Saturday, December 18, 2010

Eastern Shore Maryland, December 2010

I joined the Hunt Doctor (my Uncle Bill) a few weekends ago on a now seemingly religious trip to the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Cousin Dave, Uncle Sketch, Uncle Ed and long time friend Jeff Vanesko made their way along with us, and we had the pleasure of once again hunting waterfowl with Chesapeake Goose and Duck Hunting on the season kickoff weekend. I was filming for an upcoming show of The Hunt Doctor, adding to a photo essay on waterfowl hunting the Eastern Shore and having a blast capturing one of my favorite things to do outside.



Hunting one of the classic pit blinds that Kirby Bryan, owner of Chesapeake Goose and Duck Hunting, has access to delivered a spectacular limit of geese and 11 ducks on the first day of hunting. Cloud coverage throughout the morning silouhetted the tolls of geese that we needed for a limit; and snow early in the afternoon led way to ducks landing like snowflakes into the fields of the Eastern Shore. Guide Bernie Hammer time and time again provided shot situations that every waterfowler would hope for. Sometimes though the boys had a few bad goes at capitalizing on that shot opportunity. Unfortunately for them, as cameraman, I don't miss.




On the second morning we took another limit of geese by 10:30 in the morning. The weather was perhaps a bit cooler but sunny. The ducks didn't fly early, but the taunting and heckling did after some big misses on trying to take that limit of geese. It will be about a month until we come back for our traditional January hunt, and I'm sure it will be better than the last. Somehow it always is.