, the best hunts are often Brant and divers, such as Buffleheads and Mergansers. This year has been especially hard because of the fair weather. However, these species are perhaps a little more sensitive than others species and Bufflehead, for example, will only decoy to a rig if the rig contains Bufflehead decoys. The graphic below shows our set-up in the coastal zone one day this past week, for both Brant and divers. The circles show the location of decoys of each respective species, with the arrows indicating the approach of live ducks of each species into the rig. Sure enough, on almost every pass, each species decoyed to its own kind. Even when swimming into the rig, Buffleheads and Red-breasted Mergansers swam directly towards and stayed with decoys of their own species (It is interesting to note that this is a distinctive characteristic of Delaware River decoys, their ability to bring in and hold decoys within the rig itself. This was the original reason that decoys of this style developed into much more intricately carved and painted decoys, and what has, these days, caused their value to rise above other regional styles.) Puddle duck species (especially Mallards and Blacks), on the other hand, will more often decoy to anything. However, the approach of each species has to do with the terrain around the hunt, not the placement of the decoys themselves. When placing mixed rigs it is important to take the terrain and specie habits into account first, placing the decoys accordingly. In this way it is possible to get more out of your hunt. Our total decoy rig for this day included: This picture is deceptive because it covers almost 180 degrees around
us. Click to enlarge. If your browser shrinks it to fit your screen
width, change this setting or right click on the picture and save it to your
hard drive. When enlarged Rich's boat is actually visible around the point
to the right, and the nose of one of our Carsten boats (actually the one Vince
was hunting our of) is visible in the right foreground. In reality there
is over 100 yards between the two boats.
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