Mississippi River

April, 2011

Hastings, Minnesota

4AM

Roused the Tom bros and headed for the river to  set out decoys (a first for these greenhorns)...

The river's up five feet with spring flooding; we placed the decoys and tied up to a tree to wait (“up” a tree as it were).

The ringbills, bluebills and redheads started coming in about 6:30AM – always exciting – even though we had painting on our minds and not hunting.

Shot photos 'til 11AM when the birds started to leave.

All good painting!

Gary

April 3, 2011, Minnesota

Went out to Sherburne Wildlife Refuge to see who's moving north and came across Trumpeter swans resting in a flooded corn field.

Along the way we met a Red wing blackbird flashing its red patches, a turkey tom who survived the 2010 Thanksgiving, hooded and American mergansers, pintails in courtship flight, ringbills, mallards, eagles, canada geese, sandhill cranes,  and a lone golden eye.