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Ducks "forgetting" and changing mental states
#4805040
12/04/13 02:13 PM
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Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 292
Duckhawker
OP
Bird Dog
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OP
Bird Dog
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 292 |
This has happened to me many times, as I'm sure it has many people on this forum. Yesterday, I was hunting and twice over thirty minutes a group of three gadwall circled nervously, high and out of range. They wanted to be where I was, but kept seeing something. They would land on a tank about 500 yards away. The third time I saw them, they cleared the trees low, headed my way and came in on a line and I was able to shoot two of them at about twenty yards. Their behavior was totally different on the third approach. Much less cautious.
Obviously it's possible this was not the same group of birds I saw the first two times, but I'm reasonably sure it was based on the direction they came from and the total number of birds in the sky (not too many). It seemed to me that they kept going back to the same loafing tank and eventually they "forgot" about the potential danger they saw in my spread and just pitched right in. It's like their mental state totally changed and they just finally committed to the spot.
Anyone else care to share their experiences with birds like this?
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Re: Ducks "forgetting" and changing mental states
[Re: Duckhawker]
#4805058
12/04/13 02:23 PM
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Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 12,295
Cody Malone
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 12,295 |
HF Whitetail / Exotic / S. African Safaris
Proudly Sponsored by: Horizon Firearms / Swarovski Optiks / Under Armour / Yeti Coolers / Costa Del Mar / Havalon Knives
Malone Outdoors, LLC C/254-722-9031 or E/ maloneoutdoors@yahoo.com
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Re: Ducks "forgetting" and changing mental states
[Re: Cody Malone]
#4805088
12/04/13 02:37 PM
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Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 911
GigEmAggies
Tracker
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Tracker
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 911 |
they're not looking for 1 thing right...they're looking for 1 thing wrong
They're not looking for one thing right....they're looking for one thing wrong.
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Re: Ducks "forgetting" and changing mental states
[Re: GigEmAggies]
#4805109
12/04/13 02:43 PM
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Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 5,575
Leonardo
THF Trophy Hunter
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THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 5,575 |
Is there a chance the wind picked up and you finally had decent movement in your spread? That would be my guess.
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Re: Ducks "forgetting" and changing mental states
[Re: Leonardo]
#4805137
12/04/13 02:51 PM
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Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 292
Duckhawker
OP
Bird Dog
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OP
Bird Dog
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 292 |
Leonardo,
Not much wind, but certainly possible. Was a very calm day.
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Re: Ducks "forgetting" and changing mental states
[Re: GigEmAggies]
#4805191
12/04/13 03:02 PM
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Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 276
ACov
Bird Dog
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Bird Dog
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 276 |
they're not looking for 1 thing right...they're looking for 1 thing wrong x2
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Re: Ducks "forgetting" and changing mental states
[Re: ACov]
#4805221
12/04/13 03:09 PM
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Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 911
GigEmAggies
Tracker
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Tracker
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 911 |
they're not looking for 1 thing right...they're looking for 1 thing wrong x2 it's so true I had to add it to my sig ha!
They're not looking for one thing right....they're looking for one thing wrong.
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Re: Ducks "forgetting" and changing mental states
[Re: GigEmAggies]
#4805397
12/04/13 04:04 PM
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Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 110,802
dogcatcher
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 110,802 |
they're not looking for 1 thing right...they're looking for 1 thing wrong x2 it's so true I had to add it to my sig ha!
Combat Infantryman, the ultimate hunter where the prey shoots back. _____________"Illegitimus non carborundum est"_______________
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Re: Ducks "forgetting" and changing mental states
[Re: dogcatcher]
#4805475
12/04/13 04:31 PM
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Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 107
Fishhound83
Woodsman
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Woodsman
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 107 |
They were just testing the place. they get shot at so often anymore by guys shooting too high. Seen it alot out of gadwall this year.
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Re: Ducks "forgetting" and changing mental states
[Re: Fishhound83]
#4805510
12/04/13 04:43 PM
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Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 523
Tvilbig
Tracker
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Tracker
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 523 |
Maybe they just got hungry? You're over thinking it.
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Re: Ducks "forgetting" and changing mental states
[Re: Fishhound83]
#4805547
12/04/13 04:55 PM
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Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 5,029
TexasEd
THF Trophy Hunter
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THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 5,029 |
They were just testing the place. they get shot at so often anymore by guys shooting too high. Seen it alot out of gadwall this year. Yes, this is why skybusting can ruin your hunts.
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Re: Ducks "forgetting" and changing mental states
[Re: GigEmAggies]
#4805557
12/04/13 04:59 PM
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Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 1,908
Gacman
Pro Tracker
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Pro Tracker
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 1,908 |
they're not looking for 1 thing right...they're looking for 1 thing wrong Sounds like the women i date.
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Re: Ducks "forgetting" and changing mental states
[Re: Duckhawker]
#4805575
12/04/13 05:05 PM
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 10,646
garrett
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 10,646 |
This has happened to me many times, as I'm sure it has many people on this forum. Yesterday, I was hunting and twice over thirty minutes a group of three gadwall circled nervously, high and out of range. They wanted to be where I was, but kept seeing something. They would land on a tank about 500 yards away. The third time I saw them, they cleared the trees low, headed my way and came in on a line and I was able to shoot two of them at about twenty yards. Their behavior was totally different on the third approach. Much less cautious.
Obviously it's possible this was not the same group of birds I saw the first two times, but I'm reasonably sure it was based on the direction they came from and the total number of birds in the sky (not too many). It seemed to me that they kept going back to the same loafing tank and eventually they "forgot" about the potential danger they saw in my spread and just pitched right in. It's like their mental state totally changed and they just finally committed to the spot.
Anyone else care to share their experiences with birds like this? what you describe is a cheeba duck, from time to time you come across them in the wild. They can be very forgetful and if your spot is holding food they will risk it all for just one bite of sweet goodness. consider yourself lucky to find them in the wild like you did
Attention rickym, this is not a troll post, just a good hearted fun type of post
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Re: Ducks "forgetting" and changing mental states
[Re: Gacman]
#4805592
12/04/13 05:11 PM
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Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 1,850
Merican Duck Hunter
Pro Tracker
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Pro Tracker
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 1,850 |
Could also be the change in angle where they started to work. You said they were high the first times and then just barely cleared the tree tops the last time. Maybe they weren't high enough to see whatever they didn't like the first two times.
Arise.Kill.Eat -Acts 10:13 I have read a bunch of stuff on the internet about Star Wars but that does not mean I can skin a deer with a light saber.
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Re: Ducks "forgetting" and changing mental states
[Re: Merican Duck Hunter]
#4805816
12/04/13 06:13 PM
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Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 619
Sims Custom Knives
Tracker
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Tracker
Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 619 |
I was out bow hunting on my lease and was watching a group of live gaddys sitting in a creek. another group came in circled 3 or 4 times and flared. I was about 100yards away and nothing out there to flare them.
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Re: Ducks "forgetting" and changing mental states
[Re: Sims Custom Knives]
#4806014
12/04/13 07:05 PM
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Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 292
Duckhawker
OP
Bird Dog
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OP
Bird Dog
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 292 |
Merican duck slaya, Yes, I thought of that. They certainly couldn't see much at the angle they came in. What was odd was the second time they came around the came off the tank, went high, circled, and said no. The third time they came around they left the tank, barely got any height, and dumped in. They certainly wanted to be where I was, but that one wrong thing... Gacman, Agree with you on the ladies. I talk about a "collective goodwill bank." If my girlfriend does something to piss me off, the cranky feelings go away quickly because she's built up a strong bank of goodwill with me. If I piss her off, all that good stuff I do doesn't mean much.
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Re: Ducks "forgetting" and changing mental states
[Re: Duckhawker]
#4806160
12/04/13 07:48 PM
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Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 67
Noojen
Outdoorsman
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Outdoorsman
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 67 |
This happened to me this morning but they never really came back for a 3rd pass. I felt like I had a neon 'Do not land here' sign on my head or something...I did manage to get 4 to commit but missed them all.
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Re: Ducks "forgetting" and changing mental states
[Re: Noojen]
#4806271
12/04/13 08:22 PM
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Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 22
Zach Attack!
Light Foot
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Light Foot
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 22 |
Gadwalls, in my opinion are just really dumb. Same thing has happened to me numerous times. Dumb birds simple as that.
Tarleton State Texans Class of 2017! Bleed purple!
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Re: Ducks "forgetting" and changing mental states
[Re: Zach Attack!]
#4806280
12/04/13 08:25 PM
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Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 292
Duckhawker
OP
Bird Dog
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OP
Bird Dog
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 292 |
Zach Attack,
That's funny. I find gadwalls to be tied for the most wary birds I shoot with pintails. Mallards win. Yes, plenty of groups decoy without problems, but many circle and circle, whereas I feel I rarely have trouble decoying wigeon, teal, shovelers, divers, etc.
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Re: Ducks "forgetting" and changing mental states
[Re: Duckhawker]
#4806333
12/04/13 08:37 PM
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Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 1,850
Merican Duck Hunter
Pro Tracker
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Pro Tracker
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 1,850 |
I used to feel the same way about gadwalls being dumb and easy birds to fill a limit, but the last 2 seasons its seemed like the entire population got a reality check and all the sudden they're hard to get to commit. My buddy in Louisiana said the same thing a week ago.
Arise.Kill.Eat -Acts 10:13 I have read a bunch of stuff on the internet about Star Wars but that does not mean I can skin a deer with a light saber.
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Re: Ducks "forgetting" and changing mental states
[Re: Merican Duck Hunter]
#4806439
12/04/13 09:17 PM
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Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 22
Zach Attack!
Light Foot
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Light Foot
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 22 |
Huh. I guess it's just different from place to place, but I know the ones we've been bringing down don't seem to be too cautious. Of course we do a lot of timber hunting in close quarters so they want those acorns any way they can get em!
Tarleton State Texans Class of 2017! Bleed purple!
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Re: Ducks "forgetting" and changing mental states
[Re: Zach Attack!]
#4806750
12/04/13 10:49 PM
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Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 778
TxHunter96
Tracker
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Tracker
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 778 |
ducks are dumb/smart and predictable/unpredictable. Thats why they're fun to hunt
Any creature in my vicinity that possesses an explosive penis is going to be killed.
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Re: Ducks "forgetting" and changing mental states
[Re: TxHunter96]
#4807015
12/05/13 12:08 AM
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Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 1,491
Jacob645
Pro Tracker
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Pro Tracker
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 1,491 |
This exact thing happened to us this past weekend. Birds were circling a different pond. We called them to us and they circled high forever then headed to the other pond. Called them back and they did the same thing. Later another group came and did the same thing. They really wanted in that smaller pond. Still scratching our heads as to what happened.
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